Let’s Build an Outdoor Storage Bench!

DIY Storage Bench

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You can go a lot of different ways for material for this storage bench but I went with an exterior rated MDF called Armorite. I know, I know, it’s typically a cardinal rule that you can’t use MDF in situations where it could get wet, as standard MDF swells and is forever ruined. Just look at how much that expanded? This Armorite is not only moisture resistant but is also treated with zinc borate to resist rot and termites. plus it machines so clean compared to standard MDF, this is straight off without any sanding.

I’ve created a set of build plans to help making building your outdoor storage bench simple.

Materials I Used to Build the Outdoor Storage Bench:

• Wood
• Storage Bench Plans
• Brad Nailer
• Paint
• Screws
• Drill
• Hinges
• Wood glue

Step 1: Organizing Storage Bench Parts and Pre-Drilling

I first organized my parts on one of my work areas before getting started. To start the storage bench assembly, I first join together the front to one of the sides. Since this project will be going outside, I’m using an exterior wood glue on all the joints then pre drilling and running in a screw. I place my pieces near the end of my workbench so that I don’t have interference with my drill when pre drilling. After getting the first side connect, I repeated to connect the other.

Step 2: Placing the Bottom Between the Storage Bench Walls

Now before attaching the other side, I’m going to slip in the bottom, this should fit perfect between the two short sides. Once in place, I run around the three sides and add in screws to attach it. With that done, now the final fourth side of the box can be added in the same way. Nice and easy. Keep in mind that I’m making mine for outdoor but you can make yours into a end of the bed bench or a keys toy chest, or anything where you need decorative storage.

Step 3: Adding Legs to Get it off the Ground!

The storage bench body is done. Lets add some legs to it. Everything is made from Armorite and to distinguish the legs some, I took all the pieces to the miter saw first to cut in a slight angle. Now they can be added to the body. Two pieces will make up the leg, one is narrower than the other so that both look the same width once they are attached. I’m using wood glue once again but now switched over to using 1 1/4” brad nails instead of screws. In order for the legs to come out looking the same width, they need to be attached properly. Meaning the small side needs to be placed on first.

Well while I’m fixing my mistake I might as well show you a tip to remove brad nails. Instead of clipping them, which never leaves them perfectly flush, I like to pull them out on the backside. I do this with the large set of Crescent’s square nose pliers. I get a good grip on it then roll the nose so it pulls the nail up straight. Sometimes it breaks, but it’s easy to get another grip and pull it the remainder way.

Step 4: Placing the Side and Decorating the Body

With the short side in place, now I can butt this one right up flush and everything will come out looking correct. Another way you can do it is by placing the unit on it’s head, yeah actually this way is much easier, as you have the workbench as a reference point for both of them instead of holding one up while trying to get it flush to the top.

Lets stand it up and take a look. Yes, perfect.

Noooow, lets tilt it back down in order to decorate the body. I’m going with a lap siding look. This is very easy to achieve. You can start off with a small strip piece down at the bottom, this will create a bump off for the first siding strip. For everything on this step I’m using a little bit of wood glue and brad nails.

Actually, I’m going to go ahead and lower this to the floor as it’s just high enough to be annoying….or maybe I’m just short enough. This will be much easier to see and use my nail gun at this height but now I just need to grab one of my rolling around stools. 

Step 5: Attaching the Long Sides

Ok to start attaching the siding, this goes quick and easy. I laid down the first strip so that it’s flush with the trim piece below. From there, each strip is cut to fit in between the legs so that’s easy to get right but the overlap amount can vary. To make sure they all come out consistent, I cut a spacer. Now I just have to line this spacer up to the bottom side of the previous strip then nail it in place. I move this spacer over to the right and repeat. Then to the center and repeat.

With it stuck in place, I throw in a few extra ones in between before moving on to the next and repeat the process again. When you’re shooting in brads, keep in mind the over lap that each board will have and make sure to place your brads in this zone. That way the next board you lay down will cover up the nail hole. Oh I don’t know if I mentioned before, but the entire body is made from 3/4” but the slats I made from 1/4”. Armorite comes in varying sizes, I’ve even used 1” before on projects.

Something else to talk about on this step is adhesive. There is just a corner of the slat making contact to the body so you can’t use wood glue. You’ll want to switch to construction adhesive and my go to for projects is DAP Dyna Grip. It’s rated for interior or exterior and a small bead in a few places under each new slat works great.

Step 6: Attaching the Short Sides

After I got the long side complete, I flip the unit up on end and repeated with the short side. That’s another distinction with Armorite it takes brad nails so much cleaner than standard MDF. You don’t get that mushrooming and chipping.

Now, down we go and lets have a look. Well, that is pretty darn cute. And so quick!

Step 7: Placing the Top of the Storage Bench

Lets keep the momentum going by adding the top. For my lid I went with a plane slab of MDF because I plan to have cushions on it for sitting. But know you could always cut in a cool patten or make it look like individual boards like I show how to do on an outdoor cabinet. I’ll link that for you below. I line up the top to the body so that it’s flush on the back then pre drill and attach the hinges.

Step 8: Painting the Storage Bench

Worked like a charm. Note that I didn’t add a handle or cut one in because there is a built in lip that’s easy to grab all along the front. Let’s break all of these edges and get ready to throw a coat of paint on it! I actually did an entire video on how to properly paint MDF so I’ll link to that below if you’re interested. You can definitely roll or brush on paint, but since I have an HVLP, that’s what I used to really get in all the nooks and crannies, easily.

After letting it dry I moved it into place and tested it out. Since I knew I would be sitting my bench up next to the house, I left the lid as is, but another option is to add a chain to catch the lid from opening too wide if you are placing it somewhere without a wall. I can sit the cushions in place, but then when I want to stow them away, I can simply open the lid and put them in until next time.

All in all, this project only takes about two hours to complete once the parts are cut. So it’s nice and simple but will create a decent amount of storage for a variety of different spaces. Remember that I have a set of plans and a CNC cut file if you’re interested in building your own.

Extra Things I Used For This Build:

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Armor Tool Mobile Workbench
• Wilker Do’s Mobile Workbench Upgrade Plans
• Bessey Clamps
• Triton SuperJaws

Today we’re going to be running power to an outdoor shed. I’ve done quite a few electrical videos, so if you need any other tips, check out my website!

Step 1: Locate the Breaker Box and Drill a Hole for an LB

This process could be use for anything in your yard that you want to get power to whether it be a pool, or an outdoor kitchen, or even a yard feature like a pond. Just consider if you have enough space in your breaker box and of course all your local codes. I’m comfortable tackling this project on my own, but if you’re not then there is never in any shame in hiring a professional. Lets go ahead and get started.

The first thing I need to do is locate the breaker box so that I can figure out a path to get to the outside of the building I am wiring. Quick change of scenery here but this is the outside of the wall I was just referencing. I’m using a hole saw bit the size for an LB fitting to go through.

Step 2: Placing the Conduit

To get to the inside, the piece isn’t even all the way through the wall. So, you can just cut a piece of conduit to get you all the way through. Know that they do make a different cement for electrical conduit instead of the regular PVC one that you’re used to. I’m going to be adding in an outlet so I’m going to be adding a straight piece of conduit and then put my outlet up high so that it’s easy to access. Then from the outlet I’m going to be going into another straight piece of conduit that will go down into the ground from the outlet, then go into a 90 degree fitting.

According to code, the sharp edge on the conduit is still too sharp. To get around that, you need to put on a male fitting to protect the wiring. After gluing the joints together, I secured the outlet box to the building, then also placed a strap near the bottom. A great thing about conduit is the flex it has so I used my boot to push it into the building as I was securing it.

The purpose of an LB is so that you can go around a tight corner in two steps rather than one, meaning you can take off the back, pull through your entire amount of Romex and then feed it back down. You can make this tight corner really easily.

Step 3: Trenching to Code

Okay lets talk about material you’re going to need for going in the ground and the depth of your trench. It all correlates to one another. In my case I am using a PVC conduit but if I were to use metal conduit I can get away with (by code) only going 6 inches into the ground. I didn’t want to deal with bending or anything like that so I went with PVC conduit meaning that I have to go at least 12 inches into the ground.

The minimum depth of my trench has to be 12 inches with the stipulation that a GFCI needs to be on the circuit somewhere. That is the reason I am adding an outlet. Not only is it handy to have outlets anywhere you’re going to be doing electrical work but it also means I can go the 12 inches whereas if i didn’t add a GFCI the minimum I would be required for my trench is 18 inches.

Just be aware that there are stipulations on how deep you have to go with your trench depending on what you’re using.

Step 4: Feeding the Power Line into the Trench

This line coming out is my Romex that’s coming in from the breaker box but now I’ll be feeding in my direct power line which is rated to be buried directly in this trench. I’m trying to feed it in with my right hand and pull it through with my left and I’m using my boot to keep the pipe down.

I fed through enough power line to go down the trench then whatever length to get me to where I would install my first outlet. Now that I have my wiring over here it’s the same song and dance. You need some sort of hole to now get you through to the inside for a LB to fit, again stubbing through to go all the way to the inside. From here, you have a straight piece of conduit and this will all be glued. Down here I’m going to have another 90 with that fitting in order to make sure that it meet code. Once you glue it up then you can feed it in.

Step 5: Securing the Power Wire and Closing up the Trench

A little prebend goes a long way. Also note they make lubricant for chasing wires and it really does make it easier. Again, taking off the back of the LB to make chasing this wire up and in quick and easy. I attached another clamp to the bottom of the conduit then buttoned up the back and called this project done.

Well, other than filling in the trench, which is the easy part. There. Like it never happened except it did.

I hope that you enjoyed watching this project, I’ll leave you a link in the description to the many other electrical videos I’ve done incase any of those are useful for what you’re doing.

Things I Used During the Power Project

• Gloves In A Bottle

This thing is so cool! It’s a great hide-away bar, but also perfect for storage around the house. Let me show you how I made it.

Let’s Build a Liquor Cabinet

Liquor Cabinet Plans

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I’ve created a set of liquor cabinet build plans to help you get through the process of building this liquor cabinet.

Materials I Used to Build the Liquor Cabinet

• Wood
• Doweling Jig
• Mallets
• Clamps
• Drill
• Screws
• Liquor Cabinet Plans
• Wood Finish

Step 1: Preparing to Make the Moving Portion of the Liquor Cabinet

I made a set of liquor cabinet build plans with a cut list for the liquor cabinet build so I started by cutting the parts needed and milling them to their final dimensions. I labeled all my parts as I made them with a piece of tape so I could pull whichever part was needed as I was moving through the steps.

I’m going to start the assembly by making the shelf portion that will raise and lower with the bottles on it. I grabbed the four solid wood parts needed for the body of this shelf and laid them out. Paying attention to which areas would be seen in the final product and being intentional about the direction it faces.

For joinery on almost this entire build I’m using a simple doweling jig that Rockler makes. After lining up joining boards and drawing pencil marks across the seam, the jig can be clamped into place so that I can drill a hole to the depth needed. You based the depth of the hole off the length of dowels you’re using. There is a collar on the bit that allows you to adjust the depth easily.

This jig works well for boards that are flush with an end but it doesn’t work for boards spaced off the end. For those I used a home made jig and a second collar to make sure I don’t go all the way through the material. You could always do these free hand if you don’t feel like whipping together a jig.

Step 2: Assembling the Moving Shelf

With the holes drilled, now I can assemble it. Remember that you only have a few mins, around 3-5, to get things set in clamps. So I have everything ready; the dowels, a mallet, clamps, and all the parts. When using dowels I always place a small amount of glue in the hole then tap in the dowel. Make sure to not over hit it and distort it’s shape. Then I place glue in the mating part before setting it on the dowel.

If you move things to the ground like me, make sure to lay something down for it to rest on to not mar the surface. Once things were seated all the way, I set a few clamps on it until the glue was dry. Checking for square before walking away from it.

Step 3: Setting the Back of the Shelf in Place

While it sets up, I start drilling in the pocket holes for the plywood panel that will be the back of the shelf. Again, I looked at both sides before drilling any so that I could choose which side would be the final seen face of the final product. I don’t worry about using pocket holes here because it will never been seen. After drilling them all around the perimeter, I set it in place and use screws to attach it.

Then before calling this shelf finished, I add in one more piece of wood. This will later be what rests on the lift so I not only screwed it in place but also used glue. And that is the first big assembly of the build done. I set it aside and started working on the liquor cabinet body.

Step 4: Assembling the Liquor Cabinet Legs

I grabbed what will be the legs and cut in a small taper at the base to create a foot. I like to place an X on the two sides before making any cuts just to make sure my backwards brain doesn’t mix things up. Then I use the Rockler Tapering Jig which easily allows me to chop away the material not needed on two sides.

Ok, that’s the only part that needs something special before building the side assembly, so I grabbed my other parts and started assembling.

Glue Notes:

I always do a dry fit before applying glue. When I do apply glue, I do just a dab. To save on time in the end I actually sand all my parts before assembling them so I do my best to prevent glue squeeze out. A bottle is great for accurately getting glue into the holes but I use a chip brush to get glue on the edges. I also like to have a rubber mallet around to switch over to when things need more force to seat all the way.

If you only have a wooden one, use a scrap piece of wood on your board to prevent it from getting marred. Last thing to think about: you can drastically simplify this project by using pocket holes as the joinery method instead of dowels.

After I made the first, I repeated by making a second side the same way, then also put together the assembly that the lift will later rest on.

Step 5: Joining the Sides of the Shelf

Once dry, I continued building the liquor cabinet body of the cabinet by joining the sides. It is very easy to get things mixed up (it’s a lot of square parts), after I did a dry fit I set out all the parts in their given position and orientation. This way as soon as I started applying the glue I could just run through it.

The first step is pretty easy, applying glue inside each dowel location then tapping in the dowels. The second step is also pretty easy, apply a little glue to the ends of each part and tap it into place. The third step is tricky. There are 14 dowels to get aligned all at the same time and this needs to happen quickly before the glue starts drying. Honestly, it went pretty dang smooth. It’s always a good feeling when things seem to be working. I turned it sideways, complimented it, but then set it in clamps for a few hours to dry.

Step 6: Preparing the Panels for the Other Sections of the Liquor Cabinet

While the body is drying, you can stay busy by cutting all the plywood panels that will go in the different sections. I have all of these on the cut list in my liquor cabinet plans but I cut all of them oversized to start so that I could wait until the body was done and get an exact measurement on what each one needed to be. I again considered the final look I wanted on each panel so I could cut it just so.

To secure these in place, I drilled a few pocket holes on the inside face. Something I do when going into hardwood like the legs here is predrill through the pocket hole to prevent splitting once I run in the screw. It adds time, but nobody wants to split a component at this point.

Step 7: Installing the Center Panel

After getting both side panels in, I repeated with the center panel. This one is slightly tricky because there is no lip for it to rest on. So I grabbed some scrap wood that was the correct height so that I could set the big panel in place while I secured it around the perimeter. I flipped the unit over in order to have better access to the underside to secure the next two panels in place.

Clamping Tip: Clamp a scrap board to the underside of the rails so you do have a flush surface to rest the panel on while securing it.

For the middle shelf, not only is it a slight puzzle to get in…first the shelf, then the clamp can go on, but then I also had to switch to a right angle attachment because of the tight squeeze….but hey! It all worked in the end.

Alrighty, lets flip this liquor cabinet back over and see the progress. My gosh this thing is heavy. Hickory isn’t messing around!

Step 8: Splitting the Top Cubby and Prepping Door Hardware

Up top I put in a few boards that will later give me a surface to attach some door hardware, then I also split the top cubby into two by adding in a center divider. With that in, it’s time for me to work on adding in the rising/lower shelf portion of this build.

I moved back to the shelf assembly I started this build off with and first added in some threaded inserts into the back panel. I did this by counterboring some holes the size of the inserts, then using an Allen to screw them in until flush. The placement of these inserts go with my exact lift, which is a unit made by Progressive Automations. It’s actually marketed as a tv lift so if you wanted to sub this liquor shelf for a TV, you can easily use the plans for a completely different function.

The lift is easily secured down into the support members of the body, then I placed the final back panel in so that I could go to the inside and trace the hole locations with a pencil. After punching through with a drill bit, I could set it back in place then secure it to the lift with bolts. Then go around the boarder and screw in all the pocket holes, making sure the panel was flush.

Step 9: Testing and Adjusting the Moving Pieces

This is the first moving part to test out to make sure things look like they are working and I was very impressed with how quiet it is. What I did was extend the lift all the way up right now, I’ll set the limit later. This way I could grab the shelf and set it on top, using that lip I created earlier, to rest it in place while I secured it with bolts through the threaded inserts I place in the shelf. Then I did the second moving test, which was muuuch more suspenseful. Haha, did I do everything correctly for this shelf to fit inside the body? Lets see.

That front corner rubs slightly but that’s an easy fix. Let me show you the unit from the front as this is where it gets even more exciting. With the body and the shelf working well together, now I need to add on the top but in order for the back to raise and lower independently, I need to have two sections for a top. I start by being selective on wood and grain to come out with the look I will love for the top pieces, and cut it down to size at the table saw. This front section will be fixed in placed, however this back section will be floating and have a small space between the two.

Step 10: Fixing the Front of the Liquor Cabinet

Lets work on fixing the front of the liquor cabinet first. I put an even reveal on all three sides so I used a combination square to make sure it was uniformed, you can see I used a clamp to pin that corner once it was good while I work on adjusting the other side but then I could pin it in place from the underside with pocket holes I drilled in the stretchers before building the frame of the body.

Once that was fixed, I worked on the floating one. This was an experiment, wasn’t sure if it would actually work. What I did was set a collar on a drill bit then counterbore into the body. Here the depth doesn’t really matter, but straightness does. Next, I thread in some screws. I picked screws that had a decent amount of threads but then an unthreaded portion near the top so that after I threaded in the body, I could lop the heads off. I used a grinder for this.

My intention is to create four pins sticking out of the body. I transferred these pin locations to the underside of the floating top section and counterbored more holes. These are just slightly larger than the pins I just placed. The goal is to be able to set the top in place and it not struggle to go on. That’s success one, but success two will be if it goes down without interfering with the fixed front, lets push buttons.

All the successes! Everything works and it feels great. This lift is not only quiet but it’s so stable and smooth on the launch and the landing in both directions. I do have a 5% discount code on the lift columns if you’re needing a lift for an upcoming project. I set the upper limit so that the bottom of the shelf will land flush to the top of the top.

Step 11: Mounting the Liquor Cabinet Doors

I was so happy with how the project worked at this point but I had one more big section to tackle before I was in the clear and that my friends is mounting the doors.

When planning this liquor cabinet project, I wanted a piece of wood that had a ton of contrast, character and visual BAM for these drawer fronts. As you can see, I found the board for me. I waited until this point to cut them so they would be exact to my openings and so I could make it have continuous grain from left to right.

I started by using the Rockler jig again to put a few dowels in that center partition so that I could glue on the portion of solid wood that would cover up the edge. Next I could start attaching the hardware. The right cubby will be a drop down door so I placed two non mortise hinges on the bottom and a catch on the left.

Step 12: Opening the Drawers with a Push

For the catch! I installed something I think is super cool. It’s two parts, here is the body, then here is ball that fits into it’s jaws. When pressed, the jaws close around it. When pressed again, the jaws release it…I took that and turned it horizontal and installed it on the underside of the drawer opening. The tricky part here is getting the depth correct so the door comes out flush to the reveal you’re aiming for. Which in my case is flush to the center partition. I’m dyslexic so any time I get math correct on the first go, I’m super proud and want everybody to see.

I love this mechanism because it means I don’t need to clutter the front with a drawer pull, just a simple push of a finger will open or close the door.

I could have done another drop door on the left however for fun, lets change it to two swing doors. These hinges are mounted on the sides instead of the bottom, then more math to get the hungry hippo openings mounted properly.

Ah. I showed you when I won math, so I’ll show you when I lose. No problem, the hardware is very simple to adjust. Since the left was correct I used a combination square to get the right one set to the same depth. Now lets try that again. That’s more like it!

Step 13: Finishing Touches! Coating the Liquor Cabinet with Wood Finish

Whew, how incredibly satisfying guys! I’ve had this idea for about two years now but I can add things to my list way faster than I can build them, so to see this cabinet complete and working so fabulously, I was on cloud nine. Remember I have a set of plans with all my dimensions, a cut list and even a material shopping list if you’d like to build your own.

Alright, the liquor cabinet build is complete at this point so lastly lets wrap this up with a coat of finish to make it pop and protect it. I am going with one of my favorites which is Gleam by Total Boat. I’m going to go with a three part mash up, where I first apply a coat of Gleams wood sealer. This layer fills the grain, seals wood fibers, and levels the surface to make for an ultra smooth finish.

After I let that dry for two hours, I move on to step two which is Gleam 2.0. I actually want a satin finish as my final look but if you want either a satin or matte final you need to use a Gloss to build up a few layers first. So I laid down three coats of the gloss, waiting an hour in between coats. This stuff dries very fast and evenly so it’s easy to knock out multiple coats in a single day.

Once I got to coat four, I switched over to the Satin. If you’re curious, if you use matte or satin to build up the layers then it can sometimes create a cloudiness. So always use gloss for the build up then use whatever sheen you want as your top layer.

Liquor Cabinet Build Conclusion

When the finish was dry, I moved the liquor cabinet into the house and put everything back together. And wow! What a difference! The table I had here before, was actually one of the first things I ever built but my biggest complaint is I think having all the exposed bottles and mixers on top is just messy looking. I much prefer the prohibition style where it’s sneaky and hidden until you want it exposed.

The Progressive lift comes with a remote on a wire that I velcro to the right side so it’s hidden. With a simple push of a button, the bottles can be raised up. As you can see the lift is so smooth and stable that there is no problem with things moving around and getting broken. I can even place nit nacks on top. In the cubbies I have storage for mixers, accessories, glasses, or even a nice decanter. I love the opening and closing hardware of these doors. Very fun.

I really hope you enjoyed this liquor cabinet build. Don’t forget I have a set of plans, not only for this project but for many others, over on my website. I’ll see you on whatever I’m tackling next.

Things I Used in This Liquor Cabinet Project:

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Armor Tool Mobile Workbench
• Wilker Do’s Mobile Workbench Upgrade Plans
• Bessey Clamps
• Triton SuperJaws
• Rockler Jig

In this video I’m going to show you how I built this shelf. It might look simple, but it was actually full of little tricky things to figure out. But! It was worth it, as I had this very generic store bought shelf in my home before, and was finally able to replace it with something I’ve made instead.

Let’s Build a Modern Wall Shelf!

Modern Wall Shelves

$9.99

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Materials I Used to Build this Modern Wall Shelf

• wood
• Wood Glue
• Saw
• Screws
• Wood Finish
• Nailer

Step 1: Cutting the Wood for the Modern Wall Shelf

I had walnut and maple in my shop already so I made mine from that. I started by cutting to length all the parts to make up the center hexagon that’s made from walnut. I cut all these boards just slightly longer than really needed. So that in the next step, when I cut in all the angles, I could have some wiggle room to get them all perfect. I first cut in the miter cut on one end of each board needed. Then when cutting the second side, I set up a stop block so I could make sure they all turned out the same. You can test the accuracy by placing them back to back to each other.

Step 2: Fit Test for the Hexagon Part of the Shelf

Next I did a test fit just to make sure things were looking correct. They were, so next I prepped to start applying glue. When doing miters it’s a good trick to lay down a piece of tape on the inside face first because there will be glue squeeze out and the inside face is always a little time consuming to clean up but a piece of tape lining the miter, solves that.

Another tape trick to help with gluing up miters is to lay out a length of tape long enough for all the pieces. My arms are just barley long enough, and I actually laid down two because of the depth of my pieces. This is so I can lay all my parts, perfectly end to end, on top of the tape. Then I apply the glue. I’m not going overboard on the glue, I’m just making sure the entire face of each miter is covered.

Now I can start on one end, and roll things together. Using that tape to help each each miter in it’s place as I make the roll. The tape can also act as a clamp, giving me a way to hold the hexagon together as the glue has time to set up. However, since I have a 23 gauge nailer, I went ahead and shot a few pin nails into each joint so I wouldn’t have to wait for the glue to dry. If you don’t have a pin nailer, then give it an hour before removing the tape.

Step 3: Cutting the Straight Shelves

There’s actually two more walnut pieces to this unit but they are just straight shelves with no explanations needed so lets move on to the maple triangles that accompany the walnut hex.

These can absolutely be cut the same way as the walnut mitered pieces at the miter saw however I wanted to show you a different method that is typically more accurate and that is with a sled at the table saw.

If you have a table saw then I do recommend doing all the pieces this way. What I did was tilt the blade of my saw then use a sled to move my piece through the blade to cut one end on all the pieces. Then I set up a stop block to cut all the board’s second end, also cutting the board to length with this cut. Any time you’re making a geometric shape like these, the final product will look the best if all the pieces are as identical as possible which is where using a more accurate tool will pay off but know that it can still be made regardless on which tool you have.

Step 4: Piecing the Triangle Shelves Together

Unlike the hex, the triangle will actually have an exposed miter cut on all three sides so I did a dry fit to first align things…..there we are. This way I could make sure I was applying glue to the correct portion of the board. The roll up tape trick doesn’t work on a connection like this so instead I threw in a few pin nails on each side. However, if you don’t have a pin nailer remember that tape is a great clamp while glue sets up!

Since my design has two triangles, I repeated the process to make a second.

Step 5: Joining the Hex and Triangles

Now, the tricky part folks. Joining things together. In the end product, these triangles will slip right over the horizontal portion of the hexagon shelf. I would actually prefer to make these cuts at the table saw but the blade on it will only go to 3” and I needed 4”. So instead I used the miter saw.

After making all my marks indicating where the cuts needed to be, I set the depth on my miter saw so it could go 4” deep. I cut the outline lines of my marks, actually going slightly inside them because you can always take away more but it’s hard to put back. My intention was to take away the remaining inside one cut at a time, but the first cut was enough to break it out of there. With that done, I just had to get the bottom flat which I did by lowering the saw to it’s full depth of 4” then slowly moving my board left and right until the blade hit the side walls of my cut.

I kept my shelf piece handy so I could test fit things and make adjustments. It was too small to start, so I took a little bit more away until the shelf could easily slip into place.

The thing I like about the miter saw for the triangles is I was able to cut both slots at the same time but on the shelf I took a different approach to show you an alternative method should you want to build these

For the shelf I used the bandsaw.

The thing with the bandsaw is the deck will tilt but only one way, and I’m going to show you that cut first even though I made it second in real life. This cut is easy, tilt the deck, line up the blade, make both outside cuts first, then chop away the inners until you have a nice rectangle hole. To get a flat bottom, I like to get close to the line with my straight cuts, but then, just like what I did at the miter saw, I move the piece slowly left and right going across the blade to level things out.

Step 6: Making the Second Cut on the

For the second cut, which is opposite of the first, you can’t move the table down so instead I moved the part up by way of a jig. This jig is a scrap of wood that is cut to the proper angle, that is secured to the miter gauge of the bandsaw, then another scrap is attached to the top to give me a fence to hold my part flush up against. This will allow me to hold my part in place and move it into the blade at a 90 but it actually be cutting in at the angle needed to slip right on the other parts.

Step 7: Finishing touches! Staining the Modern Wall Shelf

Lets see if it worked. On this part I was being very careful because those outside pieces will be fragile and break off if I forced it down too much. So I took my time to wiggle it on nice and square.

That was the last complicated bit, now it was just down to finishing. For a hanging method, I attached some simple store bought brackets to the top walnut horizontal shelf. Since everything is attached, it’s the only thing that’s needed.

Then I put on a coat of finish. Something I’ve taken to doing is applying some shielding lotion to my hand prior to finishing. This lotion is called Gloves in a Bottle and bonds with the top layer of your skin to prevent things like stains, paint, or any other finishes from penetrating that first layer. It’s such simple protection if you keep a pump bottle in your shop like I do. Oh and don’t worry, it doesn’t leave your hands greesy.

After letting the coat of finish dry, the only thing left to do was remove the old boring shelf and install my new custom one. I know it’s a little unconventional but there are enough flat surfaces to hold the items I like to store over here, which include a speaker, glasses, clutches, and keys. I only placed hooks on one side to keep the light switch in the area, clear.

Modern Wall Shelf Conclusion

We did it! You’ve built a modern wall shelf to help spice up your living space. I love how much stuff you can put on these.

If you liked this project, check out my website where I have a ton of building plans to help you with another project.

Things I Used to Build this Modern Wall Shelf

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Armor Tool Mobile Workbench
• Wilker Do’s Mobile Workbench Upgrade Plans

In this video I’m tackling a project that will drastically improve the curb appeal of my home. Today I am painting my garage doors. This is a one day project and is very simple so if it’s been on your to do list, then I hope me documenting my process helps you get the confidence and motivation. Lets get into it.

Let’s Repaint the Garage!

Things I Used to Upgrade my Garage Door

• Paint
• Dish soap
• Scrub Brush
• Self Stick Drap
• Paint Sprayer

Step 1: Preparing the Garage Doors to Paint by Removing Hardware

First let me give you a clear view of my set up. I have two doors and started off by clearing out everything I could in front then using my blower to get all the loose dirt and grass out of there. I don’t want it blowing on the doors when they have wet paint.

Next I started removing things that I didn’t want painted….such as the keypad. On most of these you remove the battery door and there is a screw to unthread.

Next I started removing the hardware. These guys are just decorative metal straps screwed on. However, after the first one I stopped because the next step is to thoroughly clean the doors and I figured if I left the hardware on, they would get a good scrub at the same time.

Step 2: Cleaning the Doors

Ok, don’t judge me for how dirty these doors are. It’s never even crossed my mind to give my garage doors a wash, but it’s been added to the regular to do list now! For this step, I used a bucket with some dawn soap in it. I recommend buying a scrub brush with a handle to make it easier. In fact, this one can connect to a hose which is pretty cool. Although I didn’t use that feature. I made sure to get the weather stripping back to white as well because that will be taking paint but paint won’t stick to anything with dirt on it.

After the scrub, I followed it up with a good rinse to get all the soap off before I started taking off all the hardware. Now I had to spot clean behind the hardware when I removed it so you can make the call on if you want to leave it on or not. Be careful if you run bare hands over the holes because some have metal frayed up from punching the hole.

Next I dried it off. You can use a blower or a rag, you just want a nice dry surface for tape and paint to stick to. A tip though is to raise the door up to a good working height instead of benching down low when you don’t have to.

Step 3: Protecting the House from Paint

Ok, now lets protect the house. Although I hate the color of this stone, I don’t want it blue. You can pick up a roll of this awesome clingy plastic that has tape already built in on the top. This way all you have to do is unroll it and stick it where you want it. My plan is to paint the door and the weather stripping all the same color but then paint the trim a different color. I’m masking off starting around the middle of the trim so I don’t have to worry about being precise. This means I will overspray paint onto the trim then paint over it later.

For now, I walk this roll all the way around until I get to the bottom. It’s very quick and easy. I cut off the excess, then unfold the drap. Know that this drap length comes in different sizes. You want at least 12” to protect your house. My store only has 18” so that’s why mine is larger. It does a great job at self sticking to things like this stone but you can always use a few pieces of masking tape as well to make sure it doesn’t blow up as you’re painting.

While having the tape out I went to the bottom side of the door and masked off the bottom gasket. Again, lifting the door so I can work while standing up instead of crouching down…..I first make sure the gasket is completely dry but then I use some exterior masking tape to stick right up to the starting of the garage door.

Step 4: Protecting the Concrete from Paint

Alright we have the house, and the gasket protected, last thing to protect is the concrete. I always keep a large sheet of cardboard in my garage for situations just like this. I grabbed it, then laid it down right up to the lip of the door’s opening. If you don’t have a large sheet like

 this then taping a few boxes together would work as well. Or laying down another strip of the plastic wrap.

Step 5: Starting to Paint the Garage Door

And alllll of that leads up to painting. Prep is like 90% of this job but it’s what will determine a good durable finish so don’t skimp on it. I’ll be using my Wagner Control Pro 170 to spray on my paint but know that an HVLP like the 3500 or even a roller like the ez roller would work as well. I quickly set up my gun, which is nice and simple, then placed my one gallon paint container inside a 10 gallon bucket. This is just incase I knock it over, I won’t get paint all over my driveway.

Then I started spraying! I chose to go vertical as the panels on my doors have those vertical lines however whichever direction you go, you want to aim for 50% overlap. If you do that, you should only need one coat of paint. It took me less than 3 mins per side with my sprayer. If you’re interested in getting an airless then I definitely recommend checking out this Wagner 170.

It features high efficiency airless technology that decreases overspray by up to 55% compared to traditional airless sprayers while delivering softer spray, improving control and providing a more-consistent finish. It’s the perfect addition for the homeowner who wants to save money by doing jobs themselves instead of hiring a contractor.

A tip is right after you get done with painting, raise the door up! This way it will dry flat and if you sprayed a little heavy, the paint won’t drip.

Oh, I forgot to address which kind of paint. It isn’t anything special. Any exterior latex paint will work great.

Step 6: Painting the Garage Door Trim

After letting that dry completely, I ripped off the plastic around the doors then started on the final painting step which was painting the trim. It’s at this stage you’ll see me go over all that blue overspray in the previous step. I applied this with a roller and the only thing to really note is I personally left my weather stripping and it’s trim piece, blue but another option is you can raise the garage door when painting the trim and paint it all to match the trim instead.

Conclusion

Lets stand back and admire the change. Man, that stone is even more awful now haha, but doing something with that can be added to the list. I definitely love the blue more than I like the drab beige, and truly what a simple process for such a drastic change. If you have some garage doors that need a makeover then I hope this video inspires you to tackle it come the next nice weathered weekend.

I’ll see you on my next project. Check out the plans listed on my website for inspiration for your next project!

Materials I Used to Upgrade my Garage Door

• Wagner Control Pro 170
• Plastic Drop Cloth w/Tape
• Brush
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)

Let’s Build a Rotating Shelf

This rotating shelf is awesome! I love how it helps me keep my shop functional but also saves me some space.

DIY Flip-Around Shelf Plans

$9.99

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I’ve created a set of rotating shelf plans that will help you take on this build.

Materials I Used On This Build

• Wood
• Allen Wrench
• Drill
• Screws
• Wood glue
• Sliding Hardware
• Rotating Shelf Plans

Step 1: Prepare the wood by pre-drilling

Lets start off with a piece of plywood. This will make up the wall that will hold the shelves and rotate around. I have a ton of walnut scraps around so that made my choice but know you can use any 3/4” stuff.

Ok next is to drill some holes in what will be the top and bottom framing members. Actually there are a few parts that require a few different holes in it. I took those parts to the drill press and did them all at once. Some counterboring, some through holes. If you would like exact dimensions and specs for this unit, I have a set of plans with all the details over on my website.

This is one of my favorite new things in the shop. Instead of having to clamp my bench vise down to the drill press table which is always a pain, this base has four knobs that activate or deactivate magnets. It makes adjusting parts a breeze.

A tip for you: this part will end up being on about this long but I left it longer to make it easier to hold onto while drilling for the holes.

Step 2: Putting a threaded insert into the left and right parts of the shelf

These three pieces will make up an assembly but first I want to take the left and right part and put in a threaded insert, one of these here. It’s important for it to go in as straight as possible so I thread on a wheel that will later connect to it because on the top is an insert for an Allen wrench. This gives me a way to use a screw driver to start the insert and turn it. I used a speed square to keep an eye on my alignment as I started it.

Once it’s grabbed a few threads into the wood, then the speed square can be tossed aside. There still came a point where my strength wasn’t enough to continue turning it so I put a washer into some pliers to finish, turning the plier handles horizontal so I can use leverage to crank it around. With that finished I can finish attaching the rest of the components including a pin that will work as a pivot point and a drawer slide.

Step 3: Creating the sliding piece for the top of the rotating shelf

Ok now I repeat to make something similar for the top of the rotating shelf. This one has a few less parts but it still needs the pivot point pin, then a drawer slide attached to the backside. Now I have two crawly things that will make sense in just a few mins. For right now, I set them aside and started building a box. This is simple construction with wood glue, a predrill, and a few screws to hold things together.

I started by attaching the bottom, then added the first side, then rotated it around to attach the second side. I slide it to the edge of my workbench so it won’t interfere with my drill as I’m pre drilling.

Step 4: Making the top and attaching it to the base

For now I’m going to leave off the top. I still need to make the top. This is that short piece I drilled holes in earlier and to make sure I got both lined up with my marks, I went ahead and ran in two screws so the point was sticking out. This way I could set them in my predrill spots and know it was lined up straight without having to measure. The center hole can get a threaded insert so that I have a way to attach this aluminum piece that will be a swing arm. I know this is looking a little crazy, but it should make sense in the next step.

With the top made up, I can go ahead and attach it. I first stood up the piece that will hold the shelf and set it on the bottom pivot point. I precariously left it leaning on the box body while I went and grabbed the top. Now I can set this part on the top pivot point. I’m leaving off the wood glue on the part just incase I need to get back in here to make adjustments.

At this point, I’m still not sure if it was going to work or not. So just a few pre drills and screws to set the top in place. However, instead of the final product just spinning freely in a circle, it will actually just flip like this from one side then to the other, then back again. To do that, I tilted the center shelf so that I could crawl inside slightly and attach those swing arms I made earlier. There is one I snaked my arm in to attach at the bottom, then also the same at the top.

Step 5: Hanging the rotating shelf!

Now I originally intended to hang the rotating shelf on a few studs up on my wall so that it’s at a comfortable height, but then I saw my plumb toolbox and figured I would use it to set the unit right on top of! But know that hanging it is certainly an option.

Ok, now what to store on it?! The great thing about it being a bare center wall is you can custom design any shelving unit to hold whatever it is you personally want to store, whether it be shoes or towels for the house, or hardware and sandpaper for the shop! That’s what I’m going to use mine for. I used the CNCs to cut out some custom shelving that would allow me to take this big pile of mess and instead organize it.

Other Thing I Used In This Rotating Shelf Build

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Armor Tool Mobile Workbench
• Wilker Do’s Mobile Workbench Upgrade Plans
• Bessey Clamps
• Triton SuperJaws

If you’re looking for a place to store your firewood that also is super cool to look at, check out this firewood holder DIY. Before, I would just have my different sizes piled up in containers around the hearth, which was really unattractive. So on a whim I threw these together. The three compartments allow me to separate small, from medium, to large pieces of wood. Grab a set of plans and let me show you how I build them.

Let’s Build A Firewood Holder

DIY Firewood Holder

$9.99

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I’ve created a set of plans to make building this firewood holder quick and easy!

Materials I Used in this Build:

• Wood
• Nails
• Screws
• Firewood Holder Plans
• Wood Glue

Step 1: Selecting Material and Cutting to Size

I did design and build these on a whim so when selecting material, I just looked around my shop to see what I had already that would fit the sizes. I found this stack of 3/4” cut off from some shelves I tore a part that I’ll make the body from. Then for the back, I have some 1/2” plywood from who knows what.

I started off by ripping the sheets down to width needed. If you want exact dimensions, I have a set of plans available over on my website. I tilted the blade over to then cut in the angles needed to created the pointed miters. Since there are a lot of repeated parts, I set up a stop block so that I could make them all the same. When you do this, you want to make sure to set the stop block back far enough so the board won’t be touching it when it contacts the blade. As this is what can cause kick back.

To save from switching the blade back and forth, after cutting one side with the needed angle, I would flip the board and cut the other side since it still had a 90 on one end. This will leave the remaining board with angles on both end, that I can chop up for the mitered parts. I personally like to always do a test first and a dry fit to make sure things are going to work as I have them planned. That looks good though.

Step 2: Banding the Edges of the Firewood Holder

Now I just needed 12 of them total so I locked in the new distance for the fence for this part and chopped up the remaining bit into pieces.

This project only consist of four different parts. What I’ll call the side, the tops which are slightly longer than anything else, the horizontal shelves, then the mitered points. Keep in mind that it would be simple to add more to subtract the number of cubbies, depending on your spaces needs.

Alrighty, now I’ll edge band the edges that will be facing the front. Actually, on second thought, I like the idea of painting them instead. Note: that if you edge band you’ll need to do that before joining the parts together, but if you want to paint, then you can go straight into assembling.

Step 3: Assembling the Firewood Holder Cubicles

For assembling, I started off on top of my workbench and what I did is apply some wood glue, I’m using DAPs weldwood here, to every joint, then pin nailed things together using my 23 gauge nailer. This is a pretty weak joint until the wood glue has time to set up, so I was being careful as I was moving it around to attach the next leg. If I didn’t have a 23 gauge, I would have used a 18 gauge instead.

After getting a few attached, I thought it would make things easier to do it on the ground so I could see everything clearly as I was attaching legs. So I moved it down to the floor and continued. I would juke and jive to create the points of the cubbies, then attach the horizontal that will create the separation between.

I paused when I got to the very top because the way I have it designed, the top edge will actually be seen. With that, I edge banded both of these parts before adding them on. This is as simple as heating up an iron and warming up the glue on the back of the banding until it sticks to the plywood edge. This will be slightly different than the ply, but it doesn’t bother me.

Step 4: Painting the Firewood Holder Cubbies

 I left that where it sat to give that glue time to set up and dry. While it was, I grabbed pieces that will make up the back from my 1/2” plywood scraps. I also grabbed the pieces that will make up the sides. I want both of these to be painted the same color as my wall which means I need to give them a few coats before attaching the cubbies.

Since I have the paint out, I also wanted to paint that front edge of the cubbies. I first give them both a good sanding to get them smooth. Now when working with plywood, there are typically voids on every single edge. In order to get a smooth looking paint surface, I apply some wood filler on a putty knife. I’m using DAP Premium wood filler. This stuff not only dries fast but is easy to sand and is great to color match if you are staining something.

After letting it dry for about 30 mins, I came back with a sanding sponge to knock it down flat so that I could roll on the paint onto the pieces of the firewood holder.

With finishing out of the way, let me just push this button here to raise my finishing shelf up and locate the hardware I’ll need to attach the cubbies to the back.

Step 5: Shaping the Back to Fit the Firewood Holder Cubbies

I started with a back slightly larger than what I needed, then plopped the cubbies down onto it and lined it up so that the bottom cubby was flush to the end of the plywood. I used my pin nailer to just tack things in place to start. The end is easy as it should be flush, but to make sure the rest weren’t crocked, I pulled a tape to get the spacing perfect before tacking the rest. With it not able to fall off now, I tilted the entire unit on it’s face so that I would have access to the underside to throw in screws. Here, I made sure to pre drill to prevent splitting.

Step 6: Securing the Firewood Holder Cubbies to the Back

The top location is easy to locate because you have a visual on where the shelf is located. However, the second one is tricky because it’s in the middle of nowhere. What I do is grab a speed square, this Crescent one has an additional 6” flip out rule so that I can position it in the center of the shelf, go down to the dimension needed, and pre drill. If you don’t have this speed square or another long one, then a level would also do the trick.

For the angled portion of the shelves, the speed square wouldn’t work, so I grabbed a scrap and cut in an angle at the tip. This way I could rest it on the shelf and allow me to mark the height. Making sure to keep it in the same location, I moved the scrap to the face closest to me to now drop it down back to the line I made which gives me the location of the angled shelf to pre drill and attach a screw.

With the back on, this thing now feels really secure and strong. I flipped it up to take a look. I actually think it looks pretty good with a square back on it and was considering leaving it as is but then I decided to stick to my original plan and make the back flush to the geometric shape. I wasn’t able to locate my palm router, which is actually the ideal tool to trim the back off, so instead I put a flush trim bit in my router table and trim it off that way. The key here is to keep the unit nice and flush on the table as you move it along.

I laid the unit over and attached the side. This will help support the horizontal shelves that will actually be supporting the load of the firewood.

Step 7 : Installing the Firewood Holder and Cutting Firewood

 Last thing to do was install them. Now I personally wanted mine up off the ground so I wouldn’t block an outlet I have over on the right hand side. Then I also like to use this area for storing my games and puzzles. With that, I propped the units up, found the studs, then drove a few screws into the back of the unit to attach them.

Ok lets load it down and see how much it can hold. Now that, is much better than before. Instead of ugly boxes and totes, I now have a nice firewood holder with dedicated space for the wood. This will allow me room to store and separate all different sizes of firewood during winter. Then I personally like the look of wood enough to keep it full year round, but I could also store other kinds of nicknacks during spring and summer should I want to.

What do y’all think about them? Remember how easy it is to make larger or smaller. I even think they would look good horizontal, depending on your space. I have a set of plans for this project as well as many other over on my website. In fact, if you want firewood storage ideas, I have a few of them.

I’ll see you next time.

Material I Used For This Build:

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Armor Tool Mobile Workbench
• Wilker Do’s Mobile Workbench Upgrade Plans
• Bessey Clamps
• Triton SuperJaws

Modern Dog House

Shop now

Materials I Used to Build The Dog House

• 3M Solar panels
• Wood
• Modern Dog House Plans
• Brad Nailer
• Nails
• Screws

Step 1: Laying out parts and pre-drilling

There are four main components to build: The deck, the front, the back, and the roof. I started off by grabbing all the parts that will make up the deck and laid them out on my workbench so that I could predrill and attach things together with screws. I do have a set of plans for this project if you would like a material list and a cultist to build your own.

Next I laid out all the flooring material to attach it to the topside of this framing. I was shocked that the price was a 1/3rd of the cost and I just made sure to put the ugly side down! You’ll want to make sure the frame is square before attaching the decking. I used an 18 gauge nailer to quickly attach things.

Step 2: Attaching the pieces to make up the front of the dog house

Ok, first big component down. Now lets set that aside and pull in the pieces that will make up the front. I cut all the parts according to my cut list then did a dry fit first just to make sure there weren’t any obvious problems. Once everything was laid out and things seemed to work, I started attaching things. As you can see I’ve pre-painted mine and that’s because of the color scheme I wanted in the end, it’s much easier to paint the framing beforehand.

After getting done, I set it aside and repeated those same steps to frame up what will be the back wall, then set it with the others.

Step 3: Making the dog house roof

The last major component to build is the roof. If you use my plans to build this dog house, I would recommend keeping the pieces separated like this so it makes building time go much quicker. At each stage, I was able to bring in the needed parts for that assembly then quickly arrange them, and screw them together. If you notice me skipping the wood glue it’s because it doesn’t stick very well to painted parts. If you have raw parts, then you could use some on each joint, just make sure it’s exterior.

After knocking out the framing for the roof, I applied this tonge and groove material on top. You could absolutely use some sheet material like OSB or Plywood, but I wanted the inside of the roof to match the siding I will add later. Tonge and groove is awesome because it goes together so nicely and connects with the previous board.

I’m once again using my 18 gauge nailer here to pin it to the framing. I started on one end, then worked my way down to the other. When I got to the end, I held the board in place, making sure the tonge and groove were facing the correct direction, made a mark on the underside, then cut this board to the needed depth to fill in the remaining space.

Step 4: Attaching all of the assemblies together

Alrighty, now lets play shuffle and start throwing all the main components together. I’ll set the roof over here, move the front and back, so that I can grab the deck and set it on the workbench again. Now I’ll grab the back to start and if done correctly, it should just slip right onto the deck. I predrilled and threw in a few screws to attach it. Then repeated with the front. Since this dog house is a little bougie, there is a porch so the front is set back a ways to create said porch.

Now lets throw the roof on. I found it easiest to climb up on my workbench to do this, but building it on the ground could also work. The framing of the front and back walls have ‘ears’ on them to help locate the roof, but it might need some help to seat the roof all the way down since it’s a tight fit. Something that helped is backing out the top screw in the framing to allow that ‘ear’ to flex out slightly. Once the roof was seated all the way, I could tighten back up on the framing but also attach the framing to the roof to secure it down.

Step 5: Installing the siding of the dog house to close the walls

Next up is siding! This is made up of that same tonge and groove material I made for the roof and it’s just as simple to throw on vertical as it is horizontal. Once cut to length, you just need to make sure the board going on is seated all the way down on the previous board. Again, I’m using my nailer to attach things. Nice and simple. When I get closer to the top, I use my bandsaw to cut in the angles needed. RT audio I’m calling that good. I did the same exact process on the other side.

Step 6: Completing the front and back walls of the dog house

Let’s complete the front and back walls. I’m sure you were wondering why there are so many empty cavities designed in. It’s because I wanted the dog house to have class paneling. I don’t know about your pups, but mine like to be able to see what’s happening in their domain. Instead of one large panel, which you can very well do if you want to simplify things, I decided to break up the space into multiple small ones.

This is where our first 3M science product comes in. Not the glass…..but the film applied to the glass. A fun fact: visible light is light you can see and infrared light is what you can feel. 3Ms Sun Control Window Film Prestige Series reflect the suns infrared light significantly reducing the hat coming through windows. In addition to that, they also reject up to 99.9% of damaging UV rays. These films are designed to be applied directly to your existing windows to provide an easy and cost effective upgrade vs replacement. It allows my pups the openness windows provide without letting the heat and UVs in.

If you can’t tell, I am loving this thing.

Step 7: Building the Roof of the Dog House

Ok moving on to the roof! Before adding shingles, I went around the edges and added metal drip edge. What I do to install this is I hold it up on the edge, starting with the short side first, then cut it where the corners land. You’ll want to use roofing nails to attach it down. Since one piece won’t wrap all the way around, I let the leftover amount hangout, then used a new piece to finish covering the remaining side. Using a roofing nail to tack through both.

With that down it was a simple matter of nailing down the shingles. I figured out the overhang on the left then let the right run wild. I’ll cut it later. The shingles have a yellow zone to use the nails on.

While I work my way from the eve to the peak, let me tell you the awesome science of these shingles. 3M is making smog pollutant reducing granules (the tiny particles that make up the shingles) that might sound like a mouth full but it’s fascinating. These granules will absorb and hold onto nitrogen oxide in the air that touches it.

Then it will turn it into water soluble ions that not only safely wash away with the rain but then carry the nitrogen to the ground below which helps plants and grass. To put it simply, these granules, the shingles turn a roof into a smog fighting surface where it will take nitrogen from a place we don’t want it, and carry it safely to a place we do.

And that my friends, is how you can build your dogs a bougie house, very simple and easy but so stylish. Also remember I have a set of plans available if you want to build your own.

Step 8: Showing off some 3M products

I’m going to go ahead and add more accessories in order to show you two more really cool products 3M has initiated and released to do their part in changing the world.

First up is a dog bed. 3M innovated a 100% recycled featherless insulation called Thinsulate. I’m using it as the stuffing material in a dog bed (I just bought one then replaced the stuffing inside with insulation) However, it’s everyday application is actually within performance apparel and outerwear. It’s made from 100% recycled content such as plastic bottles that end up in the landield, meaning it’s helping to address global waste. It’s lightweight as natural down and still performs when wet.

Then the last thing to show off is called the Midsummer solar roof panel where 3M’s Ultra Barrier Solar film is incorporated. Due to low material consumption, a unique manufacturing process and production, Midsummer’s solar roofs have a 90% lower carbon footprint compared to traditional solar panels.

I’m so proud to be partnering with a company like 3M who isn’t only concerned with their bottom dollar but are setting goals for themselves to be carbon neutral and then investing time, money, and research to innovate products to accomplish it. Every new 3M product has a sustainability value commitment that shows how it contributes to the greater good. The four products in this dog house are just an example

I really hope you enjoyed this project. Check out my website for a set of plans not only for this

Things I Used in this Build:

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Armor Tool Mobile Workbench
• Wilker Do’s Mobile Workbench Upgrade Plans
• Bessey Clamps
• Triton SuperJaw

Have you ever wanted to give your food that smoky flavor but don’t want to deal with the hassle of a huge smoker? I recently discovered cold smoking food and I’m obsessed! Cold smokers can be made out of anything since they don’t have high heat or a flame. Let’s make one!

DIY Cold Smoker

$9.99

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Materials I Used to Build This Cold Smoker:

• Wood
• Wood Glue
• Brad Nailer
• Wood Stain
• Cold Smoker Plans

Step 1: Preparing Materials for the Build

First know that I have a set of plans for this one plus a larger unit if you’re interested in building your own. The smaller one you’ll see me build has four racks but the larger unit has more.

I have so much scrap wood piled up in my shop that I pulled from it instead of buying anything new. To start, I went to the table saw and ripped down some material to make up the legs. Regardless if you use scrap or buy new, just don’t use anything that’s treated since this will be around food.

I made two sets of legs by using a cross piece to join two legs to each other. On all these joints, I pre drilled first to prevent splitting. Next I laid out marks for where I wanted my shelves on the inside of the legs. These will be what my racks rest on. I went to my scrap bin to find something suitable then chopped them to size before attaching. To attached, I used a little bit of Daps Weldwood wood glue then my 18 gauge brad nailer. I repeated on the other set of legs. I set both assemblies next to each other so I could just make sure the racks lined up with one another.

Next is to flip the assemblies 180 but it’s important to keep them situated so that the racks stay aligned to one another. Now I’ll sheath this side, which will be the outside.

Step 2: Sheathing and Creating the Leg Assemblies

Now the sheathing can be made from a lot of things but since you don’t want gaps, I used a thin tongue and groove pine paneling that I’ve actually had left over from a project I did back in 2013. The tongue and groove feature will allow each piece to connect seamlessly to the next board. Since I have a lot of the same length needed in this next step, I set up a stop block at the miter saw, then made sure to hold the length of board in between this stop and the blade, as this is the point that could kick back, then chopped the needed number of parts.

I took these over to my workbench with my leg assemblies and started attaching them. Again, I’m using a bit of wood glue on each one then throwing in some brads to hold it while it dries. I made sure to keep the orientation of the legs because they aren’t identical, they need to mirror each other but as you can see, it goes nice and quick. After getting the second side skinned I joined them to each other with some cross members at the top. Again, pre drilling and driving in screws.

Step 3: Attaching a Bottom and Making the Back of the Cold Smoker

To attach a bottom, I stood the unit up and grabbed some more cedar scrap since it’s 3/4” thick. I didn’t bother nailing them in as I’m thinking these might need to get replaced in the future.

Next I laid it back down and started making a back. This is also made from that tongue and groove paneling and I just laid the boards out starting from one side and work my way over, then cut the last piece to fit. Once I liked the fit, I flipped it over so that I could attach some horizontal pieces that will keep all these back boards held together. Again using wood glue and brad nails here. Now I could flip it over and secure it in place. To do this, I placed one screw at the top and one at the bottom.

Step 4: Making a Door for the Cold Smoker

Oooook, now lets flip it 180 and repeat almost all the same steps to make a door for the front. The one draw back to this paneling is how thin it is. Actually I like how thin it is because that means it’s light weight, but since a hinge needs meat to attach the door to the body, I built up it’s thickness by grabbing more cedar boards, mitering the ends, and creating a border that I then glued and nailed onto the front side of the paneling. I flipped the door on it’s face to put the brads in from the backside so you won’t see the holes from the front.

Perfect, and now I have a door. To attach it, I grabbed two hinges and placed them near the top and bottom, making sure to pre drill to prevent splitting.

Step 5: Building a Roof for the Cold Smoker

Alrighty, that works just as it should. I’ll worry about a handle and keeping it shut in a few steps. For now, I’m going to build out the roof. The roof is made a little uniquely as it’s important to have adjustable vent holes at the top of the unit. In order to do this easily, I attached one board of cedar with screws, but then grabbed one piece of that thin paneling for the next board. This I brad nailed in place. Then followed it up with another cedar board to finish. Screwing this one down as well.

Ok next, I cut another piece of paneling to the same size as the center board, held it in place, then used a forstner bit to drill two vent holes through both boards at the same time. This will mean the holes line up perfectly with one another when the boards are in line. However, if I want to close off or even partial open or close off the vents, then I just have to slide the top board one way or the other. Cool.

Step 6: Putting Vent Holes into the Side of the Cold Smoker

Ok great, now lets work on the side vent holes. Now remember I’ve just learned about this cold smoking thing so I’m not sure if there are better placement for the holes or not, but I put some up top and some down low. I wanted to utilized some of the paneling cut offs so I made two short pieces for the top. I glued and nailed these in place with my 23 gauge pin nailer. Then I held in place a full width panel then another a bottom rail, if you will.

The idea is the full width panel will slide so I connected the tongue and groove feature to the top rails already in place but then pulled it down just slightly to create some room. I glue and nailed on the bottom rail. I took some measurements and made some marks so that I could drill my two vent holes, again going through both layers at the same time. Now if all is done right, I’ll be able to open or close the vents by simply sliding this outer most board.

Of course that one I pick to show on camera is the hard one. Ha. This center board has a slight bow to it which make it stick slightly, but it’s still easy enough. Here look at the others….see easy. : )

Step 7: Adding Finishing Touches

Ok, now just some finishing touches to the cold smoker! On the outside of the door, I put a handle. Then on the inside, I applied a strip of some foam gasket stuff. My thinking here is to seal the door way off better. I honestly don’t know if it matters because it isn’t like you’re going for 100% airtight here, but I figured it couldn’t hurt. It’s a simple peel and stick process.

Then once that was in place, I worked on a latch. I utilized a clamp lightly applying pressure on the door to get the placement of this latch correctly. This way, when it’s latched shut, the door will be just slightly compressing that foam gasket. Yay!!!

Lets knock out a finish. I need something food safe for the inside and my go to is this Wood Honey by Total Boat. This finish is not only easy to apply, as you can see I’m just wiping it on, but it’s good for anything that will be around food such as bowls or countertops. Then for the outside of the cold smoker I’m going with Total Boat’s Halcyon. This is another one that is really easy to apply, I chose to use a foam brush, but it also dries to a UV stable gloss or stain finish. I recommend five coats of this but don’t worry, it dries so fast, you can easily apply them in a single day

Testing out the Cold Smoker!

Ok ok ok, lets try it out!

Ok so the concept is you place a tube with smoke pellets down here. I went ahead and laid down a piece of steel just in case an ember falls out of the tube. You light up one end….not to where it has a flame, but is just smoldering. This apparently will go for hours and you can buy pellets in all different flavors like hickory, pecan, apple, and mesquite. I made the sizing of my unit fit cooking racks so that I can place whatever I want to smoke, on top and slide them in.

I also bought a thermometer so I can stay in touch with how cool or hot the smoker is. For cheese, it needs to be kept around 80-85 degrees. I’ll tell you right now, this is a blast. The olives and okra only take about 20 mins and the cheese takes 2 hours. It smells great, tastes good, and is a very quick and easy build. I hope you enjoyed following along and remember if you want to build your own cold smoker, I do have a set of plans for a few different sizes.

Things I used to Build the Cold Smoker

• DAP Weldwood Wood Glue
• 1/2″ Peel & Stick Weather Stripping
• ISOtunes Hearing Protection (use code APRIL for 10% off)
• TotalBoat Halcyon (Use code TBAprilW for 10% off)
• TotalBoat Wood Honey (Use code TBAprilW for 10% off)
• TotalBoat Halcyon (Use code TBAprilW for 10% off)

In the last few years, kitchen DIYs have gotten very popular. They don’t have to be over the top and they also don’t have to break your wallet. If you’re looking to add a cheap way to get some solid countertops then you’re reading the right blog. Check out my countertop plans and follow along!

Materials I Used to Build the Countertop

• Wood
• Miter Saw Stand
• Wood Glue
• Clamps
• Sander
• Saw
• Countertop Plans

Step 1: Moving Material to the Shop and Cutting Edges

The first thing I did was move my mobile cart to the side of my miter saw stand. This is so I can flip out the wing and pull material directly from the cart to the saw and cut the ends. Whenever you’re joining boards together you need all the edges and ends to be at a 90 and straight. The miter takes care of all the ends. It’s also at this step that you can cut your boards to length. I recommend taking the measurement your top needs to be then leaving yourself and extra 1” or 2. You will cut it down perfectly later on.

Step 2: Rounding The Edges of the Material

Next is to knock off the rounded edges of the material. If you have a jointer, then you can use it to get one edge flat…..and one face flat. Next I move the pretty large pile to my table saw. Here I make sure to place the jointed edge up against the tablesaw fence to get the second edge parallel. Then I use the thickness planer to get the second face flat.

Now if you don’t have a jointer then I’ll leave you a link to two videos I’ve done where I show how to use a table saw or a router as a jointer. But you can definitely keep this project simple and let it be a little imperfect. If you only have a tablesaw, you can use it to cut off each rounded edge, then leave the face alone. This method will require more sanding and you might end up with a few small gaps, but you can still build yourself some countertops.

Step 3: Creating the Countertop Pattern

Ok after getting all the material square and straight, I next laid out my boards to get the depth my countertop and shelf needed then started rearranging them. The first thing I do is line up one side of the boards to be in line with one another. Now my finished countertop will land about here but it’s aways best to make a bigger than needed slab then cut it down in the end.

Next I look at the tree ring direction and try to stagger them. See how these rings curve down? This one is pretty center but this one curves up, this one down, What you want you avoid is all the rings facing the same direction as that will promote the entire slab to cup in that direction whereas alternating them will oppose forces.

The next thing I look at is where all the seams line up, see how most all land right in this zone? I want a little more variety so what you can do is take smaller boards and place them at the front. Just flip flop the two boards and that will push the seam away from the others. To where after I did that with a few other rows, now my seams were spaced out all across the slab.

Ok then last thing I looked at before sticking things together, was the butt joints. You can see this joint doesn’t close nicely. If it doesn’t close nicely now, it definitely won’t one you put glue on it so take the time to re cut both ends here at the miter saw.

Step 4: Assembling the Countertop

Ok now lets do the thing that I would bet causes the most stress in woodworking. I’m talking about glue up! It is common when you’re first starting to build to make a big slab like this and try to glue up all the boards at one time. However, you learn really quick that it’s way better to do multiple small glue ups so they come out right rather than rush it and mess it up or stress yourself out.

When you’re glueing things together with yellow wood glue, my go to is DAPS Weldwood, you typically have about 3-4 mins of working time, which is not a lot. So have as many things ready to go as you can such as clamps, brushes, mallets, and bisquets in my case. Which lets talk about next. You can definitely cut all your boards and just glue then clamp them together but where bisquets help is with aligning the tops.

Once you apply glue to two surfaces they will slip and slide and getting a perfectly flush top is almost impossible. By cutting in bisquets slots…. this tool references the top of each board to cut in a slot on each edge so that when you insert a biscuit, it will automatically align each board and not allow it to slip around while applying pressure. Alternatives that achieve the same thing are dowels or a domino but remember you can definitely just glue up the boards if you don’t have anything, it will just require more flattening in the next step.

Step 5: Altering the Countertop Thickness (optional)

Actually, I added in a step. See after milling my boards, my 2x4s turned out to be only 1 1/4” thick. Which is good but I personally wanted the look to be closer to 2”. To achieve this, I cut a nose that is the thickness I want and simply attached it to the very front. So know this is a trick you can use to make your glue up look thicker.

Step 6: Thinning out the Countertop

Ok, now lets flattening this thing. Like everything in building, there are several ways to do everything. The countertop is too wide for my thickness planer so I just did this by hand with my 4” belt sander. You want to choose the widest belt sander you have so it’s easier to keep it flat and not create divots. I also like to turn my sander to a 45 in the first pass to hog away material faster, then I sand out the scuffs this creates in the lower grits. For my skinner matching shelf, I threw this through the drum sander and this makes quick work of it.

Step 7: Cutting the Countertop to Length

I now cut my top and shelf to their exact needed length. I chose the sliding portion of my tablesaw to make sure this cut was at a perfect 90 but a track saw or circular saw with a fence would work as well. Next I wanted to set the countertop in place and see how it was going to look up against my wall. No wall is ever perfectly straight so expect to have some gaps on your install.

You can cover up this gap with a backsplash board or you can trace the exact shape of your wall onto the countertop, this is called scribing. I did this with a washer but you can use just about anything. Once I had my line established I used my sander once again to take away material up to it. If you have a big gap you can always use something like a multi tool to cut away more material up front then refine it with a sander.

Step 8: Applying Finish

Ok and that’s it for the technique building part, I now have a countertop ready to install but before doing that I finished it. I’m using Total Boat’s Gleam 2.0 which is a Spar Varnish that is super easy to use, a high gloss (exactly what I was going for here), and my favorite feature: it’s fast drying. I like to use their Wood Sealer varnish primer before hand which fills in the grain to create a smoother finish.

Finishing Tip:

Have you ever seen white washed items before? Well I wanted a slight grey tint so I did the same thing where you can take latex paint and dilute it with water to create a more translucent stain sort of finish, but I did it with grey. The more water you add, the more translucent it will be. I used a foam brush to wipe it on, then almost immediately wiped it off. After letting that dry I applied a clear coat to protect everything.

Step 9: Installing the Countertop

To install the countertop I simply crawled inside and screwed through some wooden scrap strips I screwed into place…and you can see how taking the time to scribe the two edges really makes a difference. Then for the shelf up here I screwed a cleat to the corner where there is framing, then cut in a receiving notch so my shelf could sit on top and allow me something to screw down onto. The left terminates into the cabinets so I could go to the inside and go directly into the end grain.

Annnnd I’m going to call that another project done. I’ll leave you links to the videos showing you how to build cabinets and also me installing these in case you’re interested. I hope this video has given you some good tips or inspiration if making cheap countertops is on your to do.

Things I Used to Build The Cheap Countertop:

• Triton Oscillating Belt Sander
• Total Boat’s Gleam 2.0 Spar Varnish
• DAPS Weldwood Wood Glue

Let’s Build A Bar In A Box

In this video, I’m going to show you how to build a bar in a box. Not only is it great for entertaining, it’s great for small spaces. It can be easily compact when not needed but open up when you’re entertaining. Let me show you have to build it.

Materials I Used to Build the Bar in a Box

• Wood
• Woodglue
• Screws
• Armorite
• Caulk
• Bar in a Box Plans

Step 1: Building the Main Body of the Bar in a Box

I’m going to start off by building the main body. I’m using DAP weldwood wood glue on every joint then a brad nailer to pin things together. For material, I’m using an exterior grade MDF called Armorite. Armortie is a dream to cut on the CNC so it’s my first choice for projects I’ll be painting.

Step 2: Placing Trim Around the Edges of Each Body Section

Next I could lay the box I’m making over, overhanging the bottom so the unit lays flat on the workbench. Then I crawled inside and laid down a bead of glue all along the edge. This is so I could pin on some trim. This might seem confusing for a moment but you’ll see how it all comes together shortly.

For right now I only placed four pieces of trim on, and left a gap in the center. This is so I could flip the entire thing over, again moving the unit to the edge so it lays flat, then applied more glue to the inside of the overhanging trim boards. These trim boards will catch a panel that will eventually become the front of the unit. Mine was a little tight but it was nothing a little stomping couldn’t fix. To hold it in place while the glue set up, I used a few pin nails all along the perimeter.

I wish I would have stood it up at this point to show you what I was doing, but I didn’t. So let me skip ahead and give you a visual on where I’m going with all of this. Once placed on it’s bottom, it will not only be able to be rolled around, but the panel and trim will create a front, then what I do next with a divider will create a sectioned off inside.

Step 3: Adding Dividers Inside the Bar in a Box

Now that you see where I’m going, lets go back to adding in the divider. This will create two inside cubbies so I placed it right in the center. To avoid measuring, I actually grabbed the shelves that I already cut to length and used two to act as spacers, setting one at the base and one at the top to make sure the divider was going in parallel. To pin it in place, I used my speed square to project down in the line of the edge. Unlike typical MDF, Armorite doesn’t mushroom out or flake off when using a nailer.

Step 4: Making the Bar in a Box Mobile

With that in, I moved to the side of the unit to start building a box. This will be the bottom platform that will house the casters. I again used wood glue and brad nails to join things together. BTW: I have a set of plans that have a cut list and material list if you want to build your own.

This box, I clamped to the bottom side of the unit so that I could climb back on top of my workbench to secure it from the top side.

As far as mobility goes, I don’t expect to move this thing a lot so I only put on two fixed casters. However, another option is to put on four swiveling casters that will give you more mobility. I placed my two fixed casters on one side then what I’ll call a foot on the other. This foot is just long enough so that when the unit is sitting flat, the casters don’t touch the ground. This will ensure the bar can’t roll around until I tilt it slightly up on one end and intentional wheel it where I want to go. While giggling of course.

Step 5: Finishing the Front Trim and Adding Shelves

Ok with the bar in a box body upright, now I can finish out the front trim. This is as simple as cutting the pieces to length then gluing and nailing them in place. I carried the bottom right trim piece to my house and forgot it, so just image that in place as well.

Now lets go to the inside of the unit and add in some shelves. Keep in mind you could add as many or as few as you wanted but I personally only wanted one shelf per side. My plan for keeping things from falling over is to run small metal tubing across the front. I made all my location marks using a square then counterbored with a drill bit just slightly larger than the tubing. On the center divider, I made a through hole. This way, once done, I could feed the tubing in from the left, go through the center, and go into the right wall.

I’ll glue these in later but for now, I left them dry and moved on to making the doors. Which is a really similar process to making the bar in a box body.

Step 6: Making the Doors

I started by building a box using wood glue and brad nails. Then I lined the edge with a bead of more wood glue to add on trim. Again, this trim will eventually be the show face you see. So right now I’m building it upside down. But by doing it this way, I’m able to flip it over and easily insert the front panel so that it’s captured to this trim and flush to the front. You just have to make sure it’s seated down all the way when you’re securing it.

Step 7: Adding Shelves to the Doors

Next I did the same process that I did to the body by adding in shelves where I wanted them, if you use my plans you can certainly use my dimensions which fit standard bottles, or you can adjust them to store the items you’re looking to shelve. After adding in the cabling, I added on an adjustable foot.

So when the wings fold out, this foot will be able to drop down to the ground and lock into place. To do this, I started by drilling two through holes for carriage bolts. Once put through the foot’s slots, I added a wing nut to the inside to give me a locking feature. The great thing about this is even if the bar is on slightly uneven ground, it won’t matter because each wing will be able to drop it’s foot down independently of the other.

While I had the door on my workbench, I DAPed and caulked everything. I’m using Platumn Patch by Dap to fill in any of the nail holes or seams that will show on the face. Then for the caulk I used Alex’s Fast Dry.

After doing it once, I repeated it all again to build a second. Making sure they were mirrored to each other and not identical!

Step 8: Hanging the Wings onto the Body of the Bar in a Box

Things are looking right, so lets hang them on the body! I used a small spacer to rest on the platform of the body to set the door on and create the clearance needed. I tried to drop the foot down to hold it’s position. Didn’t work, so I instead hooked my foot on the underside and just made sure to have my drill ready. I like to pre drill for the smaller screws that come with the hinges but it’s really as simple as pre drilling then attaching with screws.

After repeating on the other side, I’ll now show you what I got. I’ll stand on the other side of the bar to not obstruct your view, but the idea is I could have a consolidated footprint when not in use, but then easily flip out a door, drop the foot. Then flip out the other wing, and drop the foot….when I do want to use it. Cool.

Step 9: Building a Top to the Bar in a Box Body

Now let me work on a top. I went with two layers of the same material that this entire unit is made from which is an exterior rated MDF called Armorite. You can get 1” thick Armorite but 1/2” is way easier and cheaper to get a hold of so I cut then glued two pieces together to create the 1” thickness.

Armorite Tips and Tricks

Since I discovered Armorite last year, you’ve been seeing use it more and more for projects where regular MDF simply wouldn’t be an option. To have an exterior rated MDF truly is a game changer. Even when getting wet, it does not swell and fall a part, it’s incredible to machine coming right off being cut nice and smooth, and it has Zinc borate in it to resist termites and other insets. I’ll leave you a link to locate Armorite near you.

Step 10: Expanding the Top of the Bar in a Box

To accommodate the body expanding by the doors folding out, I also need the top to somehow expand out. That’s where these cool little hinges come in, they are called flap hinges. They are kinda tricky to drill for because they are only a portion of a circle so you can’t use an entire forester bit like you can on regular cabinet hinges. However, a simple fence at the drill press solves this issue.

I set the fence so that most of the bit was going into the material but the rest was going into the fence. Then I would use the hinge itself to gauge the depth. Once I repeated this on two sections, I could screw the hinges in place and test it out.

Ok so the idea Is to place the two sections at the center, right on top so that when they are folded in, it’s nice and compact. But then I can flip them out to expand. After positioning the top sections squarely, I pre drilled then secured with screws. I didn’t like how the doors could be set at any angles, so I added in a stop block to dictate the exact position. Nice and simple.

Step 11: Painting the Top of the Bar in a Box

I actually have an entire video outlining the proper way to paint MDF so I’ll link to that video for you. For the top I chose a black laminate which can be a little tedious to apply but is actually quite simple. First thing to know is you want to band the edges first. I cut a big sheet into small strips that are slightly oversized.

To apply it, you use something called contact cement. It’s traditionally sold in a can that you can brush on but Dap has actually come out with a spray form that I love. I use cardboard as a backer to catch the overspray.

When using contact cement you need to apply it to both surfaces that will be adhered together. You can see I use an assortment of trash to collect the overspray. Then unlike wood glue, you actually let the surfaces dry until the cement is tacky, this is anywhere from 3-10 mins depending on climate, then you push them together. A roller is a great tool to have around to apply pressure but you can use anything that won’t scuff the surface.

Step 12: Placing Edging on the Face of the Bar in a Box

After getting all the edges banded, then you repeat on the faces. I actually wanted the two center pieces to be seamless so after biscuit joining them together and screwing them down to the body of the unit, I repeated by spraying both the MDF and the laminate, making sure to get the edges really well coated.

The reason you want to leave the piece oversized is because it’s way easier to use a flush trim bit and router to make it perfectly flush after the fact, than trying to align two pieces perfectly fit for each other. Again apply pressure with anything that won’t scuff the surface. Haha.

One last thing to note, once the surfaces are in contact with each other, they don’t come a part easily. Again, it isn’t like wood glue where you can slip it around after the fact. So make sure you like it before you stick it.

Step 13: Pre-drilling For and Adding Door Hinges

Last thing I needed to do was drill for the hinges. To prevent the forester bit from walking around on you when you start drilling, you first want to predrill with a small drill bit. Then to prevent the edge and the face of the laminate from tearing out, I clamped a board in place. I used my glue cauls on the edge and a jig with a through hole for the bit on the top. Once the tip of the forester bit found my pre drill, I clamped the jig in place and drilled down until the depth was correct for the hinge to be flush. Once you break through the laminate, you can remove the jig.

Step 14: Attaching the Wings to Finish the Bar in a Box!

Next, the second pair of wings can be attached and I’ll call this project done!

I ended up adding a handle to the side to help tilt it up and move it. This is what it looks like when it’s compact and stowed away, but then to use it I just have to fold out the door and drop the foot. Fold out this door, and drop it’s foot. Fold out one top, and two top, and the bar is officially open. For you to see it from the bartenders side, I put two barrel bolts on the doors to keep them shut. On the inside there is plenty of storage space for bottles or shakers or glasses.

Actually, glasses are probably a bad idea if your unit will actually be moved a lot but I see keeping mine full during the nice seasons then I’ll empty it and stow it away during the really cold season.

Thing I Used in The Bar in a Box Build:

• DAP Weldwood Wood Glue
• Brad Nailer
• Armor Dog Peg Clamps
• Wilker Do’s DIY Plywood Workbench Plans

If you’ve been following my journey, you’ll know that I purchased a commercial space, called The Wood Shed, here in the Hill Country of Texas. In the back yard area there is this small grove of live oaks and at the time there was a worn out tree house spanning across some of them.

I tore it down almost immediately but then started on building this 700 square foot floating deck that uses only the surrounding trees to support it. This was a massive undertaking that is most certainly among my favorite of all time builds so let me start at the beginning and explain the process. 

The first thing I need to mention is this took months of planning. Jacob, who is the lead carpenter on this build does have a background in building tree houses but we still ran the plans through several engineers, had the trees inspected by an arborist, and Jacob even did a detail 3D model of the entire structure and trees. 

When building in the trees, it’s important to remember that they are living, growing, moving things so you have to allow for their movement or you can end up damaging the tree and having a failing structure. There are these special bolts called TABS, tree attachment bolts, that are massive and are specially designed to build in the trees. Each one of these is rated at 10,000 lbs which is nuts to me.

This threaded portion here will be inserted into the tree until half of the bose is buried in the trunk.

Then the deck will be resting on this portion of the bolt which will be sticking out. 

In order to get a level, all of these TABs need to be drilled on the same plane however, getting a level line on 8 different trees was kind of a problem but Jake showed me a new trick for it called a water level. It’s a simple tool made from a clear flexible hose with water in it then it works on the principal that water will always find it’s own level regardless if the ends of the tube are touching each other or 50 feet apart.

To use the tool, I would hold my end of the tube still, at the starting elevation then Jake could move his end of the tube to transfer that elevation to the next tree. 

After repeating on the other trees and getting the TAB locations marked, we started predrilling. The TABs need about 8 1/2” of depth, so we made a mark on the auger to have a visual on the progress. The important thing to pay attention to on this step is that we were going in straight. Not only square to the tree, but also keeping the bit level. To check for square, one of us would hold a square to give the driller a visual reference on the left and right position of the drill. 

Then I would stop every little bit to check a level and make sure my up and down position was also good. 

Once the depth was reached, now the bit is switched out to a different bit that will enlarge the outside of the hole and allow for the boss to nest into the tree.

This bit looks like a forstner bit but has a long center pin that fits in the pre drill hole I just drilled which helps keep the forester centered.

This step was incredibly challenging. We needed to go about 3 1/2” into the tree and just to give you a better idea on time, this one hole took 45 mins. These live oaks are no joke! 

After getting it drilled through, now was to insert the TAB into place. A few things here, we would sanitize the threads and anything else that woulld be coming in contact with the freshly drilled hole….maybe overkill, but it’s an easy thing to do.

When threading it in, it’s again important that it goes in level so after every few turns, we would throw a level on it.

It’s amazing just how quickly this gets too hard to turn by hand. So we added in some leverage by attaching a pipe wrench to the TAB. Then, when that wasn’t enough, adding a cheater bar to the pipe wrench.

This turned out to be everybody’s favorite part of the process as we all took turns rotating the TAB into place.

There were only 6 TABs but it took us an entire day to get them all set. Something we ended up trying to make the drilling step go faster was to wrap a ratchet strap around the tree and the drill. Then as Jake would hold the trigger and keep the drill straight, I would slowly tighten down on the ratchet, allowing it to assist in pushing the drill into the cut.

To give you an idea on how effective this was, the first three holes took us about 45 mins a piece to drill, but the strap cut that time down to 10 mins….and it saved our shoulders and chests from getting black and blue. 

On to Day 2! 

One beam, the smallest here up front, was the only one we were able to make ourselves, the other two had to be specially ordered and delivered.

It was actually really cool watching it all get delivered because the two beams showed up on their own truck and the driver was able to tilt up his bed and dump it directly on site. If you’re in Texas and have timber needs then I’ll leave you a link below or HERE.

We started by trying to set the back most beam, which is the second largest. It weighs 470 lbs and is around 24′ long.

The first obstacle was simply how to move such a heavy piece into place. It turns out we were able to wrap a few straps around it and use the power of all three of us to drag it over.

Next thing to figure out was to get it lifted 9’ in the air….we were going to try a few chain hoists, but since I have a fork lift, decided to try that first. That worked exceptionally well.

Not only was it easy lifting but the ability to side shift the forks and therefore the beam left and right was easy peasy. However, it’s worth noting that Jake has lifted heavy items like this before with just the use of chain hoists. 

Ok, that went smoothly, but now it was on to the biggest beam….this one weighs 470 and is 24 feet long.

We actually tried the same method of pulling it but had no luck. So I went and grabbed another useful tool….a side by side. We strapped onto one side of the beam and used it to drag it forward.

Once the tail passed the trees, I used the fork lift to pick it up and bring it back into place. This way we could use the side by side once again to drag it in to the groove of trees and thread it into place. 

Every step on this project was something new to figure out. We would start off with the main objective of something, in this case, we need to get this beam over and up there, then just work out how to do that little by little until eventually, our objective was met and we could look to repeating the process on the next challenge. 

After setting the two largest beams, setting the third was a piece of cake! To make the smallest one….which btw: small in this case is 34’ feet long and weighs 950lbs …..we cut each beam to the same length then lamented it together to make up a three layered beam.

Even though it’s heavy, Jake and I found it wasn’t too heavy for us to simply lift it up and carry it over into place. 

Once all three beams were in place, now we could attach the unique hardware. Each beam has two TABs. At one end there is a static arrangement…

…while the other end has a dynamic arrangement.

The static will stay stationary but the dynamic has a long slot that the TAB goes through, which will allow movement room as the tree grows or moves.

First two days and two major steps down, now it was on to day three which was another tough one….setting the joists. The element that really makes this a tough job is that we need to get every single one 10’ in the air. Also, because of our spans and load, every piece of material we’re working with is not only huge and also very heavy. 

We started the day off by looking at the plans and marking off where each joist needed to be located on the beams. I can not stress to you how incredibly valuable having a set of detailed plans was. Jake invested so much time perfecting things digitally in the 3D model where every angle and length was accurate so that when we moved to the next step, he could easily call out the exact location or length or angle or answer to any other question posed. If you’re tackling something as equally complex, I highly recommend the time investment. 

So one thing that made joist day so tough is the weight of everything and getting every board lifted up and moved into place, but another was every joist required two different angles to be cut in on either end. Because I didn’t just want a massive floating deck that was 9’ in the air with no posts going down to the ground…I also wanted the deck to have curves which meant the front of a joist could need a 16.4 degree cut but the back might need a 117 degree cut.

We worked out a system where Jacob would make all the cuts on the joists, on the ground, then him and I would helf the joist up and onto the beams where David was stationed. From there, we would not only place the joist on it’s tick mark on the beam but also make sure the over hang off the beam was correct. 

There was a ton of blocking needed throughout the deck, not only in between each joists where each beam was but also around the trees. So David and I would keep ourselves busy while Jake would be cutting the next joist, by adding in the blocking. The blocking in between the joists prevent the joists from being able to roll.

then the blocking around the trees of course gives us framing members to attach to while also giving the tree plenty of room to grow in the future. With these being live oaks, we left about 7” of room on all sides of the trees. 

Just a tip if you’re working up high like this, we constantly would screw in temporary scraps on the underside of the joists to create a shelf to hold up the next board we would be putting in. This way you don’t have to hold it flush on top. 

The deck is divided in kinda of two distinct sides with three joists laminated together being here.

Day three was us setting these three joists then everything to the left side.

Day four we all showed up kinda smoked but ready to repeat the process to set the joists to the right of the three joists. 

The second day of any process is always easier in the sense that the system is figured out, the tools needed are set up and a groove between team members is established. Which is always a great feeling for me.

One unique thing we had to figure out on this right side of the deck was coming off at an angle from the three joists to the front beams. This was complicated because One) the steep angles were a new challenge for Jacob to figure out how to cut with a circular saw. The problem is the blade can only be set so far over. He ended up making up a jig that he could rest the shoe of the saw on to raise it up higher on one side and give him the additional angle needed. Then he would make two cuts in order to get the depth needed. That’s a great trick. 

Then the second thing to figure out was attaching them securely. We ended up cutting and placing these small blocks that have an angle cut in on one side. This way, as the joist was placed in it’s needed location we would have plenty of meat to attach into.

Throughout the entire deck we were using a combination of screws and nails. Typically using nails to pin items into place and get them positioned and set but then coming back with screws to squeeze things together. In some areas, like these angled joists we would also come back with metal straps and bolts to reinforce the connection. Other hardware used was joists hangers on any joists not on a beam….for these we grabbed the standard hangers but gave them all a coat of black paint before installing them.

After the angled joists were installed we went back to tossing up then installing the regular joists that spanned from the front beam to the back.

It was really cool at this point to walk under the deck not only is it beautiful to look at but it’s a crazy cool feeling to watch the progress as the day goes on.

Also on the front, it was spectacular to see the curves coming to life. You could walk under the front edge, looking up, and follow the bends that definitely give it a gracefulness but added so much additional work. 

Day 5 started with another slightly unique system, sister joists together in order to span from the center, largest beam, to the front most beam. These will make up the forward most area of the deck that will be the tightest radius but create a very quaint and cozy viewing or seating option, once the deck is complete. 

It’s a fun thing to experience, building a deck in the trees….because the more boards you throw up and attach, the more walking area you’re giving yourself. To get to one point to the other we would most often just balance beam across and stay up on top, but scaffolding and as many tall ladders as possible under was also a time saver. Oh and if we were working in one area for a bit, then just throwing up a full sheet of plywood to use as a sitting area and work bench was very handy. 

At this point, we were all three very tired….it’s not only hard work but it’s also summer in Texas. Thank goodness we had the wonderful shade of the trees themselves as we were building. But looking out over the deck from either the bottom side or the top side, it was extremely easy to feel proud and also excited by what we were doing.

Now of course there is a lot more to go but I’ve had to break this project into a few parts because there is so much involved. In the next episode I’ll start right here and show you how we capped off and joined all the tails of the joists to eventually create the stunning curves you see in the final deck.

Stay tuned if you’re interested in seeing it and leave me a comment down below on what you think about it so far. 

Things I Used in This Project:

• ISOtunes Ear Protection
• Nelson Treehouse Tabs
• Sketchup
• Lifting Straps
• Beams

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Thinking about building an heirloom chair? Check out this DIY project where I had a very unique experience as a first time heirloom chair builder!

The process of taking raw material and turning it into something functional, has always struck me as a magical process. So to have the opportunity to start by splitting a log then spending my days transforming it’s pieces into a finely crafted piece of furniture, that will most certainly lost my entire lifetime, is extraordinary.

Throw in the fact that I’m in the tranquil Tennessee countryside surrounded by hand tools and good company, there is no wonder I always come back reinvigorated and at peace. 

Greg Pennington is a master chairmaker in Hendersonville, TN who I met only a year ago but who I feel like I’ve known lifetimes. Not only is his friendly demeanor infectious, but he is an incredible teacher full of valuable knowledge and information. 

Building at Greg’s always starts the same, with splitting a log to then turn into a piece of furniture. He not only teaches you how to use the traditional tools for this task but also the reason behind it.

If you split a log along it’s grain and let it dictate it’s path then it will be worlds stronger than a similar piece you cut at the bandsaw or tablesaw. And if you’re interested in building a chair to last a lifetime, and then some, then that strength is needed. This is just one golden nugget of information I learned from Greg during the class. 

I’m predisposition to feel at home in a shop because it’s very much my happy place. However, Greg’s shop brings on a new level of joy and comfort that I don’t experience anywhere else. The atmosphere, and the work, makes me feel relaxed, at peace, and meditative even. It’s an environment that I can potentially joke with a friend on an adjacent shave horse, or sit in an easy silence and listen to the unique tool noises. 

Greg is making chair making more accessible by offering templates for several different chairs, jigs, and rockers, this one included. There are links in the description for Greg’s class schedule as well as the templates available.

Greg’s class offers me the opportunity to use an assortment of tools that I don’t typically incorporate in my normal projects. Coming from using mostly power tools, it’s interesting and exciting to me to see and understand which hand tools takes the place of which power tool.

I’ve done power carving before where I’ve removed a lot of material at once to try and shape something, and it was very satisfying. But it’s just a different sort of satisfation, using a scorp and feeling the sensation of removing one chunk at a time.

Then moving to a tranvisher to smooth out the rough marks left from the scorp…

then moving to a spoke shave to remove the rough marks left from the travisher…

to then move to a card scraper and be left with an unmarred seat that looks smooth and flawless. 

Making this very traditional Windsor chair, it’s easy in the sense that Greg won’t allow you to mess it up, but it’s a lot of work. It’s full of details that require patient and attention but the fact that it takes so much intentional thought and movement, makes the end of the week’s result that much more satisfying. 

It’s a little surreal to me that I will have this item for the rest of my life. Wherever I go, this chair will be with me. Then even after I pass, it could very well go through another person’s lifespan as well. I can only think of one or two other things that share the same longevity. So this is special, and my hands made it, out of a tree. 

Sticking to the traditional Windsor style, after I perfected the chair, I painted it with Real Milk Paint. First with two coats of red then two coats of black. The idea behind the color scheme is so when wear spots start showing up on small areas of the chair, slight red will show through instead of bare wood. 

I’m using Real Milk Paint for this final finishing touch. Real Milk Paint is known for their traditional color palette which is based on antique furniture. This is an environmental friendly, non-toxic, powedered paint where you just add water. The fact that it comes in a powder form means it doesn’t have a shelf life and also gives you the freedom to mix up your needed amount on a project to project basis. It has an extremely fast dry time of 30 mins so I was able to get all my coats of paint done in a single day instead of prolonging the steps over multiple days. I love Real Milk Paint  because it acts much like a wood stain, in that it absorbs into the wood rather than lay on top of it. This allows for all the intricate details of the piece to be seen,  even through the paint.

If you’re curious, the tape on the bottom is applied before paint, so that after things are buffed and prepped for oil, I would have a clean spot to sign and date my work before applying a few coats of oil to it. 

If you are looking for a project as a relaxing escape or a unique learning experience, I highly recommend taking a class from Greg. You’ll not only be able to take away a mind full of useful information but also an heirloom piece of furniture that you’ll always be proud of.

By the way, Greg has some templates and patterns to help you build a chair on your own. Check them out here.

Thinking about making your own DIY backlit LED sign? Check out this project where I used a stencil to make this LED back lit sign for a man cave.

Could also be a great sign project for a child’s room!

My husbands man cave has been needing a nice backlit sign for a good while now.  In an effort to avoid the typical bar room neon look, I decided to build him a custom sign with full color LED strips that are fully adjustable on a color wheel, directly from his cell phone.  We agreed on “The Dubya” for the text on the sign.  Our last name is “Wilkerson” and some of my husband’s friends call him by the nickname “Dubya”.  So when the subject of picking the text of the sign came up, we pretty well knew which way we would go.  This is a great scrap wood project.  I was able to complete this build using only wood left over from previous projects.

Things I Used In This DIY Backlit LED Sign Project:

• Acrylic Sheet/Plexiglass
• Rotary Tool
• Bit for Outlining
• Bit for Filling in
• Tongue and Groove Planking
• Packing Tape
• X-Acto Knife
• Glue
• Glue Bottle
• Orange Push Blocks
• Biscuit Joiner
• Right Angle Squares
• T-Track Table
• Track Saw
• Brad Nailer
• Drill

Making a Stencil

To make the stencil, I went to a local FedEx with a text file on a thumb drive and had them print off my sign. Mine says “The Dubya” but of course yours could say or be anything. I had it printed off at the size I wanted my sign, brought it home, and then taped it down to my dining room table. I used boxing tape to tape over the lettering which gives it some rigidity whenever you are using it as an actual stencil.

Using an X-Acto knife, I cut out all of the lettering, making sure not to lose the inside pieces of the letters because they will be needed later. Make sure you place a board underneath the printout before cutting so you do not scratch your tabletop!

Making the Sign

I purchased my piece of plexiglass from the big-box store and chose a size that was slightly larger than the size I needed so that I could cut it to the exact size I wanted it. To cut the Plexiglas I used my table saw, making sure to use painters tape on the cutline to reduce the tear-out on the backside as best as possible. Note: It is way cheaper to order the plexiglass offline!

I then placed the stencil on the top of my plexiglass and used a sharpie to trace out the lettering. Then I went through with my Dremel tool and started etching the stenciled area. However, if I were redoing this project I would actually change up this part just a bit. By etching on the front surface you can touch the etched lettering at the end of the project. So instead I recommend tracing the lettering on the front but then flipping the plexiglass over and etching on the back. If you do this, be sure to laydown a towel before laying the plexiglass down so that you don’t scratch the surface.

For etching, I’m using a “Dremel” tool made by craftsman however you can find a cheap tool at any hobby store or big box store. I first used a small fine bit to outline the letters then came back with a larger bit to fill them in (both bits are linked above). You’re not going for a lot of depth here, you just need a nice clean etched surface.

If you’re going to repeat this project, this is a good point to prop your feet up, turn on some music, and just get into the groove of the etching. It’s actually kind of relaxing : )

After getting all of the etching done I used sandpaper to smooth it to the touch.

Making the Back

I set that aside and started working on making a back. I am using quarter inch plywood as well as some tongue and groove paneling material I had on one of my material racks. (Construction grade plywood is fine since it won’t be seen). I decided to overlay the tongue and groove paneling onto the plywood so that the panel material will be seen from the front of the sign. When I went to cut them to the lengths I originally needed, I realized I was short by one piece. To work around this, I took all of the pieces to the miter saw and cut them into random lengths. Note: You can make your pieces go horizontal, diagonal, or vertical. Whatever you like best! : )

I wanted a random pattern for the back so I first dry fitted the pattern to make sure I was going to be happy with it before permanently placing them. I played around with the placement of all the pieces until I was satisfied with their arrangement. I laid down glue and then started attaching them permanently. I would lineup the pieces with the right edge and let it overhang on the left edge. Then I added some weight and let it dry.

While that was drying I looked around my shop to see what I had on hand to start making the frame. I found a couple of suitable pieces on the lumber rack, cut them to length, and then moved to the table saw to cut in some dados.

I made a dado on the front of the frame for the LED strips and the plexiglass to go into and then cut a rabbit on the back for the back to rest in. To make this go quicker I exchanged my table saw blade for my dado stack. However if you do not own a dado stack, just make multiple passes with your table saw blade.

Next I turn my blade 45° and cut a miter on all of the edges of the frame pieces. Miter joints are not very strong so to reinforce these joints I am using a biscuit joiner to cut a biscuit slot on each mitered edge. If you do not have a biscuit joiner then a good alternative is a pocket hole jig. I turn my biscuit joiner to 135° and used a 0 biscuit.

Gluing up the Frame

I started gluing up the frame, however instead of gluing all four pieces together right now I’m only gluing the two side pieces to the bottom. I need the top left off so that I can later slide in the plexiglass material. But to make gluing up the three pieces easier I am going to dry fit the top piece into place. I applied glue to the bottom of the two side pieces and attached it to the bottom piece. I used my four right angle clamp jigs, as well as a ratchet strap to glue these together and then let it sit overnight.

By this time the back was dry and ready to cut to size. I use my track saw to cut the overhang flush to the edges, completing the back.

After letting the frame sit overnight I tested the plexiglass in the dado to make sure I was not going to have any problems with the fit. It turns out the plexiglass was still a little too tall for the frame to fit together completely, so I slowly took off a little material at a time with my table saw until the fit was nice and snug.  Once satisfied with the fit of the plexiglass, I removed it from the frame, set it aside, and gave the entire frame a coat of stain and two coats of water-based poly.

With the back and the frame dry, I glued and nailed the back into the rabbit I had cut earlier.

Now I can start putting in the lights. I am using some LED flexible lights so all I have to do is peel off the paper backing and stick them where I want them. I first dry fit the lights in the dado slot to make sure I was going to have enough clearance. Once satisfied, I took off the paperback and started sticking them permanently. Making sure that they were seated all the way into the dado slot.

With the lights in place I slipped in the plexiglass sign and put the top of the frame on. At this point I added glue to the biscuits on the top of the frame peace and clamped them in place and let them dry.

I let the glue dry for two hours, came back, and plugged in the lights. If you are doing this project then I highly recommend plugging in the lights before you add them to the frame…haha. If you do not, it would be awfully disappointing to go through the effort and the lights not work. Thank goodness that was not the case here so I was good to go.

Hanging the Frame:

To install the frame I took the controller box and stuck it to the back near the bottom. I left enough room on the frame so that the controller box would be flush with the outside of the frame. I drilled a hole near the bottom of the frame for the plug wire to be passed through.

To hang the frame I’m using a French cleat.  If you’re interested in learning more about this method of easily hanging things on your walls in the shop or the house, check out my detailed power tool french cleat system tutorial found here for further details. I used a scrap board and cut a 45° angle on it then I attached it to the back of the frame. I then located the stud on the wall and attached another 45° cleat to the studs.

So that’s it! I had a great time building this project and I hope that your are inspired to either replicate it to fit your particular space or possibly build one for a friend who would value a custom backlit LED sign.  As I mentioned, this sign was built entirely out of scrap (not including the plexiglass and LEDs).  This is an ideal scrap wood project and has added a nice touch to the husbands man cave.

If you liked this project and want to stay up to date with what I’m building, then be sure to sign up for my email newsletter and you’ll get an email when I post something new. See you soon!

*Disclosure: Some links in this email are affiliate links meaning, I may get a commission if you make a purchase. Thanks for your support in this way!

Halloween is one of my favorites and even though I don’t have kids to take trick or treating, my company does let us dress up and have a costume contest. Yeah…I work for some pretty cool people. So last year I went as a drilling rig, and this year I went as a green GI Joe from Toy Story. Check out the photos and the step by step instructions if you are interested in making your own.

                

 

WilkerDon’t: The spray paint ended up not liking the black so I had to use another (lighter colored) top in the end. So learn from my mistake and don’t buy black.
I paid $4 for the shirt and pants, then $5 for the shoes and $2 for the belt. Awesome.

2) Next thing I did was hit the Dollar Tree where I purchased a helmet, and grenade, dog tags and binoculars, and a little hand gun.

3) Last stop was Home Depot where I purchased 4 cans of green spray paint!

4) I set everything out and just started spraying. Ignore the wig in the photo below because I ended up not using it and just painted my hair instead.

5) I grabbed Cody’s Ka-bar but didn’t want to permanently paint the leather so I wrapped it in electrical tape first then gave it a good coating. To attach it to my leg I used duck tape (because it’s wide) and just went through the holster then around my leg. Remember, everything will be painted green in the end, so different material doesn’t matter too much. Plus…it’s just for fun. ; )

People will still get what it is but I thought the additions made it look cooler.

7) To make the stand, just stand on some cardboard and trace a shape around your feet then cut and paint.

This costume might look over the top but it was actually super simple….it’s mainly just spray painting.

8) I picked up a tube of green face paint from the Halloween store for $2 and applied it the morning of. After the contest I washed most of it right off with soap and water, then got the remaindered off with face wash.

• Buy clothes of light colored so the green will have an easy time covering it up. (The jacket I ended up using was baby pink.)
• The green makeup worked for my face and back of my hands, but I ended up having to use the spray paint for my palms.
• Paint the clothes a few days before you have to wear them so the smell will have time to die down.
• I ended up not attaching the foot stand to my feet because we were having a company lunch and I knew I would be walking around a bunch…so I just cut it out and carried it where I wanted to go then would stand on it to pose.
• If you don’t want to paint your face then look into a green bodysuit/face mask that you can just pull over but still see through.
• If you don’t want to mess with fabricating a bazooka then just grab a toy gun and paint it green.

The inspiration:

I have 39 invites, and looking around it was going to cost about $100. I was not willing to pay that much for the invites alone, so I set out to make them myself and found a good picture tutorial here with the these of the diaper invites and everything.

Now for those who read my blog will probably already know that most of my projects require a drill and nail gun, which I’m comfortable with, but tell me to use “cloud scissors and a tag punch” and I’m already lost! So even though her picture instructions might be great for experience scrapbookers, I had to make two before the end result looked presentable. Just in case there are others like me out there that don’t do paper crafts regularly, below are my verbal instructions to go along her picture ones.

1) The side flaps on the template really confused me at first, but leave them on and trace it out on a sheet of paper of your choice. I wanted some pretty design scrapbooking paper, but since all I could find was one sided I opted for plain pink just like the original.

Here is a fun and super easy project….

1) I printed off the Hunger Games symbol from a simple internet search, then used an exacto knife to cut it out.

2) I grabbed a plain tee out of my closet and put the stencil where I wanted it.

3) Then, using a spray bottle, I sprayed it lightly with bleach and then lifted the stencil to get this!

Wanna see the very first project I did, and probably still my favorite to date?

Like I have already said in a previous post, I love trees. I find them very peaceful and beautiful, so when my husband and I first moved into our house and I got a look at our 14 foot walls in the living room, I instantly thought of putting a tree on it.
Note: I think it speaks volume of how supportive my husband is that when I first asked (having no previous experience with making things) “Hey, would it be ok if I put a giant tree here?” that he instantly said “yeah, that would be cool” and let me get on my way with it. Yep, I am blessed. : )

Ok ok, enough praises for him…down to business. Here is the finished product….

It clocks in at just over 14 feet high and is four pieces, not including the birds. If you are interested, here are step by steps.1) With my imagination over reaching my drawing skills (meaning even my stick figures turn out looking like a lamp post wearing a hat) I went online and found a tree that would work for the space here.

2) Next I went to home depot and bought two sheets of oak plywood, which come in 4 feet by 8 feet sheets, and with the help of my husband, I was able to screw the sheets into place so that I could take the tree I found online and project it up on the wall. Once I positioned it just right, I took out a mechanical pencil and went to town tracing it.

Note: don’t worry too much about getting the lines just right, especially with something like a tree, because once you get it on the wood you are able to go back and correct anything you don’t like. I spent probably two hours going over every single branch making sure I liked the width and the length and the curve and everything else. I just erased anything that looked a little funky and made it the way I wanted.

3) Now I took the oak sheets off the wall and hauled them out to the garage to start the cutting process.

Here is a Wilker Don’t: I waited until June to take on this project which might not be a problem for you but I live in Texas. The summer days were about 100-102 and I was sweating like crazy working out in my stuffy garage. Turning on fans would only blow sawdust in my face, and it was just a mess. So, if you plan this out, I would plan for a cooler part of the year to start.

4) The next step was to just start cutting! I used a jigsaw and really there isn’t special trick, this project just required a lot of patience. I couldn’t go too fast or the wood would start splintering off, and I would still have to stop every few mins and cool off the blade: I would damp a small throw away cloth and when the blade would heat up too much, I would stop cutting and use the damp cloth to cool it down. I started from one side and just continued on with it.

Finally, after all that hard work a tree limb appeared!

..… aaaannnnd then I got started on the next one…. : 0

Once this second piece was finished, that competed the canopy. Next I cut out the trunk which was made up of two separate pieces, because in order for the grain to keep it’s consistency and all run the same way (I picked horizontal), I had to cut the plywood and lay it horizontal instead of vertical. If you plan to paint your project instead of staining it then you don’t need to worry about which direction the grain is running.

5) I made sure everything fit the way it should then gave it a light sand job to just smooth out some of the rough edges. Then I picked out some pretty stain and went to town again. Note: I used the color Red Oak

After letting the front stain dry, I went along the sides and stained them too. As you can see in the below photo, this really darken the overall color so be careful when you are choosing your stain.

6) Next I grab my nail gun and portable air compressor and with the help of my husband (again) and two of our best friends, I started hanging the sucker! I still need to go back and fix the switches we moved to make room for the tree, but after all that work I was ready sit down.

Note: I used liquid nail on top of 2″ nails because I did not have many limbs that fell on a stud. So I figured between the two, it should be plenty supported.

Total Time: 5 days, with very little sleep
Total Cost: $75

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