Show us what you've built this summer!

[KregRep]

Summer is a great time to head out to your garage or shop and get to work building the projects you've been dreaming of! 

Please take a few minutes and share with us what you've built this summer. You can share your favorite project, but we encourage you to share any and all of them!

Please include at least one photo (more than one is great, too!) and a description of your project: why you built it, if you followed a project plan, the type of wood and tools used, etc. Please upload your photo(s) directly to this discussion.

The goal here is to create a central resource for outdoor project inspiration, generate some fresh discussion, and show off what you've worked hard to build this summer!

Thanks in advance for sharing! We can't wait to see your projects!

[Rita B.]

I just finished this one!   I started building with the Kreg Jig last year so to say I am a newbie is a understatement!   I have built other projects but this is the first project I attempted to build by following a plan.   The plans are published in a Do It Yourself Magazine from the summer of 1999 that I stumbled across that I still had.  I chose the plan as a skill builder since it would allow me to attempt joinery techniques that I had never done before.   It was built using rabbet and miter and of course, pocket hole joints.  Since the end project was to be painted, I figured it could cover my mistakes and yes, there are many!   I used what the big box store referred to as whiteboard that I have since learned is a white pine vs yellow pine.  Also used was 3/4 inch and 1/4 inch plywood.   Each of the 4 sides are built as individual panels.   The frames of the panels were built with the white pine boards rabbeted to accept the quarter inch panels.   As you can see, there is a inner cabinet as well as a "box shelf" attached to the front panel to hold shoes.   The greatest thing I learned with this one is that I need to work really hard on my precise measurements.   That was a challenge with this one since each panel had to be made separately and square and secured as such that the cabinet as a whole to be square.   It is much larger than I had hoped and I had even reduced the length a bit from the original plan.   All in all,  lessons learned and most important, a gal has a place for shoes!!!

[Ken Darga]

Very nice, Rita.

Looks like it was a fun build and a useful piece.

[Rita B.]

Thanks Ken.   Not my favorite so far but it did offer me some skill building :)

[Ken Darga]

As you progress along, and decide to do a rebuild, you can always disassemble the unit and re-purpose the materials.

One learns as they go.

Learn the basic joinery and use the applicable joints in your build.

It beneficial to practice making various joints, using scrap wood or cut-offs.

I always keep cutoffs and use them to make test joints before proceeding to the final product.

One book I recommend is "The Joint Book", author Terrie Noll, publisher Chartwell Books, Inc..

Very well done and illustrated, simple and to the point.

Spiral bound to lay flat or fold.

approx 5x8 x 3/4" thick.

Useful to have in the shop and ones tool box.

PS---a second copy can also be located in the "think-tank".

[Ken Darga]

[Rita B.]

Sold!  Sounds like something I can refer to right in the shop.  It will be nice to have the visuals and looking at the book preview, it also covers such things as clamping technique etc     Things necessary for a successful outcome.   Thanks, my copy is due to arrive on Wed :)

[Rosemarie Ratvasky]

Nice, Rita! You deserve some more shoes now!

I'm still working on my first project, a workbench. Maybe I'll have pictures next week (fingers crossed)!

[Rita B.]

Thanks Rosemarie, and welcome to the group.   We cannot let the guys have all the fun!    I started with the bench too and have not stopped.   Good luck with yours and I hope to see some pics soon!

[Don Foley]

I'll add mine although it's still under construction.  It's an oriental design inspired coffee table for my daughter and son in law.  The photo below of a completed table is the inspiration found on the internet (I don't remember where).And the photo below of the frame piece is my reproduction.  The top is under construction and then the piece must be finished (which will prove interesting in itself).

The piece is being constructed of red oak and oak plywood.

Don

[Marta Davies]

After two years of building cat trees on the floor of my garage, I finally took a time out to build myself a work bench! I used the Kreg plan but with a few modifications: taller height, more cross braces, and wheels for easy maneuvering around the garage. I used basic 2x4s, and MDF for the shelf and top. I love this bench!!

[Ernie Slone]

Built this Little Free Lending Library for a friend. The roof will get copper cladding, and the door insets will be art glass. The lower level is for children's books, the middle fiction and non-fiction, and the top art books (she is an art professor). The shelves will take books 12 inches by 12 inches.

The library will sit on a short post in her front yard, with a sign saying: Take a Book, Leave a Book.

The basic construction is fairly straightforward, using about one sheet of plywood, plus a piece of recycled oak and some leftover redwood. All will get sealed. The hinges are outside-entry-door, powder coated for weatherproofing.

[robert lamb]

I was commissioned to build this display unit for a start-up company in San Diego.  I have owned my Kreg jig for over 5 years but have never used it until now.  I am now kicking myself for waiting so long. IT is incredible how solid the Kreg jig makes shelving units. To compliment the Panda theme I added 6" panels of Bamboo paneling and distressed the pine by burning and adding touches of Irish Moss and Special Walnut stain.