Build It Archives - Page 34 of 55

bedroom, book, Bookcase backer board, Books as decor, bookshelves facelift, Build It, storage

DIY Wall Bookrack

bookrack title 1

Who needs kids book storage that is easily accessible and holds a ton of books? I’m Jaime from That’s My Letter and today I’m sharing a DIY wall bookrack with free plans to build your own.

This bookrack building project will have all your books corralled in no time. The shelves are tapered and have plenty of depth for multiple books or thicker books.

Personally I love this display style storage because it allows kids to see the book covers, easily making reading more enticing!

I added a center cut out for style points, but this is totally optional. It doesn’t affect the operation of the bookrack.

At only 4 1/2″ deep the bookrack is unobtrusive but still provides plenty of useful storage.

Materials:

1 – 1x5x10 pine board
1 – 1x4x10 pine board
1 – 1x3x6 pine board
1 – 1x2x6 pine board
1/4″ plywood (1/2 sheet)
chop saw
measuring tape
pencil
sandpaper
wood putty
drill
pocket hole jig
1 1/4″ pocket hole screws
1 1/4″ & 3/4″ finish nails
finish nailer or hammer
wood glue
french cleat

Instructions:

Click here to download the step-by-step instructions to construct this bookrack. Read through plans first before beginning.

Cut list:

2 – 1×4 @ 31 ½” (sides)

3 – 1×5 @ 36” (shelf fronts)

1 – 1×4 @ 34 1/2” (bottom shelf base)

1 – 1×3 @ 34 ½” (middle shelf base)

2 – 1×2 @ 34 ½” (top shelf base & top cross support)

1 – ¼” plywood @ 36” x 31 ½” (back)

Step 1: Sides. Follow measurements in guide above to cut out sides. Use a jigsaw and clamps to hold your wood steady. Cut 2 sides.

Tip: To ensure sides are equal, clamp together then sand smooth.

Step 2: Shelf fronts. Attach (3) shelf fronts to sides at notched locations using glue and 1 ¼” finish nails. Read more

May 20, 2015/6 Comments/by Jaime Costiglio

Build It, Decor Adventures, Electrical, Hot Glue, light fixture, nailgun

Hello, it’s Jessica here from Decor Adventures. This month I have what came out to be one of my favorite projects to date. It’s how to make your own light fixture using just wood trim and wax paper, and I promise it will look great in any room in your house.

Everyone loves Pinterest for inspiration and ideas, and I’m no exception. I was looking through my pins the other day and saw this one of a stunning (and I’m sure expensive) light fixture. I instantly thought how easy it would be to DIY that light and set out getting my supplies ready.

Materials:
(contains affiliate links)

For Wood Frame

3/4″ x 1/2″ pine wood
Hand saw or Miter saw (or have it cut at the home improvement store)
9166 CORNER CLAMP
Nail gun and air compressor and nails
Spray paint
Old lamp shade or washer top of wire lamp shade frame
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Gorilla tape
Lampshade Pendant Kit

For Capiz Shells

Wax paper
Iron
Circle Punch
Sewing machine and thread
Scissors

Instructions

For this tutorial, you’ll learn how to make and attach the black wood frame to a light pendant kit after you make and put on the faux (wax paper) capiz shells. For a step-by-step of how to make the shells, see my post on how to make a wax paper capiz shell chandelier and follow the instructions on how to iron together the wax paper and sew them together.

How to make the wood “frame” for your light fixture:

Cut your 3/4″ pine trim into 12 pieces. Eight of them will be the same (shorter) length and 4 of them will be the same (longer) length. My pieces are 9 1/2″ and 14 1/2″. Make sure your 8 smaller pieces are the exact same length and same goes for your longer ones. If they aren’t, your 3-D frame will not fit together perfectly.

To assemble your boxes perfect for easier nailing, use a miter corner clamp. These are available at the home improvement store for about $25 and can be used for a lot of different projects. Insert two of your smaller pieces into each side of the clamp, making sure the ends line up.

Using your nail gun, nail into the wood to secure a corner.

How to Fill Voids and Knot Holes in Wood

How to Fill Holes and Knots in Wood | Pretty Handy Girl

Occasionally, you will get a piece of gorgeous wood that has voids or knots in it. You wouldn’t want to add wood putty, because it wouldn’t retain the look of the knots. But, you want a smooth surface. The solution is to fill the wood knots and voids with epoxy. The results will be beautiful and you’ll be hard pressed to find the patch afterwards.

Materials:

(contains affiliate links)

Instructions:

Begin by taping off the area around the holes, voids or knots. Press the edges of the painter’s tape down to seal it against the wood.

Remove the epoxy from the packaging. (I used Gorilla Glue Epoxy glue that sets up in 5 minutes.)

Snip or snap off the tip of the epoxy tubes.

Press the cap out of the plungers before trying to depress the plunger. Retain the cap to use if you have any leftover epoxy. Read more

May 4, 2015/59 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

Aged, Build It, dining room, distressing, stain, tablescape

Rustic Wood Farmhouse Table Top from Reclaimed Lumber

Reclaimed Lumber Farmhouse Table | Pretty Handy Girl

I’ve always wanted a rustic wood farmhouse table. I wanted a table that looked worn, well-loved and appeared to be over 100 years old. It’s very hard to achieve that look with new lumber. To get that rustic look, you either need old reclaimed lumber or the skills to stain and distress new wood. I chose the first option and bought reclaimed rafters from The ReUse Warehouse in Durham, NC.

They were very rustic to say the least. I was prepared to plane and glue them together myself, but I don’t own a planer (insert sad trombone sound.) Instead, I brought the rafters to Mark Kegler of Kegler’s Woodwerks. Mark has ALL the woodworking equipment and he convinced me to let him glue the tabletop together since I realized I also don’t have 5 bar clamps (Christmas wish list updated now.)

For fun I thought I’d show you the behind the scene pictures of the table top as it was being planed and ripped. That way you can view the process should you decide to piece together your own reclaimed lumber table top.

Behind the Scenes at the Shop:

First they ran a metal detector over the beams and then removed nails with an extractor.

Next, the rafters were fed through a planer to give them all a uniform thickness.

Reclaimed Lumber Farmhouse Table | Pretty Handy Girl

It was like Christmas morning watching the wood as it came out and I could see the of the beautiful grain revealed.

Mark and Randy used a straight line rip saw to cut the edges straight with the exception of two rafter edges that would be used for a live edge on the table. I was able to salvage the edges that they ripped off for later use.

Reclaimed Lumber Farmhouse Table | Pretty Handy Girl

The boards were glued with wood glue and clamped together. Then they were left to cure overnight. In the morning, the short ends of the table were cut square.

Back at home I built the table base (the apron and legs).

Finishing the Reclaimed Wood Table Top:

Remember the salvage I kept from Mark’s shop? I used it to cap the table as edge band to hide the end grain. Hold the edge band up against the end, mark and cut the excess off.

Add wood glue to the inside of the edge band. Read more

April 27, 2015/25 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

Build It, dining room, DIY, kreg jig, tablescape, Tutorial

How to Build a Table

Building a Farmhouse Table has been on my mind for several years. I was never crazy about our hand-me-down dining set. But, I never had the time to build a table from scratch. Now that the table is done, I don’t know why I put it off for so long. Building a table is relatively easy DIY project. You basically need four table legs, 1″ x 4″ boards for the apron and a table top. Depending on your style, you can use anything for the top. You can cut grooves into an existing table top to create the plank look, like Lauren from Bless’er House did:

Or you could use 2″ x 6″ lumber to create a new table top like Jaime from That’s My Letter did:

Or wrap MDF with galvanized sheet metal for a zinc top, like Traci from Beneath My Heart did:

Feel free to create a table top with something less conventional like a slab of marble, tempered glass or an old door! Use your imagination and creativity.

I chose to work with reclaimed lumber for a true farmhouse table top. I bought reclaimed rafters from The ReUse Warehouse in Durham, NC. When I paid for it, the lumber looked like this:

Reclaimed Lumber Farmhouse Table | Pretty Handy Girl

But, was transformed into this:

Reclaimed Lumber Farmhouse Table | Pretty Handy Girl

Here are the details for creating the reclaimed wood table top.

Today we’re going to learn how to build the table base!

How to Build a Table Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

4 Table legs (rope twist legs I used from Osborne Wood Products)
Table top
1″ x 4″ Premium Pine (poplar or other straight knot free wood)
Kreg Jig
2″ Pocket Hole Screws
(you may also need different depth screws if you have a thin table top)
Tape Measure
Combination Square
Clamps
Pencil

Optional: 2″ x 4″ board for additional center support

How to Build a Table Instructions:

Measure your table top and subtract 8″ from the length measurement (my table is 71″ long, so the measurement I need for the base is 63″.) Measure the table top width and subtract 5″ from that measurement (my table is 42″ wide, so the measurement I need for the base is 37″.)

Next measure the thickness of the top of your table legs. Then double that number. This will give you the width of both legs per side. Subtract this number to get the length of your apron rails. (For example, my table base final measurement is 63″ x 37″. My table legs are 4″ wide x 2 = 8″. Therefore my two side rails need to be 55″ and the end rails should be 29″.)

How to Build a Table | Pretty Handy Girl

Cut the 1″ x 4″ boards to the size you figured out above.

Lay your legs and apron rails upside down on a flat surface. Double check your measurements, square and the table top dimensions against the table base. Read more

April 24, 2015/25 Comments/by Brittany Bailey