Build It Archives - Page 36 of 55

Before and After, Build It, desk, stain, Tutorial, wood grain

Build a Wood Plank Desktop For About $40

Hey there, everyone! I’m Katie from Addicted 2 DIY. I’m so, so excited to be here today sharing this simple — and most importantly — inexpensive way to update a desk! I’m in the middle of updating our den/kid’s office space and one of the biggest things that had to go was the awful eyesore my boys used as a desktop.

This was the glorious before photo of their desk area. The particle board top was from the previous homeowners. While we were remodeling the house, we slapped a coat of paint on it until we could decide what to do with it. Four years later, I decided enough was enough. I was tired of feeling embarrassed when anyone saw this room. I took the old top off, painted the cabinets, and built a new wood top for it. Here’s how you can Build a Wood Plank Desktop for About $40!

Build a Wood Plank Desktop Materials:

8 – 2″ x 6″x 8′ pine boards
2 – 2″x 2″ x 8′ pine boards (if you need the extra width)
drill
2 1/2″ screws
compound miter saw
scrap pieces of 3/4″ wood
wood shims
belt sander and/or orbital sander
sandpaper discs and sheets (80 grit and 220 grit)
wood stain
polyurethane
paint brush

Build a Wood Plank Desktop Instructions:

If your desk area is straight or an L shape, you can ignore these four steps below and measure and cut your pieces to the length needed using your miter saw.

If your desk shape is similar to mine, follow these steps:

1. Cut your 2×6 pieces to slightly overlap the middle section on each side. Make sure the pieces are long enough to accommodate the angled cuts you’ll be making.

2. If you don’t have a tool to determine the cut angle, lay your middle pieces of wood on top of the side pieces you’ve already laid out and mark where the lines intersect.

3. Mark where the line intersects on the first and last pieces of wood with a pencil.

4. You can snap a chalk line to get your angle, or you can use a long ruler and draw the line with a pencil.

Determine the angle of your cuts based on where the miter saw blade lines up with the chalk line. In this case, it was 22.5 degrees. That being said, this desktop was built between two imperfect (and not completely square) walls and some of the cuts had to be tweaked slightly on the angle. Read more

February 25, 2015/18 Comments/by Addicted 2 DIY

Build It, cake plate, copper, party

Wood & Copper Cake Stand

Hello Pretty Handy Readers – Jaime here today from That’s My Letter to share a diy project that combines two of my favorite materials: wood and copper. I’m sharing how to make this wood and copper cake stand.

This is a fairly simple project that could be tailored to fit your style with paint or stain. I choose to leave the wood natural, only sealing it with clear polyurethane, because I love the contrast of the wood against the chocolate frosting (and most cakes around our house are made with chocolate frosting!).

The warm shiny copper is the star of the show here and can easily be found at any hardware store.

Supplies:

1×12 pine board scrap @ 10″l
1×8 pine board scrap @ 7 1 /4″l
3/4″ copper piping @ 12″
3/4″ wood dowel @ 12″
pipe cutter
jigsaw
finish nailer & 1 1/4″nails
drill & 7/8″ spade bit
measuring tape
pencil
sandpaper
clear satin spray polyurethane

Instructions:

Step 1: Use a plate or other 10″ circular object to trace a circle shape onto 1×12 scrap.

Step 2: Trace both a large circle shape onto the 1×12 and a smaller circle shape onto the 1×8. Then cut out circles using a jigsaw and sand edges well. Spray with clear satin polyurethane before assembly.

Step 3: On the smaller circle draw another even smaller circle (about 4″ in diameter). Make 3 equidistant holes with 7/8″ spade bit drilling only partially down into wood.

Step 4: Cut copper using pipe cutter into 4″ lengths. Cut wood dowel to 4″ lengths and shove inside copper pipe.

Step 5: Place copper & wood sections into pre-drilled holes in smaller wood circle. You can use some glue here. I chose to secure with a finish nail from the bottom as well. Now center the larger wood circle on top and trace the copper pipes with a pencil. Pre-drill holes into the underside of the top larger wood circle and attach the top (use glue if desired).

My copper pipes are very snug in the holes but I did use a little glue to be sure the wood doesn’t come off.

Maybe your next party needs a simple cake stand? Good luck with all your diy projects.

~learn more about Jaime~

Pin for later!

February 18, 2015/2 Comments/by Jaime Costiglio

accessories, Build It, Centerpieces, Contributor, decor, DIY, Home Decor, Tutorial, Upcycling

Rustic Wine Bottle Centerpiece

Hey everyone! Jacque here from The DIY Village again to bring you another quick DIY tutorial! A few years ago I was given a really cool set of drinking glasses made out of old wine bottles. Recently we purchased some new glasses but I wasn’t ready to donate the old glasses quite yet and decided to come up with a way to recycle them and keep them functional in our home. After some thought, my rustic wine bottle centerpiece was born.

MATERIALS:

1/2″ x 4″ x 4′ Poplar Board – Cut into 2- 5 1/2″ wide pieces
1/2″ x 5 1/2″ x 4′ Poplar Board – Cut in half
12 – 8 Penny Nails (Truss Hanger Nails)
1/8″ Drill Bit
Drill
3 1/2″ Hole Saw
Clamp
Sandpaper
Drill Press
Straight Edge (Speed Square)
Sliding Rule Square
Walnut Gel Stain
Foam Brush
Paper Towels
Pencil

Instructions:

Start by cutting the 5 1/2″ board in half to leave you with two boards approximately 24″ long.

Measure 3.5″ out from the center line and mark a line with your speed square. Repeat on the opposite side of your center line. Measure 7″ out from the two center lines and make a mark with your speed square. These will be the center points for your four openings.

Use the wine bottle glass as a guide to help center the glass on the board. Set the sliding rule square and use as a guide so that the glasses will be straight across the rest of the board. Using a pencil to trace around the outside edge of the glass, repeat for all four holes. Read more

January 14, 2015/8 Comments/by Jacque Knowlton

It’s January and you know what that means! Time to clean and purge the house of all the excess stuff. Last year I was too busy with projects to purge, so this year I’m taking advantage of some warmer days to clean out our home. I hope you’ll excuse me while I’m in clutter busting ~~HELL~~ mode. In the meantime you might enjoy these 12 DIY Storage Projects to help you organize your home (and hide clutter.)

mudroom_shoe_storage_bench
Make a Coat Rack from an Old Door and Make a Shoe Storage Bench with Kitchen Cabinets

Laundry Room Storage using Flow Wall Read more

January 5, 2015/4 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

arts and craft, Build It, decor, Decorating, framing, gifts, Home Decor, jigsaw, Lowe's Creative Idea, sander, scrapbook paper, stain, Stashbusting, Trash to Treasure, Très Frugal, Tutorial, Upcycling

Floating Wood Block Picture Frames {Lowe’s Creative Idea}

We are days away from Christmas and I’m sure there is someone on your list that you just can’t figure out what to get for them. I have the perfect solution! Make them a wood block floating picture frame using scrap 2×4″ lumber and plexiglass.

If you don’t have scrap 2×4’s lying around, you can purchase a 2x4x8 foot stud for less than $4! You could make 16 photo frames out of that one board! (Granted, you’ll need to buy the plexiglass for each.)

Materials:

2 – 2 x 4s (cut to 6″ lengths)
4 – 6″ x 9″ pieces of plexiglass (3/32″ thickness)
Ipswich Pine Stain
gel stain or Minwax Express color
small detail paint brush
pencil or pen
photos
tape
rag
optional: scrapbook paper, double stick tape

Tools:

Miter saw
Table saw
Jigsaw or bandsaw or a plexi-cutter
Sander with sandpaper
GRR-Ripper 3-D Pushblocks

Instructions:

Set your table saw to a 10 degree bevel.

Set the saw blade to a depth halfway through your block (about 7/8″ deep.) Set the fence to 2″ from the blade.

Use your GRR-RIPPER to safely guide the 2×4 over the saw blade. Check to see if two pieces of plexiglass will fit in the groove created by the saw blade.

If not, nudge the fence over slightly and make a second pass over the blade. Check to see if the plexiglass will fit now. If not, repeat the process until they fit snugly. Read more

December 19, 2014/3 Comments/by Brittany Bailey