Wednesday, May 26, 2010

I built it and you can too!

One of the things I love most about the world of blogs is the inspiration and creativity that people are willing to share with others.  I have mentioned before my adoration for Ana at Knock Off Wood.  She lives in Alaska, and builds her own furniture...and has even built her own house with her husband!  Her blog is filled with FREE plans on how to build furniture similar to pottery barn among other stores.  And the best part, she caters her directions to the amateur woodworker like me!

So without further adieu...
here is the picnic table that I built with one of Ana's plans.


It took me about 6 to 7 hours total with cutting the wood (1hour), assembling (3-4 hours), sanding and painting (2 hours).  I countersunk all my screws and hid them from screwing them through the bottom rather than through the top, this actually added a lot of time to the assembly. 

 My husband did help me with some assembly because I needed someone to hold the boards in place for the seats while I attached them from underneath, but other than that, I built it all by myself!!!  And all it took was a miter saw and a drill!


This table cost me approximately $25 in wood.  I chose to make it with non-pressure treated wood since it was going to be used for children, and I painted it with an exterior paint to help prevent it from decaying.  I spent another $12 in screws and exterior wood glue.  That being said, I still have plenty of screws and glue left for the next project.  I also have a little wood leftover, and I am hoping to make something with the scraps. The paint was free as I already had it for another project.

I am very happy how it turned out, it is very sturdy and strong!  It easily holds even my weight and my husbands.  And the best part is that the kids love it!  I know we'll be having lots of picnics and tea parties on it.  It will definitely be put to good use!


Thanks Ana for the plans!  I definitely have a list of future projects from your website!

2 comments:

Kristen said...

I love her blog, I have a bunch of projects that I want to build off of it but I haven't made the time yet. The picnic table looks so good and I love it in white. Have you seen how awesome the playhouse is that she is building?

Deb said...

Awesome! It looks amazing!