BackYard DIY Builder

Building for the love of it

The start of your building journey

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There are many ways to build your own projects, the key is to find one that works for you and stay with it. When I first began down this road I was fortunate to have found some very popular DIY / bogglers


https://www.ana-white.com/
https://www.shanty-2-chic.com/
https://rogueengineer.com/
 
Not only are they easy to follow but they also share plans and tips to help you out.  I’m just trying to follow their inspiration.  From trying different techniques i found that AnnaWhite methods of building was one of the easier techniques..
Build the sides first, this gives you the measurements first and all you have to do is the length.
A great starting point is her coffee table design because it simple to follow and the finish is that it all turns out flush.


https://www.ana-white.com/woodworking-projects/farmhouse-coffee-table-beginnerunder-40

I’ve taken that technique and have applied it to almost every project i build.
Coffee tables, side tables, hall tables and more.
As I get more experience I’ll also add my own touches such as making counter sync holes and plugs to hide the screws.
Stay tuned for more posts 🙂

Happ Happy NEW Year 2025

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Happy new year!!  It’s been a while since my last Blog post.  Things sometime sneak up on you unexpectedly sometimes its getting build orders and not having the chance to update. Running many platforms at once can be a challenge.

Making a item, trying to take progress pictures then posting is a lot and can be overwhelming, but I’m back and going to give this another shot 😊

Here are some pictures of my latest work.

 

 

 

Building a raised planter bed.

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Hello all.. Its Saturday Feb 13th the day before Valentines Day and I’ve been very very busy building for spring.. The orders pile up quickly.

I’m making raised garden beds. But I’m making from reclaimed CLEAN pallets. Its not hard to find the clean ones just ask the businesses that your look at.

They will let you know if they are treated or not.

I use new 2×4 and 2×2 for the stringers.

In my video I’ve tried to stop at each point and make a quick clip.

I cut the 2×4’s at 3ft. this includes the over all height and room for the garden bed i like to keep at around 12inches.

I make the sides first, then the length.

 

I hope you enjoy the video.

I posted on FB because my page isn’t able to hold the video size

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=413482423277067

 

Rustic DIY Kitchen Island

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Today we have finished the final touches on our most advanced build.  A kitchen island but we made it even a little harder. We made from mostly pallets and other reclaimed wood.

We found the inspiration from another well known blogger  (Anna White)  https://www.ana-white.com/woodworking-projects/wide-rustic-x-kitchen-island

I’m still small potatoes compared to her and another well know blogger (Rogue Engineer) https://rogueengineer.com/

I’m still learning the setup and format of blogging.  Its all to do with building, blogging and everything in between.

Now what you’ve waited for the results of all this hard work.. It was not an over night build, so anyone willing to try this be prepared for a week or more of work.

 

Its the finishing that takes the time.

 

 

Build your own DIY Track Saw

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Hello everyone !!!  I know i’m not the only diy builder out there that has Low capital so we cant get the best equipment out on the market.

One of the most valuable tools is the track saw, it makes a long setup and turn it into minutes. I however cant afford the 500+ Track saws on the market.

There are several DIY models of a track saw out there, i was lucky enough to find this one.. i’ll share his video here and i highly recommend building your own.

This guy had a clean delivery which i followed, but i did make some slight modifications and so far its been super accurate.

 

 

I used my track saw to cut some plywood for a couple of drawers I’m currently making for a kitchen island , and i have to say the diy track saw guide turned a long task into just minutes.

First I outlined the box i made for the drawer on the plywood i was going to use.

 

                             

 

Using the DIY track saw I made it was as easy as he said.. Just line up the line in the cut guide and site holes. This is where setting up before compared to now was only minutes.

I made an 8 foot version of his tutorial..

However with the stop blocks on both ends of the track , the cutting distance isn’t quite 8 feet but its close enough i can live with it since it didn’t cost me $500

 

BOAT SHELF BUILD

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I have an order to build a boat shelf… I’ll be sure to take pictures and blog about this one because i haven’t done anything like this before.

 

But isn’t that the fun of building?? New challenges like this ?  🙂

When I saw boat shelf builds on pintrest I looked for plans on line and of course there are many build variations. The trick is to find one that suites you.

Me , I like using pallet wood when ever i can.  So i decided to use pallet wood for the sides and shelves for my boat shelves.

I used 1×6 spruce wood for the back and bottom shelf since that’s the most important part in order to get the best fit and straight lines.

When i decided on a height for my boat I put together 4 1×6 boards and attached cross stringers along the back. This was simply a 1×4 and a 1×2.

Finding the center is crucial for the look of your boat. Once you have that then drawing free hand from the side to the center point.  Use a jigsaw to cut out one side. Flip the off cuts to the uncut side and use that as your template.  Now you should have identical sides.

 

Once i finished the back, my next step was the bottom that’s why i added one more strip along the bottom so i have something to attach the shelf onto and add more strength to the frame of the boat shelf now.

 

 

Now that you have the basic frame done, the fun of attaching the sides begins. I decided to attach a properly sized piece of pallet wood and nail it onto the back of the shelf.

I personally found this much easier that trying to fit larger single pieces of sheet wood for the sides. I also nail each side piece into the one under it.  This increases the strength and keep your work straight…. Well as straight as possible 🙂

 

When you finish attaching all your pieces on the sides the next step is to figure out where you want the shelves. Take a measurement where you want your shelf and cut to fit.

I attach extra support on the sides to assist holding the weight that your customer may wish to put on the shelf… I always try to over build my products a little.

In addition to the side supports I also screw the shelf in from the back.

 

 

Now that all your shelves are done, the final step is the trim. This is a trial and error step with several fit checks.

 

I started with the top and worked my way down, since the top i think is the most critical to get aligned and straight.

Here were the critical point of attaching the trim. The bottom was next part to go on and to align the top and bottom much easier.

 

 

This was the 3rd boat shelf i made.

My 4th would be a little taller and deeper.

 

Too many Builds and Little Blog Time

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You know when things are getting better when you have build orders and little time to blog.  🙂

So I’m going to do a catch up post now. But if your looking for up to date posts you should look at my Instagram account.

https://www.instagram.com/backyarddiybuilder/?hl=en

 

Just recently I had an order to make a couple of treasure chest style trunks.

As with 90% of my builds now I’ve learned to make the sides first. This way you have the height and width of your build complete.

This is just the way I do my projects, there are many different ways others may do their own.. All I can suggest is look at what others are doing and try it.

If you figure your own way, that’s great. It just makes your project more you. Because every blogger and DIY person finds their style.

Sorry NO Progress pictures on this post but i’ll update it on the next build.

So this time i was using new wood. Mainly 1×4’s , 2×2’s and some 1×6 stock wood.

So with this project i started to get the info the client wanted for the TOTAL height , Length, and Width.  When i had the height they wanted i first reduced it by 6 inches since thats the height of the CURVED LID.

The first step for me is to cut the legs to the proper height. Then add your side wood. For me this would be the 1×4’s  As it turns out i used 5 boards for each of the sides.

The next step is to cut for the length, what would become the front and back of the chest. that was 30 inches.

When this is all done you would have a box with no bottom. 🙂

I used 1×2’s and measured the inside bottom of the box. Cut the 1×2 to length and screw and glue FROM THE INSIDE. This hides the screw heads inside.

Next was to install the bottom of the trunk.  I decided the bottom would be stronger if i ran the boards front to back instead of length ways left to right. It was simple job of measuring inside fron to back and cut the boards. I also used my nail gun and wood glue for each board.

 

The top would be a little more tricky with the curve BUT  i had a template from a previous build… It was used for my first treasure chest build. Like the turn I made this time but smaller.

For the curved sides i used the 1×6 wood. The kind of wood is completely up to your client.  Simply copy your template onto the new wood your using for your project.

Having a jig-saw is extremely useful for this, it would be on the must have list for any diy person.

Once you have both pieces cut, you need to sand them so they are as close to being the same curve as possible.

 

Then its a simple  job to attach the wood onto the curved sides. I used 1×4’s and 1×2’s for the curve.  Then yes once again sand it down as much as you can to give your top the curve feel.

Sand, and sand .. and sand some more and when you place the top on the box part it should fit perfect on top… Don’t worry too much about the wood being a touch off.

Wood is not perfect. But you can sand both together to get that perfect fit.

 

 

HVLP Gravity Feed Paint Sprayer

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Recently my Homeright paint sprayer broke down in the middle of a project, which caused a little bit of a scramble to finish. I have to say it has been a very reliable sprayer and great results for various projects.

But it is fairly expensive and I needed something quick, so I ordered the HVLP sprayer from Princess Auto. It was on sale and got to me within a week and being on the Sunshine Coast comes in really handy.

I picked this for one main reason and its because if professional auto-body shops use it maybe I’ll give it a try:-)

It even came with a regulator which is very important in using this tool.

 

Because I didn’t know a thing about these sprayers i went to uTube and watched some videos on assembly and spray techniques.. I recommend this to everyone.

I don’t know why there are different sizes in the needle but i assume its to do with the material you want to spray. This one is a 2.3mm

The picture that’s above shows what came in the box except for the inline air/water filter i had to get separately. This removes water vapor from the line so it doesn’t contaminate the paint.

So this comes with the gun itself, tools, cup, and regulator.

I also recommend you watch some videos on how to take this apart for cleaning.

One extra step i took was that i added teflon tape to the threads to prevent paint leak from the cup, and some on the threads where you add the air hose too.

 

After assembly and some playing around with the air pressure i also followed some advice and filled the cup with water and played around with the adjustment knobs so i knew what it did before i put paint in the cup.

My first spray test/project was a dresser fat boy.  Sorry i didn’t take any before pictures.

But here is the result and I’m very happy with it considering i haven’t had much experience refinishing and spray paint.

Honeycomb Pallet Shelves

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Hello All 🙂  Yes i’m still here even though my blog hasn’t been keeping up.. But when you one person trying to build, promote and blog things tend to get put aside.

My Pallet planter ladder has been a huge hit and its been quite the challenge to keep up with orders, thus the result of my lack of blog posts 🙂

Today i’m going to share my latest idea to combine the honeycomb shelf with the ladder concept.

This starts out just like i would make one honeycomb shelf, and that’s to decide how big to make each shelf, and cut 6 pieces to my desired length.

On this project I cut each piece at 8 inches.

Don’t forget  to cut both ends a 30 degrees set on your miter saw.

The next step is to assemble all your pieces together to make the frame of the honeycomb shelf.

After all the work of nailing and gluing your ends together you will have your framework done for your shelves.  Once again i also decided to burn the wood to bring out the grain.

The next part is simple and that to make a bottom on each frame. The way you do this is totally up to up , but i like to place each piece on the one side of your frame and pencil the outline cut .

This is the time consuming part, but that just apart of building.

When i finished i had to do a little more sanding and burning.  The big step was to set up the shelves to be attached to the legs. If you can align your shelves so they all kinda match it makes attaching the legs a little easier.

When i start attaching the shelves to the legs, which im using 2×2’s for this project. I pick one shelf and place it on something that will make the shelf even and off the floor.  Then i attach each 2×2 on the desired side of the shelf keeping everything flush.

When i go to attach the next shelf i have a pre-made spacer that i use so each shelf is a equal distance away from the other.

When your done you should have finished your shelf unit:-)

Project complete.

 

But i wanted to change it up a little so i found some chalk paint (Tropical cocktail )

 

With a final touch of white on top of the chalk paint gives the shelf a nice beach look.