Farmhouse Table and Benches

I love Ana White. To be more specific, I love Ana White's woodworking plans! Her plans are easy to read and easy to build - she lists it all out for you. Most of my furniture is from her website - www.ana-white.com. 

This dining room table and benches are from her website. Check out the plans here: http://www.ana-white.com/2012/11/plans/farmhouse-table-updated-pocket-hole-plans
I have a horrible habit. I love her plans so much because of the pictures. I'm a visual person. That being said, I'll read the shopping list, cut list, and then look at the pictures and build. If I get stuck on how to do something (since I'm still new at this woodworking) I'll ask my friend, or just guess (not the best idea). I should just read her site on how to do things.
​I LOVE how this table and benches turned out. I learned a lot of new techniques from it, and used tools I've never used before!

I did not know how to make 1.5 inch notches out of the 4x4. My friend told me I needed to chisel them out, so he came over to help. Thank you, C! He had to work harder though, because the only chisels I had were from my wooden spoon making kit. Tiny and not good quality. He didn't know till he got to my house. My bad. I bought a bigger chisel the next day to make it easier for me. Scotty loved helping! She is going to be a woodworker. :)

For the top, I used wood filler and a sander for the first time! It was easier than I thought! I always get nervous using new power tools because before my first blog post (the prayer board), I've never touched a power tool. Sander was easy and not as intense as I thought! I guess I was nervous I wasn't strong enough and I wouldn't be able to control it. It was easy! I bought the Ryobi brand, because the other Ryobi tools I have are great - I trust the brand. I also used Spax screws. They gave me samples, and I'm in love. I don't like pre-drilling, because I feel like it's a waste of time. Which it's not, because you need to do that so your wood won't split. I didn't know with Spax you don't need to pre-drill!!! What?!?! Why did nobody tell me?!? I'll be using Spax from now on! Oh, and thanks for the samples!  
I then made two benches. Of course, plans from www.ana-white.com -  
http://www.ana-white.com/2011/01/plans/farmhouse-bench

I wanted to make the benches before my daughters 4th birthday party, so I rushed in making them. I made a few mistakes ;), I fixed them though! 
Also, I didn't end up following Ana's plans. I made the top of the benches, just like the dining room table. I used pocket holes. Ana's plans for the farmhouse table started out without pocket holes, then she updated the plans with pocket holes. You just use the same technique as the table for the benches. I love pocket holes because it's a strong hold and brings the wood closer together, so I didn't have to use wood filler as much.

So happy with the end result. I love this table/benches! I bought the end chairs on sale at Target. Love love love it! Spent less than $200 on the table and benches. 

What do you think? Let me know! 

I do most of the furniture by myself, with the occasional help from a friend. This table was HEAVY. I got help from the niece, nephew, and son - Connor. Follow my snap chat to see what I'm working on! You'll see a lot of bloopers haha. 

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A photo posted by Kristi Q Le | Blogger (@kristiqle) on Sep 22, 2016 at 4:42pm PDT

Thanks again for checking out my blog! 


LOVE,

​KQL

Dining Room Table: http://www.ana-white.com/2012/11/plans/farmhouse-table-updated-pocket-hole-plans

Benches: http://www.ana-white.com/2011/01/plans/farmhouse-bench