Recently, I was given old wood that had been stacked up in the rafters of my mother's barn. I've been working on my carpentry skills and thought some of it would make a nice piece of furniture for my new house. At times, my wife is also a fan of the rustic farmhouse style. We left the wood in its current state since that is an element of its beauty.
Putting it together took quite a bit of effort. I'm not as used to working with old, hard woods. I broke a number of small drill bits trying to drill pilot holes and still had plenty of bent nails. My best advice to anyone attempting this would be to have patience when drilling or nailing. A nail gun would have been a big help. I learned that getting things perfect was never going to happen with the aged, slightly warped wood.
It was a fairly simple design and I hope everyone likes what I've built. We certainly do. Normally I would post my plans, but I barely had any this time. I had a general idea of the overall dimensions, but that was about it. It was a good exercise in learning how to use my new tools and get myself outside this Labor Day weekend. I really appreciate that my mom and step-dad allowed me to take all the wood I wanted. Hopefully more projects are in the future.