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May 9, 2012 11:52 AM

What are the best general DIY websites around? (excluding instructables.com)

I'm interested in exploring some DIY projects, mostly related to outdoor recreation/furniture/gardening. I've been reading instructables.com for awhile now, but the extreme range in the quality of the posts on there is turning me off. I've done a bit of browsing through Make Magazine's archives as well. Is there anything else out there for the general hobbyist?

sneaky sub question: do you have any favorite DIY projects to share with me?

posted by Think_Long to Computers & Internet (12 answers total)

Best answer: There's a fair amount of that sort of stuff in the /r/DIY subreddit
posted by exogenous at 12:29 PM on May 9, 2012

Best answer: I am a fan of hackaday.com

I will be followingt this thread as I am curious myself.
posted by handbanana at 12:34 PM on May 9, 2012

Best answer: The DIY network has interesting stuff as does the Home & Garden Network, and I'm always a bit fan of Tipnut.
posted by patheral at 12:52 PM on May 9, 2012

Best answer: Google Books archive of Popular Science is a veritable treasure trove of DIY projects.

As for part two, the Folding Leather Coin Purse on page 91 of March 1931.
posted by zinon at 1:09 PM on May 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Ana White builds furniture. Plenty of children's furniture and Restoration Hardware/West Elm/etc copies. Extremely consistent quality.
posted by acidic at 1:11 PM on May 9, 2012

Best answer: I was going to suggest the DIY section of Pinterest, but then I remembered that it is mostly craft-related. However, I did see some interesting looking projects there when I searched for "DIY outdoor", so you could check it out.
posted by prenominal at 1:12 PM on May 9, 2012

Best answer: www.lumberjocks.com

(Check out the Farmhouse Table at Ana White. (http://ana-white.com/2009/12/plans-farmhouse-table-knock-off-of.html) and matching benches (http://ana-white.com/2011/01/plans/farmhouse-bench)
posted by lstanley at 1:25 PM on May 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I just built the large rustic x bench from ana white and was really happy with it. (Mine is the stripy upholstered one at the end of the "brag posts" snapshots.) I'd never done woodworking before, so if I can do it, anyone can!
posted by lollusc at 5:46 PM on May 9, 2012

Best answer: I love Lifehacker and Ikea Hacks. Lifehacker is great for a variety of DIY and GTD projects, and Ikea Hacks is exactly what it sounds like - people repurposing Ikea furniture to great new heights. Even if you don't shop at Ikea, you can find some great inspiration there.
posted by Little Orphan Ennui at 8:35 PM on May 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Best answer: ReadyMade Magazine folded a few years ago, but they had some really awesome projects of all stripes. Their site is still up to poke around on.

http://www.readymade.com/
posted by forkisbetter at 8:20 AM on May 10, 2012

Best answer: To answer the sub question: Earthtainers are awesome.
posted by mike_bling at 8:30 AM on May 11, 2012

Response by poster: Thanks everyone. There's a lot of stuff to dig through and it will definitely help me daydream through the work week. mike_bling - I'm definitely going to do some earthtainers this year.

For those interested, I've found a lot of DIY flavored posts over at the permaculture forums at permies.com
posted by Think_Long at 1:31 PM on May 30, 2012