Circular White Oak and Steel Coffee Table

 

We wanted a smaller circular coffee table that matched the style and aesthetic of our new dining table. Using offcuts from our white oak dining table, as well as some square steel tubing, we fabricated this one of a kind coffee table for our living room. The smaller size was a huge upgrade in terms of walking space, both for us and our giant berner.

There is a 3D Sketchup model available under the Free Design Files tab.

🌳 MATERIALS

  • 5/4 White Oak (~20bf)

  • 2" x 1" 14 Gauge Steel

  • 2" Flat Stock 1/8" Steel

  • Hex Bolt Screws + Washers

  • Acetone/Mineral Spirits

  • Metal de-greaser

🗜 TOOLS

  • SAWSTOP 36” 3HP PCS: https://amzn.to/3cr1dJO

  • Circular Saw: http://amzn.to/2q1l5wn

  • Orbital Sander: https://amzn.to/2ALtz16

  • 6” Jointer: https://amzn.to/2Y7THgb

  • 13” Thickness Planer: http://amzn.to/2u7YrmK

  • Power Drill: http://amzn.to/2q1l5wn

  • Impact Driver: http://amzn.to/2q1l5wn

  • Woodpeckers TS-24 T-Square: https://amzn.to/2AsAE9W

  • Plunge Router: http://amzn.to/2p15eiC

  • Lots of clamps!

🧲 Metalworking

  • PowerMig 210 https://amzn.to/33cDCs3

  • Metal Chop Saw: https://amzn.to/2HNowU4

  • Angle Grinder: https://amzn.to/2FhtDLe

Above is free Sketchup File of the design for you to access incase you're looking to build something similar!

If you have any questions or find any issues with the article, feel free to get in touch.
Zach

 

White Oak and Steel Kitchen Table

 

We wanted a big new kitchen table to go along with our new breakfast nook. I wanted something heavy, made from white oak, and with a contrasting beefy steal based. I love how this came together - particularly the white oak with Rubio Monocoat in Cotton white. Be sure to watch the video to see how I built it. There is a 3D Sketchup model available under the Free Design Files tab.

🌳 MATERIALS

  • ~25 BF of 5/4 White Oak

  • Rubio Monocoat in Cotton White

  • 3 x 3" x 3" x 8' Square Tube Steel

  • 1 x 3" x 8' x 1/8" Flat Steel

  • Hex Bolt Screws + Washers

  • Acetone/Mineral Spirits Metal de-greaser

🗜 Woodworking

  • SAWSTOP 36” 3HP PCS: https://amzn.to/3cr1dJO

  • Circular Saw: http://amzn.to/2q1l5wn

  • Orbital Sander: https://amzn.to/2ALtz16

  • 6” Jointer: https://amzn.to/2Y7THgb

  • 13” Thickness Planer: http://amzn.to/2u7YrmK

  • Power Drill: http://amzn.to/2q1l5wn

  • Impact Driver: http://amzn.to/2q1l5wn

  • Woodpeckers TS-24 T-Square: https://amzn.to/2AsAE9W

  • Plunge Router: http://amzn.to/2p15eiC

🧲 Metalworking

  • PowerMig 210 https://amzn.to/33cDCs3

  • Metal Chop Saw: https://amzn.to/2HNowU4

  • Angle Grinder: https://amzn.to/2FhtDLe

  • Digital Protractor

Above a free Sketchup File of the design for you to access incase you're looking to build something similar!

If you have any questions or find any issues with the article, feel free to get in touch.
Zach

 

Ultimate Drill Charging / Storage Station

 

I've recently acquired a third drill/driver set. It's incredibly convenient and efficient to have multiple sets of tools - whatever the type - so you can avoid resetting settings each time, especially once you're dialed in. Drills / Drivers are probably the most common duplicate type tool.

It was time to expand my storage solutions - I was aiming for something that could store 8 drills/drivers, expand my other frequent tool collection, and house the bulk of my chargers. Hope you like!

The design is relatively simple. I wanted storage for 8 drills/drivers, cubbies to store additional tools I frequently use on top + drill bits, and space to mount 5 chargers. I also wanted clean, simple storage for cables.

Screen Shot 2020-06-18 at 4.53.46 PM.png

Here is a Sketchup File of the design for you to purchase incase you're looking to build something similar. The entire piece is built from less than a single sheet of 4' x 8' x 3/4" plywood:

🌳 MATERIALS

  • 1 x 4" x 8" x 3/4" Sanded Plywood

  • TiteBond II Wood Glue: http://amzn.to/2peRFus

  • Wood Screws and Brad Nails

  • Power Strip (6 plugs) + Zip Ties

🗜 TOOLS
You can make all cuts for this project with a circular saw, but below is what I used:

Using a combination of my circular saw and table saw, I broke down my 3/4" sheet of plywood into all of the various components that make up my build. The first photo shows how those can all be made from the one sheet.

The depth of the build is 10.5"; if I could change one thing, I'd make it a half inch deeper. Just gives it that little bit of extra wiggle room for drills with long bits.

My station fits 8 drills - if you have more horizontal space you can add more as you see fit. 8 seemed like enough for me, and if I ever get more than 8 drills/drivers, then I think I should probably look at myself internally.

Screen Shot 2020-06-18 at 4.54.08 PM.png

Each holder is evenly spaced, so I cut out that spacer on the table saw and used it and a single vertical support to mark out each location for the spacer. Then, using glue and brad nails, I could fasten each one into the lateral mount.

I used my T Square to mark out locations to drill out and drive in screws to make sure everything was super secure. I always pre drill when it comes to plywood.

I then repeated the process with the bottom supports. Additionally, I rounded over the edge to make sliding the drills in and our easier.

Once the drill holder was complete, I could go through the rather simple process of mounting the outside walls using glue, brad nails, and screws, followed by mounting the drill mount to the inside of it. To get even spacing and keep it level, I used the tool divider tabs I had already cut out clamped on each end.

Brad nails will secure this while the glue dries, and adding screws means that this will basically hold up forever.

The angle of the walls is 10 degrees (top) and 30 degrees (bottom) - these were arbitrary but I thought it created a less bulky design. It also made the bottom of the mount feel less crowded.

The legs of the desk were designed to sit recessed into the desktop itself exactly one 3/4” plywood layer thick.

The outside drill pieces were separate from the larger piece we assembled earlier. They were added after the fact and secured just using glue and brad nails to the outside walls.

This design was big enough to mount five chargers. If you make it wider, you'll be able to increase charger storage (obviously). The Ryobi chargers and Ridgid chargers have different mount spacing.

To mount them, I used a series of plywood spacers to get things evenly spaced vertically and horizontally, then used the tape trick to transfer the screw holes to the backer mount, and then drove in some screws. Lucky for me, this somehow all worked first try and things were secure and even.

I don't show it in the video, but the last thing I did was drive in a single screw at the top end of each charger that was mounted up against the top edge - hope that makes sense. This prevents the charger from sliding up out of the key hole and thus won't come off even if you pull really hard.

I pivoted on this step last minute and decided to mount all cables on the back of the station. This method words perfectly as I'm using a 3/4" french cleat on the back so I had extra space in the rear to store them.

To do this, I drilled a 1 1/4" hole at the top of each charger and fed the cable through. Using little nail brackets that are meant to secure wire to studs, I could then string the cables back and forth so that they could all exit one side and plug into a single power strip mounted on the side.

That power strip could then be plugged into one outlet and charge everything from a single power point.

I cut four dividers for the top section - you can add more if you want more tool division space or if you make this wider. I then marked out and drilled out pilot holes where I wanted to mount each one. It was easier to drill pilot holes from the inside so that they came out on the other side of the wood - I could then add a counter sink from the new hole that popped through which would give me the proper space to feed a screw in.

The top dividers were spaced according to my tools and what I planned on storing. Feel free to customize however you want!

This system uses a 3/4" french cleat to mount to the wall. I highly recommend this as a tactic for mounting tool systems. It makes your whole storage systems incredibly flexible and adaptable as you expand your collection.

I previously had a cabinet hanging where this would go, so I took that down and reused the french cleat I had already cut and secured it to the back with 5 wood screws. Then, I hung it up and organized my tools. It was so satisfying! I also plugged in the power strip and it was even more satisfying to see all the batteries light up and charge at once.

45.jpg

At first I thought that I might have mounted everything too high. However, after using it for 5 days, I realized it was perfect. Batteries were head height, drills were head height, and it left a bunch of extra space underneath for even more future storage. Definitely recommend putting it at head height.

This last step is totally optional, but my wife has an embosser, so I thought it would be prudent and fun to label each holder so I can keep a consistent system of where all my devices go.

All done! Can’t wait to have this moving forward in the shop!

Thanks for reading!
Zach

 

Minimalist Plywood Desk

 

We have a third bedroom that we’ve been wanting to convert into a home office since we bought our house. Due the COVID-19 virus, we are working from home indefinitely. So we saw this as an opportunity to begin building our office, starting with a really fun modern plywood desk. Everything was designed in the free version of Sketchup!

Thanks for checking out the article and video!

Free SketchUp Model for Download

MATERIALS

  • 1 x 4' x 8' x 3/4" Maple Plywood

  • 1 x 2' x 4' x 3/4" Maple Plywood

  • TiteBond II Wood Glue: http://amzn.to/2peRFus

  • 1" Brad Nails

  • 1/2" Dowel

  • Shellac + Foam Brush

TOOLS

  • SAWSTOP Contractors 30” Saw: https://amzn.to/2Luh91q

  • Table Saw Sled: https://amzn.to/2t2qVjD

  • Miter Saw: https://amzn.to/2lmqIHy

  • Brad Nailer: https://amzn.to/2Uz6tCI

  • Impact Driver: http://amzn.to/2q1l5wn

  • Orbital Sander: https://amzn.to/2ALtz16

  • ROCKLER ½” Dowelling Jig: https://amzn.to/2n1nt5W

  • KREG K5 Pocket Hole Jig: http://amzn.to/2qb8S7t

  • Squeeze Clamps

  • Tape measure, speed square, etc.

I love our third bedroom - in fact, I wish it was our master bedroom, but it’s not set up that way. The room has a great bay window and awesome natural light. I hopped into SketchUp Free to model the room and figure out the best sized desk for the room. The design of the desk is inspired by a modern minimalist looking saw horse bench and is 5’ wide x 2’ deep.

The first main step is breaking down your sheets of plywood against the design of the SketchUp File. It is my advice to always cut everything oversized a bit so you can firm up final dimensions down the road. With this being all plywood, it also helps to do this so you can create the cleanest final veneered edges without tear out.

Once all of my pieces were cut to rough length - I could begin assembly of all the leg components. For anything that would just get flushed up on the table saw, I used 1” brad nails and glue to secure it all together and move on to the next steps. For the longer stretchers that would eventually need a deeper angled cut through the table saw on both sides, I used glue and clamps and let those cure overnight.

After gluing and brad nailing, I could run each of my pieces through the table saw to flush up the plywood, taking off about 1/32” on each side. The table saw left an incredibly clean and flat cut.

I could then turn my attention to the desktop. Using the best looking pieces of the long “red” cuts, I could begin cutting to length for the front and sides of the desk. The corner would have a miter’d look to it, so after cutting a square end and then cutting to length, I could angle my miter saw at 45 degrees and cut the miters for the three sides.

I then glued and brad nailed the two side sets of plywood together, and squared up the outward facing edge on the table saw again. Such a clean look!

26.jpg

The legs of the desk were designed to sit recessed into the desktop itself exactly one 3/4” plywood layer thick.

To accomplish this design, I waited until I had my two outer edges glue and secured in place, as well as have the top piece of the leg cut and squared to its final size. I could then measure inward using the speedsquare and mark out exactly where I need to remove material from the final layer.

Then, sneaking up on the cut on my table saw, I cut it away. I could then use glue and brad nails again to secure the three pieces in place, using the leg pieces as proper spacers again to get it all exactly precise. Took a lot of time to make sure this was all correct, but It came out great!

I turned my attention to building each of the two sets of saw horse legs. The outside pieces were made up of two legs + a short stretcher, each that had a specific set of designed 12° angled cuts on them. I chose to wait to do all of the angled cuts at once so I only ever had to adjust my table saw blade once.

For assembly, I’m using 1/2” dowels to hold all of the major joints together. My $20 Rockler Dowel jig is perfect for this. I wish I had something a little more automatic, but it’s good practice mentally to figure out measurements, markings, and drilling precision. Each stretcher and leg received matching dowels.

I then used glue to assemble. Using the offcuts from the 12° angles allowed me to easily squeeze clamp everything together - always save the offcuts temporarily!

While the four legs dried, I went back to the table saw to cut my four long stretchers. This was the last of the 12° cuts to make - these were the pieces I didn’t put any nails into so I wouldn’t knick the table saw while cutting.

Before we could get to final assembly, I wanted to take the last of the long stretchers I cut in the beginning and attach three of them to the underside of the desk for rigidity and strength. I ripped those to their final width, drilled pocket holes, and then secured to the underside using glue and pocket hole screws.

One tip - the drill setting on the K5 jig for 3/4” will actually cause your screws to go through the other end of plywood which you don’t want for your desktop. I set it at 7/8” and it worked out great.

The next steps were a series of repeats. I sanded down the edges of any of the pieces I was about to assemble - just easier to do when flat. I then cut to length my final set of stretchers and drilled more dowels to connect everything together. Then, using glue and dowels and bar clamps, I pulled everything together, paying extra attention to the final orientation of all my pieces and that they were all angled properly. This ensure that when the legs sat upright, pieces were squared and/or parallel to the ground.

Before finishing, I wanted to do a few final steps, including sanding down all of the exposed edges of plywood, rounding over the corners with a screw driver (this is a great way to get rid of sharp edges and fold in the veneer without sanding it away - give it a try!), and then finally add the last part of the top of the leg to each saw horse base, and of course give the top a good quick sanding.

Then it was time for finishing. I added a shellac finish to all surfaces to protect the material, up the contrast of the plywood layers, but also to avoid yellowing or changing the color of the material too much.

All done! Can wait to enjoy this new desk in our ongoing home office renovation! I’m also looking now into what type of power or surge protector stuff I want to add to the desk underneath.

Thanks for checking out the project! Make sure you check out the video in the first step on my YT channel!

See you around! 
Zach

 

Modern Plywood Coffee Table

 

My sister was in the market for a modern looking coffee table. I found a reference to a very very expensive coffee table that i thought I could emulate with some furniture-grade plywood. Everything was designed in the free version of SketchUp!

The free SketchUp file can be found here for download

Thanks for checking out the article and video!

MATERIALS

  • 2 x 4’x8’x.75” Furniture-Grade Plywood

  • Wood glue

  • Wood stain, conditioner, and painters tape

  • 1” Brad nails

  • 1/2” Dowel

  • Rubber Feet

TOOLS

Screen+Shot+2020-03-19+at+10.41.52+AM.jpg

Above is the design for the table. You can access the SketchUp file of this in the link at the top.

This coffee table is built using 2 sheets of ¾” furniture grade plywood (if you make a smaller table, you can probably get away with one sheet) and ½” dowels. I began by breaking down my materials into all of my pieces using a combination of my track saw and table saw - I cut two of each piece because the table will be double stacked laminated sheets for each component. I cut them oversized so I could trim them down to their final size after Step 2. Initially, I intended for my table to have a bottom section, which is why you see more pieces than you’ll need if you build the table in the same final way I did. 

Next up was gluing and nailing. This design is perfect for using the Arrow Brad Nailer because it allowed me to laminate each sheet of plywood together without needing a special clamping system and they’d stay hidden on the bottom side of the table. I spread glue evenly across the surfaces of my pieces, stacked each respective piece on top of its counterpart, and used 1” brad nails to tack things in place. I was strategic about where I put these nails to make sure they evenly covered the space.

The next day, after the glue cured, I could trim all of my pieces to their final size. My table was 15 inches tall, 30 inches wide, and 54” long. Your final cuts and cut list will be determined by the size of your table.

Once my size legs were cut to their final length and width, I turned my table saw blade to 30° and cut each of them into parallelograms - the two 30° angles should be parallel to each other. I did this by cutting one side, moving the fence, and then passing the other side through. The 30° angle was my own choosing - I thought it has the best aesthetic. I then used my crosscut sled set at 25° to cut tapers on each side of the leg. One small note I don’t mention in the video is that I turned off my SawStop safety feature for this - I didn’t want to hit a brad nail accidentally - even though I knew where they were placed, and trigger the brake system. I was left with pieces that sat at 30° to the ground and tapered in at 25°.

To glue my legs, I created four little jigs that could be clamped both to the table top and the leg using squeeze clamps - these were angled the same as the legs - 30° and were built using scrap wood and a combination of my table saw, band saw, and held together with glue and and more brad nails from my Arrow Brad Nailer. By clamping it this way, I could apply glue, put the piece in place, and then use a series of angled scraps to clamp both horizontally and vertically to the table - thus holding the legs in place but applying vertical pressure to the table. The result was a very strong joint. I used painters tape on the underside interior by the leg to avoid any future glue squeeze out clean up issues. After the glue cured 4 hours later, I sanded down all surfaces with 120 grit paper on my orbital sander and broke the edges with hand sanding at 220 grit.

I chose to use ½” dowels to reinforce the joints on this table. Honestly, it felt strong, but since it was end grain plywood into veneer, it felt like a no brainer. I have a dowel jig, but it only reaches so far over the corner of a piece, and I needed my dowels to be drilled further into the piece to make a difference structurally - so I made my own dowel jig using stacked plywood and my Arrow Brad Nailer. I then used my ½” dowel drill bit and drilled dowels in all four corners of the table top down into the legs as well as the middle of the edge of the table - thus giving me 6 points of reinforcement. I then cut dowels on my table saw, glued and hammered them into place, and cut them flush with my hand saw, sanding them down flush with my orbital sander. This table easily held my 165 pound weight - I’m guessing it could hold 300+ pounds. 

The plywood I purchased wasn’t perfect, and the taping method worked but needed some touch ups. I used some maple wood filler to plug any gaps in the plywoods, let it dry, and then sanded it all down flush to the plywood edges of the table, while also sanding down any of the excess stain that the tape did not block. 

Last up was finishing. I wiped away excess dust using mineral spirits, then applied a coat of pre-conditioner ahead of staining. Personally, I wanted to just apply a clear coat to the wood, but this was for a client, so we compromised and instead, I masked off all of the exposed plywood using painter tape and only applied an espresso color finish to the top and exterior sides of the legs, leaving all interior surfaces and plywood layers free of stain. I then finished off the piece by applying two coats of wipe on polyurethane, sanding in between the two coats using some 320 grit sandpaper. The result was a really cool contrast between the exterior surfaces and the plywood sides and burch underside. I loved it. To give it a more modern vibe, I added ¾” rubber feet to the bottom - just as simple as drilling and installing with screws to each bottom corner!

31.jpg

All done! Enjoy your new modern coffee table! Thanks for checking out the project! Make sure you check out the video in the first step on my YT channel!

See you around! 
Zach

 

Box Joint Coffee Table

 

Thanks for checking out the full article!
Please Subscribe to my Youtube Channel by clicking here for future vids!.

My full video of the build is below, followed by detailed instructions with tools, materials, and measurements! 

This faux box joint style is really cool in my opinion. It can be achieved with a bit of good design, focus, and precision, and has very unique results when totally finished. I had built something similar once before and learned a lot in the process, so I was excited to take on another build similar to it but with my past experience in hand. 

MATERIALS
18 x 2" x 3" Framing Lumber*
2" Finish Nails (not totally necessary)
TiteBond II Wood Glue
Dark Walnut Danish Oil
Minwax Clear Finish Polyurethane
 

*Note - This amount of material fits my specific design / dimensions

Step 1 was just to design the whole project. Below are my designs that I worked from:

Screen+Shot+2020-03-20+at+11.39.24+AM.jpg

Here is a free SketchUp model for you to access the exact design of the model incase you're interested!

Top Profile.png

This is my design looking straight down from the top.
Blue cuts are the longest pieces I'd need for my project.
Pink cuts were initially measured out, but would be contingent upon the final width of the wood as the length of the pink piece + the width of the two yellow pieces would need to add up to the length of the blue piece

This is the side profile of the table. You can see that the green leg pieces will be shorter due to the blue pieces extending to the end of the table. The Yellow pieces (not shown here), would be the length of the green pieces + the thickness of the blue piece (if that makes sense)

This is a view from the bottom of the table. The yellow and green pieces did not have a definitive length during design (but were roughly 15 and 12.5 inches, respectively). I will give my final cuts later. 

Bottom Profile with Shelf.png

This is the same view from the bottom, but now includes the bottom shelf that I added in. The brown pieces were the length of my pink pieces + one inch as I was going to be using Dados to hold them in place. more on that later. 

I planed all of my wood down - first to remove the rounded edges, then on each side to give clean surfaces for glue ups.

Removing the rounded edges can be done on a table saw as well, I just hate my table saw and would rather not work unsafely.

The second picture shows the difference between the square side you want and the awful rounded side it started with. 

Now I was selective at the store as to the quality of materials I bought, but once I had everything planed down, I took extra time to sort my wood based on the cleanest surfaces. I chose the best looking ones to surface as my table top parts since that would be the most visible. 

I had planed my wood down to a width of nearly 2.2" - a width I knew was uniform across the board. So in order to make box joints fit properly, I needed leg pieces that were 2.2" different in length as well as top pieces that were 2.2" difference on each side, for a total of 4.4". 

Thus, you can see my table top cuts on the left. I ended up basing my smaller cuts off of a final length of 40" (so 40-2.2-2.2 = 35.6"), as I planned on having my longer pieces a bit long so I could cut them down rather than need extra length I couldn't get. 

My bottom row pieces were 1" longer than the middle width of my table so they could sit comfortably in a half inch dado on each side. 

For my legs, since I went for a table height of 15", my shorter pieces needed to be 2.2' shorter than that, or 12.8" roughly. The final picture shows how I made my cuts. Now in my purchase list, I tell you to buy 18 pieces, but in reality, you can get what you need from 17, but having one back up piece is just a smart idea. 

One little tip here is to cut your 12.8" pieces slightly long so that you don't end up with pieces not quite long enough to form the box joint and reach the bottom of your table. You can always plane them down later, which I chose to do, and did, and it worked great. 

Once I had all of my cuts made, I could begin my glue ups. I did this upside down, so the final table top would be facing downwards. I alternated my pieces (photo) on top of two bar clamps and made sure the cleaner looking surface was facing downwards. 

NOTE - in this first round of glue ups, you will only glue together 13/15 of your pieces for the top. You will save your two final outside blue pieces for a second round of glue ups for later as well as the corresponding green legs.

Above is a glue up trick technique I was taught. Using a Kreg Clamp (Pic 1), I could put glue on one piece, spread it out evenly, squeeze together and line up to make sure the box joint edge went out as far as teh thickness of my leg piece (pic 3), then clamp together across the two pieces to keep them flat and flush (pic 4), and then use a 2" finish nail to hold it in place (pic 5). I then could repeat this process for each piece I glued up. The result was a pretty damn flat glue up without a lot of clean up.  

Image 13.jpg

Clean up as much glue squeeze out as you can once you clamp up everything with a wet rag - makes the finish process so much smoother (no pun intended). 

NOTE AGAIN - you'll only have 13 pieces glue up at this point (see image above). 

I then could repeat the process for my legs, alternating pieces (pic 1 and 2 - the alternating process should be relatively straight forward and fit tightly together), then my other side's legs (pic 3), and then finally my bottom table (pic 4). Again, clean away any glue squeeze out for easy finishing later on. 

Your bottom table (pic 4) will have 13 pieces glued together as well. 

Before final assembly, I finished everything. First, I belt sanded all my surfaces using 40 grit paper which flattened everything nicely.

Next, in order to take down the protrusions (remember I cut my longer pieces .5" long), I used my Turboplane and a flap disk to take them down. This can also be done with a block plane, a belt sander with rough grit, a hand held electric planer, or a flush trim saw. 

I then went over all my surfaces with 80 and 120 grit sand paper on my orbital sander. Looked great!

I then took the opportunity here to square up my leg bottoms using my T Square and a circular saw. My saw didn't cut all the way through, so I made one pass, flipped it over, and cut the other side. If your cut isn't perfect, a belt sander will flatten it out quickly. 

As I said before, I wanted to insert my bottom shelf using dado slots. To do this, I used a half inch dado bit (pic 1) and my plunge router. 

Then, I measured 9 inches down from the top on each side, then used my T Square to trace my lines (pic 2 and 3). I used the width of the wood to then trace a second line (not pictured) so I had my entire dado area marked out. 

Then, using a straight edge, my rafter square, and my router, I made multiple passes to cut out my slot. Pic 5 shows it in action, and Pic 6 shows the final dado slot, which was about .625" deep). I repeated this process on each side, being very VERY precise in all of my measurements before cutting. I had never done this before and was proud of the result. 

Doing a final fit! You can see that the dado is not 100% perfect. That is okay, as you'll be gluing on one outside layer on each side of the table next, which will cover up those imperfections. 

In this next glue up, as mentioned before, you'll add in your outside blue pieces (40.5" long) for the table top on each side, as well as your four green legs (15" long) on each corner. Lastly, you'll add in your final two pink pieces (35.6" long).

I didn't use finish nails here, just clamping pressure. I did, however, use little scrap pieces in certain areas so the clamps did not damage the wood from pressure (see pic 2, bottom middle clamp). 

You'll also note that, as I pointed out in my cuts previously, I made my 12.8" pieces a bit long, resulting in four outside leg pieces that were slightly longer than my middle legs and made for a great little leg design unintentionally. 

also used four small angle brackets with screws to secure the bottom shelf from the underside. This would help keep the top of the shelf flush with the top edge of the dado I had cut.

I applied two coats of Dark Walnut Danish oil 8 hours apart to stain the table. Once it had cured, I applied 4-5 coats of a clear satin polyurethane finish to all of my surfaces, making sure to let it dry thoroughly and sand in between each coat with wet 220 grit sand paper. I find using wet sandpaper with poly finishes helps contain the sanding mess. 

 

How to build a Coffee Table

 

Make sure you check out my new YouTube Channel, 
The Cutting Bored for future project updates!

Right around Christmas of 2015, my interest in woodworking as a new hobby was peaking. We had a great coffee table in our apartment, but I had read so much about people tackling a coffee table build as their first project, so I figured why not go for it.

Originally, I had the intention of creating something rustic, weathered, and that fit the furniture style of our TV stand and kitchen table. We can dive more into this later, but the final result was not quite the look I was going for. Nonetheless, I was very proud of my first project, and everyone who has used it tells me it holds coffee quite well. 

This was my first true dive into woodworking. I decided to take this on during Christmas time for two reasons. First, my family bought me a Ryobi combo kit as a gift, so I knew I'd have enough tools to get the job done - maybe not quite as fast as I'd like, but enough for a beginner to tackle. Second, I had a few weeks off from work, so I knew I'd have time to dedicate to it.

So, starting from total scratch with lumber from home depot, some information from ana-white.com and a lot of prep research and how-to's, a power tool combo kit, and a pocket hole jig, I was off to the races.

Materials for this project:
2" x 6" x 6' (redwood)
2" x 4" x 8' (redwood)
1" x 12" x 8' (whitewood)
4 x Stanley “L” Brackets
Steel Wool (0000)
White Vinegar
Wood Screws (2.50”)
1.5” Pocket Hole Screws
Textured Spray Paint
Matte Black Spray Paint

Before I ever went shopping, I read about the best practices to oxidize wood, which gives it a weathered look in about five minutes as opposed to 2-3 years of wear and tear.

In order to make this, I used one gallon of white vinegar, four pieces #00 steel wool (which I washed first with dish soap to remove grease layer), and a gallon of water. Do this well in advance, as the wool will take about a week to dissolve in this mixture to create the final solution. The longer you let it sit, the more it will continue to age as a solution. 

I began by cutting everything to length, and then started with the top of the table, using redwood 2" x 6" pieces. Then it was on to drilling all the pocket holes to combine connect everything together.

Below is a series of photos of me drilling and combining all pieces, including the top, sides, and bottom shelf. Was my first time using pocket holes - the Kreg K5 Jig is a must have. So simple and effect. You'll need an impact driver to drive home the pocket hole screws - a power drill won't cut it. 

Then it was on to the side "x" pieces. This was really tough without a Miter Saw to gauge the angles. I did my best, but if I look back at what I built then and what I could build now, I can't like that they were a bit shit. But whatever...

Then it was on to the final assembly! Came together real well. I was super granular about measurements, so this wasn't necessarily a surprise, but always nice to see your attention to detail pay off. 

Assembled!

Now it was time to apply the oxidized solution. I did two coats of it. Below is the result of how it changes the look and feel of the wood over the course of just a few minutes. The first image is when the solution is still drying, then the following two are dried and in different lighting. Amazing how it turns the darker part of the redwood nearly black. I actually really dug it. 

To be honest, I wish there was a way I could have just stopped here. Instead, I chose to use a satin polyurethane, and it took away a bit of the rustic look I was going for. 

I finished it off by adding a few L Brackets spray-painted matte black to give it a rustic look. Super happy with the final result. It was a hell of a first project for me to take on. I learned a ton and was super excited for the next step. Below are a few near final and final photos for you to check out. 

TOOLS
KREG K5 Pocket Hole Jig
RYOBI Circular Saw
RYOBI Power Drill
RYOBI Impact Driver
RYOBI Cordless Orbital Sander
Hand Sanding Sponges  (120 + 220 Grit)
Hammer

Thanks for reading! Message me with any additional questions about the build, the tools, or the materials.

Cheers!