DIY Project Accent Furniture, How to make a cheap solid wood table top out of inexpensive lumber.

D.I.Y. Project, Accent Furniture: How To Make A Cheap Solid Wood Table Top

DIY Project, Accent Furniture:

If you are in need of a replacement table top and you’ve searched for sources, then you know that ready-made, solid wood table tops are not cheap. But you can make one yourself at a fraction of the price using inexpensive lumber from the hardware store.

How to make a cheap solid wood table top out of inexpensive lumber.

Project Cost:

Approximately $25.

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Materials & Supplies:

*The following instructions are for a 42″ round table top. If you would like a different size and/or shape, please make the required adjustments.

1. Two pieces of 2″ x 12″ lumber, eight feet long (have these cut in half–into 4-foot long pieces–at the home improvement store),

2. Two pieces of 1″ x 2″ furring strips, approximately 30 inches long,

3. Wood glue,

4. 12 #8 wood screws, 1¾” long,

5. Drill with screwdriver bits and drill bits,

6. Electric sander,

7. 100-grit sandpaper discs,

8. 150-grit sandpaper discs,

9. wood filler,

10. stain and/or paint in your choice of color(s),

11. 24″ (or longer”) clamps.

Instructions:

I had my 2″ x 10″ x 8-foot pieces of lumber cut in half at the home improvement store so that they were ready to use.

I started by joining the boards together two at a time with the long edges together. I used a generous amount of wood glue and my 24″ clamps and left them to dry completely before removing the clamps.

I only have two clamps, so I had to wait until the glue dried on these two before repeating the process with the other two boards.

My boards had stamps on them, but I wasn’t concerned about that. These are easily sanded off.

Next I measured the inside area of the table base to see how long the furring strips needed to be (this will make sense in second). I wanted two furring strips, each offset from the center of the table about six inches, and with about three inches of room at either end. I decided to cut my strips to 26″.

I marked the middle of one of the 26″ furring strips, and placed it on the edge of one of the two-piece lumber sections. Then I pre-drilled three holes for screws.

Then I secured the furring strip with wood glue and screws.

With the furring strips glued and screwed into place, I flipped the table base over and placed it on the table top.

Using my tape measure and a pencil, I marked where the table top needed to be cut, allowing for a 1¾” overhang all the way around the table top.

Before cutting the table top, I made sure that I had a brand new “smooth cut” blade in my jigsaw.

And then I carefully and slowly cut along the pencil marks.

At this point, I went ahead and screwed the table top to the base from underneath.

**Important! Be sure to pre-drill the holes for your screws before attaching the base to the table top!! If you read the blog, then you know my table top ended up splitting, starting at a knot on the edge. I’m pretty sure the cause of this was the fact that I attached the base to the top with screws without pre-drilling the holes, and I screwed right into a weak spot at the knot. Learn from my very frustrating mistake, and don’t try to take short cuts!!

At this point, the table top was still pretty rough, so I started with 100-grit sandpaper on my electric sander.

I went over the top several times with the sander, being sure that the top was smooth and even, especially where the boards met.

I finished up the sanding with 150-grit sandpaper, which I also used to round the edges a bit.

This next step is completely optional, but I wanted a completely smooth table top, so I used wood filler to fill in any gaps between the boards, and then sanded them perfectly smooth.

After everything was sanded and wiped down, it was ready to finish.

I originally stained my table top, which I ended up hating. Since I used cheap #2 pine boards, the grain was very heavy…way too busy for my taste.

So I ended up going over the stained table top with a whitewash (white paint mixed with water, about a 1:1 ratio), and then several layers of dry brushing with white paint. I was much happier with this. The grain still showed through, but it was very subtle.

How to make a cheap solid wood table top out of inexpensive lumber.

No sadly, as I mentioned above, my table top ended up splitting, starting at a knot on the edge and going clear across the top (pre-drill those holes!!!), so I had to come up with another solution. I didn’t want to go to the trouble of making another table top like this one, so I did a much easier and quicker solution…stain-grade plywood with decorative moulding attached to the edges.

click here to see the room completely decorated, with my final table top solution.

Helpful Hints:

Be sure to purchase the straightest boards possible. Warped boards will ruin a project.

If you’re going to stain your table top, just be sure that the grain in the wood isn’t very heavy. You’ll have to spend a little more money, but it will be worth it.

Pre-drill, pre-drill, and pre-drill!!! I made a rookie mistake by not pre-drilling my holes when I attached the table top to the base, and I ended up paying dearly (not so much with my wallet, but with my time) when my table top cracked. Don’t make this frustrating mistake!!