Table for Two

My wife and I came to Texas with whatever fit in our two cars. We needed a table. I knew was going to build a table, I didn’t care that I didn’t know how. Soon, I was learning how to create the glossy finish for the table by reading the label on the back of a polyurethane can. Eventually I built my kitchen cabinets. There’s plenty of information out there about woodworking, taking a class is just one of them. Woodworking has been around for thousands of years. The trees hardly changed. There are only so many ways to join two pieces of wood together. Learn and master the few essentials and you can build anything you need. The “wants” takes more effort, time and resources. I may or may not get there one day, but this little table is how it all started. You can build this coffee table with the list below.

Materials.

(Qty 1) 24x48x ¾ cabinet grade plywood, I used birch with wild grain

(Qty 2) 2x4x8 pine stud, the highest quality and straightest piece

(Qty 1) packet of ¼” dowels

(Qty 2) ¾” x 8 ft. screen mould

(Qty 4) pre-made tapered pine furniture legs

Tools

Drill/ driver

¼” drill bit

Wood glue

Finish nails

Hammer

Larger nail as nail set.

Crosscut saw

Hobby saw and miter box

Oil borne polyurethane

brush

220-grit sandpaper

I’m not going to tell you how to do it, since it’s really not my goal to do step by step instruction on this blog. There are so little materials here, you are either going to end up with this table or a trough to feed a pony. The main idea to get hands on experience. Sure, I didn’t understand the idea of wood movement, classical proportion, a ripsaw from a crosscut then, but this project got me to the point where I understand it now.