How to Build a Primitive Coffee Table

Every room needs a center piece. The right coffee table can bring the design elements of an entire room together. Many types of tables are available today in every color and shape imaginable. The right table does not have to be complex or exotic, sometimes a simple homemade table can work wonders to accent a room's decor. A simple design is also easy to modify by painting or staining to suit your own preferences Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

Assembly

1

Lay the two-foot by four-foot table top upside down on a work bench. Place the two-inch by four-inch top rails on the table top with the two-inch side contacting the table top. Arrange the top rails so that they are touching at each corner and centered on the table top. Lay the one-inch by one-inch fillets into the inside corners formed by the table top and the top rails. The longer top rails and fillets correspond to the long sides of the table top. The shorter top rails and fillets pair with the short sides of the table top. Center the fillets lengthwise with the top rails.

2

Drill and counter-sink holes through the fillets into the table top, making sure not to go entirely through the table top. Drill a hole in each end and every three inches in between. Attach fillets to table top with one-and-half-inch wood screws through pre-drilled holes.

3

Drill and counter-sink holes through fillets into top rails, being sure to avoid the screws already attached to the table top. Attach the fillets to the top rails using one-and-a-half-inch wood screws.

4

Place the two-inch by four-inch corner supports in the inside corners formed by the top rails. Drill and counter-sink two holes in each of the ends of the corner supports perpendicular to the 45-degree outward angles and into the top rails. Be sure not to drill all the way through the top rails. Secure the corner supports to the top rails with two-and-a-half-inch wood screws.

5




A sharp chisel will make quick work of the soft pine lumber.

Chisel one corner off of one end of each of the two-inch by two-inch table legs. Start the cut two and a half inches down each leg and maintain a 3/8 of an inch deep cut to the end. This will make a two-and-a-half-inch long flat area and allow for the head of the carriage bolt to to sit flat against the chiseled area rather than the apex of the corner.

6

Place the table legs into the right angle formed by the ends of the top rails with the chiseled corners facing outward, opposite the corner braces. Make sure the top of the leg is flush against the bottom of the table top. Clamp the legs into place.

7

Drill two evenly spaced quarter-inch holes through each table leg and corner brace. Place a carriage bolt through each hole from the leg into the corner brace, leaving the head exposed on the outside of the leg. Place a washer, lock washer and wing-nut onto the exposed threads of each bolt and tighten by hand, securing the legs to the top rails.

8

Paint, stain or varnish the table with the desired finish.