You just bought a new lampshade and you cannot find a place to put it. You tried to set it on your nice buffet table, but it overshadowed all the other ornaments around it. If you placed it on your dining table, your lampshade will definitely be an eyesore that can wreck your entire dining experience. You need an end table that will perfectly suit its design. Good thing that you can actually make one over the weekend.
An end table is a small table often found in room corners. Purely ornamental, the end table is made to hold other decorations such as lampshades, figurines and flower vases. If you march into a home improvement store, you will see multitudes of end tables that have various designs and patterns. Of course, you can easily purchase one for your home decorative needs, but why splurge when you can simply create the item?
An end table is quite easy to build, especially if you have a lot of unused wooden items. You can get wooden legs and pegs, shape them with a file and chisel then put them together to form your end table. All you need are some basic carpentry skills and you are off to create a fine end table that can suit the theme of your living room.
Materials Used:
3 wooden pegs (2 x 4 in) – 10 feet long
hand saw
sander
hammer
nails
wood glue
varnish
wood file
paintbrush
chisel
Gather the Tools and Materials
First, look for old wooden items in your backyard. Large items such as old cabinets and cupboards can do the trick since they contain enough wood to build a few coffee tables. If you do not have these items, you can visit a lumber shop and order the wooden pegs. Oftentimes, you can find the tools needed in your toolbox, but if some of them are unavailable, you can always pass by a hardware store and purchase the missing items.
Make the Table Legs
When you have assembled all the necessary tools and materials for this do-it-yourself project, get the wooden pegs and saw the four 28-inch long table legs. Use the sander to get rid of excess wood and polish the surface of each leg. When you have all four legs, apply varnish to each leg so that they will look elegant. You can also carve out patterns or manipulate the shape of the legs with your hammer and chisel.
Create the Table Surface
Your next assignment is to create the surface of your end table. Join the remainder of your wooden pegs together until they form the general appearance of your end table’s surface (39 x 15 x 1 in). Use your hammer, chisel and sander to manipulate each piece to form the table’s flat and smooth surface.
Once done, apply wood glue on each peg so that they will be firmly attached to each other. If you feel that the wood glue is not strong enough to hold all the pegs steadily, you can reinforce the connection by nailing the pegs together. When the surface has been formed, you can use your chisel to carve patterns or manipulate the shape of the table surface then apply varnish to give it a slick and elegant finish. Remember that the color of the table’s surface and legs should match, which is why you should be mindful when you apply varnish.
Attach the Legs to the Surface
Now that both the end table’s surface and legs are completed, your next step is to attach all the table components. Get the table legs and nail them to the corners of the table surface. Reapply varnish to the nailed areas if necessary.
At this point, your end table is finished. Your ornaments now have a designated place in your home.