Take a look at this beautiful diy table that Fitzy crafted for me out of cedar. It is beautiful and just what I was dreaming of for our three season porch. If it wasn’t for a friend of mine recommending I did comparisons between the best small and compact table saws, I don’t think I would have known where to start when it came to making this table. He sure knows how to speak my love language!
For Mother’s Day I requested that Fitzy build me a table similar to one I spotted in an advertisement for outdoor furniture. We have a three season porch where we like to spend a lot of our family time in the spring and fall. It is our favorite room in the house but was lacking some basic furniture that would make the space more user friendly. The original plan was to use the spot tack welder to create a metal table but we felt we might need a little more practice before attempting that project. For that reason, we decided to make it out of cedar instead.
Starting the project we had a basic idea of what we wanted the table to look like. The table in the picture appeared to be made of pine but we wanted something a little more substantial that would balance well with the cedar walls in the space. We drafted the table to be approximately 44 inches by 27.5 inches by 17.5 high.
So let’s get started.
Materials we purchased:
2 pieces of 4×4 sanded cedar at 8 feet long
4 pieces of 2×6 sanded cedar at 8 feet long
1 piece of 1 inch dowel at 3 feet long
Wood was cut to:
5 pieces of 2×6 at 44 inches long for table top
2 pieces of 2×6 at 20.5 inches for side support
2 pieces of 2×6 at 37 inches for side support
4 pieces of 4×4 at 16 inches long for legs
2 pieces of 4×4 at 20.5 inches for base ends
1 piece of 4×4 at 37 inches for center base
10 dowel pieces at 1.5 inches
Other materials used:
2 inches deck screws= approximately 62
Wood Glue
It was such a beautiful day we pulled the saw horses out onto the drive way. We were able to enjoy the beautiful sunny day while watching the kids play nearby. We needed 5 of the 2×6 cedar planks for the top of the table. Knowing we would have wood left over we were able to be a little picky about the particular section of the plank we preferred. Caution was taken to select some of the more beautiful wood knots while avoiding others.
We turned our selective table top pieces upside down on a towel to avoid scratching the top surface while placing the underneath supports.
Next we cut 4 of the 2×6 pieces for the underneath support. 2 pieces were cut at 37 inches and 2 were cut at 20.5.
Here is a view of the bottom of the table. While putting the table together we realized the 37 inch 2×6 board used for support would need to be trimmed. This would ensure the 20.5 inch 2×6 board would fit nicely inside. With the squared legs sitting nicely in each corner, the table would appear fully supported when turned back over.
Use the 2 inch deck screws to fasten the support pieces to the outside edge of the table. From the picture above you can see we used approximately 10 screws on the 20.5 inch piece and approximately 10 screws on the 37 inch piece. We used a cordless drill to make sure the screws were tight. If you would like to purchase a cordless drill of your own, this guide from Coolest Gadgets features all the latest top-rated cordless drills to help make your search a little easier.
Next we used a 1 inch Spade Bit to core out a section of the 4×4 pieces to create a support system with the 1.5 inch dowel pieces. A drill press could also be used to ensure clean cut holes. We used a triangle to draw a straight line from each corner to determine the exact center of the piece. This made it easier to locate the correct place to drill.
Next we used the wood glue to insert a 1.5 inch piece of the dowel. The dowels were used to create stability for the table as well as avoid the use of screws that would be visible to the eye when the table was properly placed.
We also used the Spade Bit to create a core in the middle section of the base cross beams. This hole was centered at 10 1/4 from the end and 1 3/4 from the edge on the side beams measuring 20.5 inches.
The white dots in the image above indicate where the five dowels are located on each end of the table.
I turned the table up on its side to give you a better view of the bottom once the table is completely put together. The bottom support 4x4s were placed two inches from the bottom of the legs.
Here is a close up of the screws that were placed at an angle to secure the legs. Remember we didn’t want any visible screws so we were very strategic on screw placement.
Total time: approximately 5 hours
We may eventually seal or stain the table but for now we love the raw wood finish. Plus the added bonus is that it smells amazing. Nothing like the smell of fresh cedar!
If you’re not the creative type then don’t worry, I’ve got just the solution for you! My best friend recently bought this glass dining table (she’s not the type to hand craft furniture!), it’s a really good size and mega easy to clean. There are so many furniture companies with good quality furniture at reasonable prices which are well worth checking out if you’re not into DIY.
