The Wood Table

So, recently I acquired a Cricut vinyl cutter, and it has quickly become my new favorite hobby. I have had so much fun making stickers for different things. However, I soon realized how much space the Cricut and all the materials actually take up. I decided the only way to fix the problem was to create a table for the Cricut. For this table, I wanted it to be sturdy, look nice, and most importantly, be functional. This table ended up being free for me to make and keep. (It is important to note that I was able to use these materials free of charge, so the price for this project will vary).

-Table saw

-planer

-Miter saw

-Sand paper

-Kreg jig pocket hole jig

-Drill

-Wood glue

-Biscuit joiner

-Drill bits

-Screws

-Vice

-Scroll saw

-Tape measure

-Square

-Wipe on polyurethane

-Raw cut pine (this was pine that was cut from a tree and milled outside of a school; I'm sure that you could find something like this online, however, using wood slabs that are similar to the dimensions would work too).

This step was definitely the hardest step because I need to find a board that was the right size and shape. In the end, I chose a board that was 11 inches wide, 2 inches thick, and 10 feet in length.

For the legs of this table, I first cut a piece of board 32 inches long. You may need to cut multiple boards this size because raw cut lumber tends to have some imperfections. I then ran that board through the table saw until I had four, two-inch thick, and two-inch-wide legs. Make sure that you cut the boards a little over 2 inches, so that way you don't take too much material off when running it through the planer. Next, you simply run the boards through the planer, until you have boards that are 2 inches thick, by 2 inches wide.

Next, you will need to drill one hole through 2 of the legs. For this, I used the drill press, with a 19/64 drill bit. To make sure that the holes line up perfectly, I set both legs on top of each other and drilled through them. I drilled the holes around 3/4 up the legs. After I drilled through one of the legs and started drilling through the other leg, I took the top leg off and continued drill through. If you don't have a drill press, you can also use a handheld drill.

For this step, I took a scrap metal rod, and cut it down to 23 inches long with a hand saw. Next, I sanded the edges down with sandpaper, to make sure they were sharp. Next, I cut a scrap piece of 1/2 inch plywood out into a 1-inch circle. I then took a dead blow hammer and smacked the metal rod into the center of the circle. This ended up creating a perfect vinyl holder.

Now it is time to cut the aprons for the table. The size that I went with 2 inches wide, 3/4 inch thick. To be able to get the size of the table that I wanted, I cut 2 aprons to 19 inches in length, and the other 2 to 16. This made the table put together, 23 inches wide, by 20 inches long. If you have trouble understanding this, here is a simple equation you can follow to get your apron length.

A - (B x 2) = Apron length. A= The length or width of the table B= Leg width times 2. (You multiply it by 2 because you have 2 legs for each side)

For this step, I used the Kreg Jig pocket hole jig. I used a 3/4's bit and drilled holes in the aprons, making sure to only drill through the A and B holes. Make sure that your jig is properly adjusted before drilling the holes because it can totally mess up your project if you don't.

For this step, I sandwiched the apron with the pocket holes up, in between the table legs. Then, using clamps, I clamped everything tight, made sure it was squared and screwed the apron to the legs using the Kreg jig pocket hole screws. For this type of wood (pine) I recommend using fine threaded screws because they will help make sure that the wood will not split.

Now it is time to make the top part of the table. Since I didn´t a slab of wood that was big enough to make the top part, I simply cut various sized boards. I made sure that all of these boards put together would equal 20 inches in width and 23 inches in length. Then I ran the boards through the planer until they were 1 inch thick. Next, I drew straight lines through each board, to make the next step easier.

Now it is time to cut holes in the wood for the biscuit joiners. If you have never used a biscuit joiner, it is essentially just an angle grinder, that cuts small slits into the wood, horizontally. Whenever you cut with the joiner, make sure that you line up the joiner with you lines that you drew. Repeat this step for every piece. For your center species you will need to cut holes on both sides of the wood, However, make sure that on your outside pieces, you only cut slits on one side of the wood.

It is now time to glue the top pieces together. First, you will need to put glue on your biscuits, and then put them in the slits you made with the biscuit joiner. Then you can glue two pieces of wood together. Repeat for all pieces of wood. I recommend doing this on a big piece of paper or laying out newspapers, so that way you don´t get any glue on your tables.

For this step, you will need the Kreg jig pocket hole jig. You will then need to set it up properly and set the drill bit dept to 1 inch. Next, you will drill your holes In the aprons. I drilled 2 holes per apron, however, you can do more if you would like. Then, I put the Kreg jig pocket hole screws into each pocket hole. Since the table is now assembled it is time to finish it.

Once I assembled the table, I noticed that the table was a little weak. So I decided to cut another apron for the backside of the table. I repeat the same steps as the other aprons (drilling pocket holes, and screwing in the apron).

For this step, I sanded the table using a palm sander. I used 80, 120, and 220 grit sandpaper. This ended up making the table very smooth and nice. For a finish, I used wipe-on polyurethane. This gave the table a nice-looking color. I gave the table 3 coats of the finish.

Honestly, I couldn't be happier with the way that this table turned out. It looks nice, while more importantly, gives me more table space.