Building a beautiful custom wood table is a relatively easy and very rewarding task. Such a table can be made with minimal carpentry skills, needing only basic tools and supplies, such as a circular saw, miter saw, wood glue, wood, liquid acrylic and basic tiling skills. Building the table begins with selecting a base, then tiling a plywood table top using wood tiles that you cut from scraps. To complete your custom, future heirloom follow these steps.
Step 1. Begin by choosing a base; this part you will actually purchase, not construct. This is a cost-effective and labor-saving solution. Living room end tables or short dressers make great bases because then you have extra storage for table linens, china, paper plates, etc. You can often find a beautiful end table in a furniture clearance center or a yard sale. When you find the appropriate table simply clean it up, re-stain it (if necessary), and then move on to the next step.
Step 2. Purchase a large piece of 3/4 inch plywood and cut your table top. The size of the table top will vary depending on the size of your base and your chairs. To choose the size simply push your chairs up to the table base, where you would like everyone to sit, then measure the size. If necessary, raise the table top up by adding extra pieces of plywood, the size of the base, until the desired height is reached.
Step 3. Purchase wood molding and cut it to fit around the table top, leaving a 1/4 inch lip of molding that rises above the plywood. Stain the wood molding and attach it with glue and nails. This molding will act as the frame for your tiles; once the 1/4 inch tiles are set it will all be level.
Step 4. Now, the fun begins as you create your own wood tiles to cover the table top. Start with blocks of wood, you can choose any size and any species - this is purely personal preference! You can purchase blocks of wood at crafting stores, wood working stores and architectural salvage stores. Cut each block to a consistent size length and width, similar to a loaf of bread. Then, using the miter saw, slice off 1/4 inch thick tiles of wood. Sand the edges of each piece, briefly, if necessary.
Step 5. Once you have a large stack of wood tiles, you can begin to tile the table. Attach each piece of wood using heavy-duty wood glue. Be careful with the amount of glue that you use, make sure you have enough so the tile doesn't move, yet not so much that it oozes out to the surface. Cover the entire surface with wood tiles, weighing them down with heavy objects (such as books) until they dry.
Step 6. After the glue is dry, coat the table with a thick, clear polyurethane resin coating. This should be available at most home improvement stores. Because each brand can have varying instructions, be sure to follow the directions step-by-step according to the table.
Step 7. Congratulations! Once the coating is dry, you now have a beautiful, one of a kind table that will last for years, bringing a smile to your face each time you use it and racking up compliments every time you have company for dinner.
