A table is the second item after a stool that a novice amateur furniture maker should take on. The design of a simple table is no more complicated than that of a stool; unassuming comfortable table for a summer cottage or for a picnic you can build it in half a day using a hacksaw, hammer and drill. But a table made using the same technology and slightly refined can look great at home, on the left in the figure, instead of an expensive one. However, the table also gives greater freedom of creative expression; it can be a significant and even key element of interior design; it is not for nothing that artisanal furniture makers are called carpenters, and not sofa makers, cabinet makers or nightstand makers. Having become proficient in carpentry, you will eventually be able to take on exclusive tables and other positions. right there.
This article discusses how to make tables from wood. Wood is an environmentally friendly, affordable and easily processed material with remarkable aesthetic advantages. In utilitarian products, it forgives beginners quite serious mistakes, but delicate woodwork requires high skill. Having learned how to make wooden things, it will be much easier to master glass, metal and plastic.
Tool and workshop
To make a table with your own hands, you need a production room separate from the living rooms: woodworking, as you know, is dusty. In addition, such good means tinting and protecting wood, like stains, emit harmful fumes during the staining process; nitro varnishes too, although to a lesser extent. Therefore, home carpentry should be well ventilated, or better yet, with forced ventilation. You can use the garage, but there will be a lot of sawdust, and it will not be good for the car. Better to work in a barn; if it doesn’t exist yet, then you can build it, and it will be useful for a lot of things on the farm.
An ordinary carpenter's tool, on the left in the figure, will be enough for a start. But the work will go much faster, and the result will be better, if you attract help from modern achievements, on the right there:
- Rotary miter box, pos. 1, allows you to make cuts exactly to size and angle in 2 planes. It is advisable to take it with the complete bow saw, so everything together will be cheaper, and the work will be more accurate. A miter box is a universal device, it will always come in handy and it is better to buy it.
- Also universal is a manual jigsaw with a tilting shoe, pos. 2, which allows you to cut at an angle to the vertical plane.
- Disc grinder, pos. 3 and 4, gives a beginner the opportunity in 5-15 minutes to obtain the surface of a wooden surface, which would take an experienced carpenter with sandpaper in hand at least an hour to achieve, and a tape one, pos. 5, also process ends quickly and efficiently; There are also belt sanders for grooves and recesses with a protruding working body. These are already specialized tools, unsuitable for other work, and quite expensive, so it’s better to rent them first. True, craftsmen still successfully brush with grinders, i.e. They artificially age the wood, but this is delicate work.
- It is also preferable at first to rent a manual wood router, pos. 6, with a set of cutters. They process shaped edges and select holes and grooves.
In general, a universal household woodworking machine (UBDS) of various modifications is very useful on the farm. It is compact, fits on the table, power supply – 220 V 50/60 Hz 380-500 W. UBDS combines a circular saw, a jointer, a wood lathe and a set of cutters. True, you can’t just turn the table legs on it; the reach of the tailstock caliper is too small. But the caliper itself is just a steel round pipe; it’s not difficult to lengthen it. The cutter stop remains standard, it is movable, the leg and the long support are sharpened in one setting.
How to choose a tree?
A wooden table can be made from any wood of average resistance to decay, except for the softest species: poplar, aspen, alder, willow, ailanthus. Domestic ones include:
The breeds are listed in order of availability. For example, timber harvesting of horse chestnut, plane tree and juniper is not carried out at all: the former are too valuable for landscaping in the southern regions, and juniper is endangered and is protected. Industrial harvests of elm are almost entirely used for shoe lasts, weaving shuttles, etc., and rowan berries are used for weapon stocks; There is no full-fledged plastic replacement for them yet. Stone birch grows very slowly, in limited places, and does not renew itself well, so its harvesting is strictly regulated, and its wood is expensive.
Note: Walnut is especially valuable for furniture - its wood combines high hardness with excellent toughness; the most delicate carvings on walnut do not chip. And walnut wood from burls - large growths on the trunk - is not inferior in texture to Karelian birch.
At the beginning of a carpentry career, it is better to limit yourself to pine, birch, oak, acacia and boxwood. The countertop will be pine or oak; birch - on the legs of a pine table; in the countertop it warps a lot from spills. Acacia and boxwood make excellent dowels, see below.
For a pine tabletop made from boards, you can and even should use low-grade cheap boards - knotty, twisted ones. But, of course, without falling knots, cracks, wormholes and traces of rot in the form of spots of unnatural color: black, gray, blue, green, in general, not similar to this tree. For example, traces of rot on black (ebony) wood may be whitish or yellowish.
Why is there substandard quality on the countertop? Perhaps also unedged, which needs to be finished using a circular saw and jointer? And after skillful processing, they turn out to be layers of remarkable beauty, on the left in Fig. Manufacturers do not like such wood: the production cycle is delayed and waste increases. But for yourself, doing it yourself is not so scary compared to the result.
Wooden pot
Commercial pine has a clearly defined wood zonation in the form of annual growth rings; other conifers and many deciduous species also have it. On the cut of the board, the rings form the so-called. hump in the form of thin concentric arcs. If the top of the tree is directed across the face of the board, as in Fig. in the center, then when joining the shield for the tabletop (see below), the boards are oriented with their humps alternately up and down, from below in Fig. If the humps are directed towards the end of the board (on the right in the figure), then the boards are placed in the shield with their humps in one direction. These subtleties are necessary so that during operation the tabletop does not crack or warp.
Varnishes, paints, impregnation, glue
A free way to protect wood from rotting is used motor oil, but for what you eat, this is not the best option. Impregnation with water-polymer emulsion (WPE) twice, with a break of 3-5 days, would be optimal; it will provide protection to the table for the entire duration of its life. Even birch plywood impregnated with EPE is suitable for furniture front panels: coated with varnish on top, it does not delaminate.
Old furniture nitrocellulose varnishes NTs-218 and NTs-2144 with solvent No. 647 are gradually going out of use: they are superior in all respects to water-based acrylic varnishes; In addition, they are safe to use. Also, glues, bone carpentry and BF-2 with alcohol are inferior to PVA; True, to obtain a high-quality seam, the latter requires applying glue to both surfaces, keeping them touch-free before joining and keeping them under pressure for 1-3 days, but in home production this is acceptable for yourself.
Wood for furniture can be tinted in advance and protected with stain, which allows you to make beautiful typesetting parts; an example will be given below. To tint the assembled units, you can use paints based on the same varnish and artistic (not painting!) dyes: oil in tubes for NC varnishes and acrylic water-based for the same varnish.
First, prepare the “painting”: take 30-50 ml of varnish and squeeze 1-1.5 cm of paint into it while continuously stirring thoroughly with a painting brush. The paint is stored in a tightly closed bottle and added to the varnish to the desired tone; A test for it is made on a piece of wood, the tone is determined by the complete drying of the varnish. Colored varnishes based on NC and oil paints can be mixed according to the mixing rules oil paints for painting; acrylic - no restrictions.
First steps
The country table is the first of the homemade ones. If there are 1-2 brick pallets left from the construction site, then a table made from pallets will be the first of the first. Not only because it is extremely simple, but also because it is very useful on the farm.
From one pallet, sanded, impregnated and varnished, it turns out garden table like a magazine one, on the left in the figure. If you have a pair in stock, you can make a wall-mounted work desk-rack out of them in literally half an hour, in the center and on the right. You can also weave chains for it yourself from soft wire, covered with a PVC tube or, better, heat-shrinkable. To fully raise the tabletop, small tools are placed on the shelf of a wall pallet.
With a little more work, a prefabricated cutting table for the dacha is made from one pallet, allowing you to move the summer-autumn harvesting campaign outside without littering with husks and without trampling on stalks. For the winter, this table is assembled into a compact package. The design is clear from Fig; Place a bucket under the hatch in the countertop.
The next in order of complexity is the well-known country trestle table, in common parlance a goat. Its structure of 40 mm boards is shown on the left in the figure, and in addition to it is a bench of the same device. And on the right is a country folding table based on the same principle. It has articulated joints (M8-M12 bolts, washers and nuts with locknuts); in the place marked in green, a stop boss is placed on nails between the crossbars of the tabletop. When folded, this table fits in the trunk of a car, so it’s also suitable for going on a picnic. If this is not expected, or the trunk is larger, the tabletop can be made longer.
Finally, a gazebo table also does not require any special tools or skills, see fig. below. The material is the same magpie board and some inexpensive fasteners.
One step closer to art...
To advance in table building, you now need to learn some of the basics of carpentry. A table, in general, consists of a table top, its supporting frame, possibly with niches and/or mechanisms, or simply a plate - a base - legs, and the nodes that hold everything together. Let's go through them starting with the connections along with the legs, because... their fastening is the weakest point of the table.
Connections and legs
At first, we need to master the connection on dowels - round wooden bosses, see fig. Dowel joints are assembled using quick-drying glue that does not require curing: wood glue, BF-2, acrylic. Sometimes, to connect thin boards, instead of dowels, nails with bitten off heads are used, pos. 4, but this is bad: the wood dries out, but the metal does not, and over time the connection becomes loose.
For dowels, use thin-layered wood that is stronger than both parts being connected, i.e. the hardest rocks. A pine table on birch legs can be connected with oak or beech dowels. There are ready-made round sticks for cutting dowels on sale; Before use, the edges of the dowels are chamfered. Plastic dowels are also sold, but they are intended exclusively for detachable connections, e.g. inserts in sliding tables.
Legs for tables industrial production fastened with detachable drawers, see fig. on right. The item marked in yellow is the simplest, cheapest and worst. Buyers of Shiroptrebov Soviet furniture are well aware of its shortcomings and complete lack of advantages, let it remain there. Reliable, holds well, except for the legs, and the boards of the underframe, drawers with mortise jibs, “green” pos. They also require the least cost, but are quite labor-intensive, so they are rarely used in industry, but just right for an amateur. The drawbar with a shaped steel jib, at the top right in the figure, is even stronger; In this way, you can attach legs with a round head and any legs in general, but you need purchased shaped parts made of high-quality steel.
Note: The legs are attached to the round table as shown below in Fig.
Detachable legs are needed not only for ease of storage and transportation. IN small apartment with a narrow corridor, it is often simply impossible to push a table with legs into the living room, no matter how you turn it. Modern apartments more spacious, and in 1-story private houses the table can be brought in/out through the window, so in such cases the strength and durability of a table with tightly secured legs comes to the fore.
For tables on a rectangular base, the heads of the legs for blind fastening must also be rectangular, pos. 1 in Fig. By the way, the drawers can also be one-piece: then the legs have dowels that pass through a mortise wooden jib. From the inside, the dowels are cut flush and wedged with dogwood or boxwood wedges inserted across the grain of the jib wood. Assembled with glue, such a connection is so strong and durable that you can fight with these 200-year-old tables by grabbing the legs.
Sufficiently high-quality tables with turned legs are simply assembled on dowels, pos. 2. For simpler tables, the legs are made of timber and fastened with self-tapping screws after attaching the tabletop to the tabletop, pos. 3. Even simpler and lighter are the legs from a pair of boards each, pos. 4 and 5. To prevent them from clinging to the floor, you need to put thrust bearings on them below or put the table on wheels.
Tabletop
The easiest, but not the cheapest, option is to order a countertop made of laminated chipboard (chipboard, laminate). Laminated chipboard for countertops is available in the form of so-called. postforming - slabs 3.6x1.2 m thick 20-60 mm with decorative coating. The upper edge of the postforming plate is rounded, the lower edge has a drip tray, see fig. Modern furniture laminate is completely environmentally friendly, no matter what those who don’t want to forget the furniture, which stank of phenol for months, gossip about.
Postforming is well purchased by small furniture enterprises. They always have his waste; They will gladly cut your tabletop to size for you at an affordable price if the company has a jig cutting machine. Perhaps such an order will be accepted by a single individual entrepreneur if he is sitting idle. The finished slab will be edged, i.e. cover the end PVC edging(edge). If you do the edging yourself (sometimes they ask for an absurd extra payment for edging), then keep in mind:
- The upper and lower flanges of the edging have different profiles, see on the left in Fig. Mix it up and there will always be a dirt edging on the table.
- The edging must be taken exactly according to the thickness of the slab. You can put a 24 mm edging on a 25 mm slab, but it will soon slide off.
- The groove for the edging ridge must be selected using a manual disk cutter; No one seems to have done it properly with a saw yet.
- Before installing the edging, apply to the surface of the end thin layer silicone sealant and the “sausage” is squeezed into the groove; V in this case silicone will also act as a lubricant, without which the ridge ridge may simply become wrinkled.
- The comb is inserted into the groove with light blows of the mallet, gradually moving along the contour. The tabletop should lie face up on the support; squeezed out excess silicone is immediately wiped off with a clean rag lightly moistened with table vinegar.
Plank tabletops are held together in plank frames with wedges and spacers - wedges. It’s quite possible to make the vamps yourself; You need 3-4 per tabletop. The boards (cheeks) of the weim are wrapped in polyethylene so that the shield does not stick to them. In Fig. for example, the process of making a round tabletop; The rectangular one is put together in the same way, only cutting it to size is easier. The shield is attached to the tabletop using glue and dowels (see below); if the boards are tongue-and-groove, dowels are not needed. When rallying on PVA, the next plot is kept until the applied glue comes off before installing it in the clamp.
Often, countertops are assembled without bands on a plaza - a flat surface covered with plastic film. It will not be possible to assemble a good board panel on the plaza: either it will come out cracked, or the boards will stand on end when assembling it. But stacked tabletops from fragments are obtained in in capable hands simply wonderful. For example, at pos. 1-3 fig. – tabletop made from sawing waste, tinted with stain. And at pos. 4-5 The base of the tabletop was the platform itself, made of thick plywood. The tile and its break are glued tile adhesive, then the depressions are filled with grout, the surface is varnished and the outline is outlined with a wooden strip edge.
Note: These examples do not illustrate all the possibilities of making inlaid artistic tabletops with your own hands.
Underframe
Table base with fixed legs - simple wooden frame, left in Fig. Niches and parts of mechanisms are not involved in the power circuit. If the table is longer than 1.2 m, or the tabletop is removable/extendable, or large operating loads are expected (for example, a work table), the underframe is reinforced with stiffening ribs in the center. If the legs are attached with drawers, then the underframe is made integral with the tabletop to create a single power circuit, on the right in Fig.
Without frame
Tables without an underframe are also known, in which the tabletop and legs work in a single supporting system. Very durable, e.g. plywood table on the left in the figure; its connections are dowel. Unfortunately, this is not an economical design for an amateur: the sidewalls cannot be assembled from pieces, they must be solid. IN mass production the waste is not very large, but a sheet of plywood with a thickness of 24 mm or more will be used in one piece for the large sidewalls, and another 1 piece for the smaller ones. The table on the right is quite possible to make with your own hands: load-bearing frame made; connections - in a tenon with a tightening bolt and half a tree. However, the tabletop in this case should be round or square, with rounded or right corners.
... and we find ourselves in the kitchen
Exactly. The kitchen table is the next in order of complexity after the simplest country tables. It should already meet the requirements of apartment ergonomics, dimensions - 75 cm in height for people of average size; the width of the place for 1 eater/rider is 60-80 cm, depending on its corpulence, the width of the tabletop is at least 70 cm. The aesthetic appearance is very desirable, but is not decisive: suddenly you messed up with the decoration, that’s why the tablecloth. The countertop should be easy to clean, durable, and resistant to spilled heat from hot dishes.
All these requirements will be satisfied by a table made of laminated chipboard on metal legs; They are also sold separately in sets of 4 pieces, with fasteners, on the left in Fig. Factory-made table legs are usually equipped with height-adjustable heels. A table, the manufacture of which will be reduced to screwing the leg sockets with confirmatory screws, will cost 30-50% less than a completely purchased one, and in appearance it will not be inferior to it, on the right in Fig.
If you are not too lazy to put your hands to it, you can make steel legs with your own hands. This is not only a cheaper, but also a more durable option: the sockets of the branded legs are cast from rather fragile silumin, the fastenings weaken over time and need to be tightened. You can cut out the nests yourself from good steel, and weld the very legs into them.
In a larger kitchen, there may be room for a larger table. In such a case, follow up. rice. Rustic style kitchen table plans. This table is “rustic” not only in appearance: it does not have a single nail or metal fasteners at all. Just wood and glue. A connoisseur, seeing this, nods his head in understanding and approval, and the design is simple and accessible to a beginner. True, in addition to the tabletop, you will also have to assemble the panels for the sidewalls, but in this case the extra work is worth it.
Kruglyashi
A table with a round top is appropriate in any room, if it fits there. But a tabletop made of boards in this case is not the best the best option: due to the presence of sharp corners, it is without a frame, which is very complex and labor-intensive, and is susceptible to splitting. Composite countertops made from small fragments, like the one described above from waste, are free from this drawback; Unlike laminate roundels, they are decorative, stylish, unique and practically free.
There are even more sharp corners in a finely-set countertop, but here the “broom law” comes into play. Not the American Senator Venik, who loves democracy in Russia to the point of complete oblivion about it at home, but that broom that is used to sweep away trash. As you know, it is impossible to break it (the broom, not the senator) when tied, but even a child will break it twig by twig. So here, thanks to the ease of distributing loads between small fragments, a table top assembled from them works like a solid slab, and after assembly you can cut it even “Zu”.
Note: The idea of the senator-broom, sorry, Broom, was brought to mind by the statement of his compatriot Samuel Clemens, world famous as Mark Twain: “I assert, and I undertake to prove it, that Mr. Cooper has no more imagination than a bull. But not the bull that moos in the pasture, but the one that supports the bridge.”
How to make a semi-folding round table is shown in the figure; On the right there are the tabletop dimensions and assembly order. And in Fig. above right - small round table for the hallway, according to the old classification - business card. Its feature is the minimum number of connections; assembly with glue. Any round piece will fit on the tabletop, from a cut tree stump to a cardboard one, made according to the method of making cardboard shelves, but the underframe must be durable, made of wood (two-hundred-piece board) or laminated chipboard.
Let's go further: to the living room
The table in the main room of the house should suit the whole house. At the same time, with the modern desire for laconic design (which also saves costs on living space), the table should, for the time being, not be conspicuous and take up less space. Therefore, one of the most popular pieces of furniture these days has become a transforming table.
The simplest transformable table, which, despite all its transformations, remains a table and does not turn into a closet or bed - a table-bedside table; It is quite possible to make it yourself “from scratch”. There are 2 options that are most common here. On the left in Fig. – the table is unfoldable, it has a record ratio of occupied space in expanded and collapsed form. These are most often placed in studio apartments perpendicular to the wall on the border of the kitchen and living areas. With the tabletop wings lowered, it will serve as a bar. By lifting the wings one at a time, you can get a kitchen or everyday dining table, and when fully deployed (in the center), it will provide space for a fairly crowded banquet.
For a bachelor living in a small apartment, a folding table-bedside table, on the right in Fig. These are essentially 2 small round folding tables described above, connected by a rectangular insert. You can have lunch with one folded one, because, unlike the previous option, there is somewhere to put your legs. And when you turn it around, spend a romantic evening with a beautiful stranger or intimate gatherings with friends.
All the above qualities are combined in transforming coffee and dining tables with a mechanism. The variety of transformation mechanisms is great, but for tables, which are always tables, they mainly come down to 2 types: elevator (pantograph) and book. How they both work, see the video:
Theoretically, a book is more stable than an elevator, although a lot depends on the quality of execution. Book lovers are more popular because the book mechanism can still be made independently, and the elevator is outside production conditions hardly.
How the book-table unfolds is shown step by step in Fig. on right. To make it yourself, you need to know that the key unit is the damping-balancing elastic link. Quite expensive branded designs use very softly operating gas dampers (gas lifts), but for an amateur it is better to opt for a spring damper, and not because gas lift is much more expensive.
The fact is that the gas lift must be coordinated within fairly narrow limits with the kinematics of the lever system, the weight of the tabletop, underframe and the dead weight of the levers. If the balance of the entire system does not fit into its characteristics, the mechanism simply will not work. And the spring can always be tightened/loosened; as a last resort, replace it. In general, an unsuccessful homemade transforming table with gas lifts can rarely be “brought to fruition,” but a spring table almost always does. If you still decide to suffer with a homemade acrobat table, in Fig. – drawings of the spring transformation mechanism.
Without the availability of drilling, turning and metal milling machines or access to them, most parts of the transformation mechanism will have to be ordered. Then its production will cost a little about $40, and you can buy a good ready-made one for $50-$60. Factory transformable coffee table Rarely does it cost less than $200, so even in this situation the savings are significant.
The transforming table is made to fit the mechanism. One of the most popular are Mazetti transformation mechanisms, due to their good quality at a moderate price for this class of products. In addition, Mazetti mechanisms are produced in a supporting frame (inset in the center in the figure), which greatly simplifies installation. Other pos. in Fig. show the structure and dimensions of the table for this mechanism.
For a strong feast
Whatever you say, a normal family with children, friends and relatives cannot do without crowded gatherings at the table, and here a transforming table will not always help out. However, banquet tables for the living room are more or less in full let's leave it, as they say, for later: these products are more high order difficulties; primarily due to the sliding mechanism.
By the way, the good old “sliders” with wooden guides and wooden sliders of the tabletop halves (item 1 in the figure) are quite convenient and reliable when properly executed; in addition, you can make them yourself, but such a process requires a special detailed description. Modern mechanisms extension with telescopic guides for full extension, pos. 2, allow you to use not 1, but up to 3-5 inserts, which increases the table capacity by 6-10 people, respectively, but they are quite expensive, and their installation requires a description no less voluminous.
There are banquet tables with folding inserts, pos. 3. In elite models, when moving the tabletop halves apart, the inserts are lifted, unfolded and put into place or put back into the underframe by a very complex mechanism, but its manual versions are available for making at home.
As for banquet tables with retractable individual tables, arranged like a keyboard stand in a computer desk, they cannot be called popular: by leaning forward (and how can this be avoided if the house has no servants?), we get the board back into the table and our portion of the treat - for festive clothes.
But let's not talk about sad things. Let us remember that the table is not always moved apart, and you can use an extension, but a solid table is in any case more reliable. Therefore, in the series of pictures below there is a way to make a very durable and inexpensive dining table, and see how it looks “alive” on the left in the picture. at first.
In addition
You often want to paint a table, or any furniture, in more than just stripes or paint it artistically. To protect the drawing from external influences and to ensure the possibility of renewing the varnish if necessary, the paint should not be applied, but rubbed into the wood before varnishing. The technique of painting by rubbing paint in layers is called glazing. So in conclusion, we offer a master class on glazing wood.
Video: master class on wood glazing
A great way to complement the interior of your home or cottage is to make an original and stylish piece of furniture. We talk about how to make a table with your own hands in this article. This piece of furniture will become a real decoration for your living room, kitchen or office. It can be assembled at home from specially ordered boards and beams or from leftover materials. To do this, the master will need drawings, tools and a little imagination. But there may be no experience in making homemade furniture. We offer you a very simple project to build a strong and stable table. Even a beginner can make furniture using this pattern.
It all starts with an idea
How to make a table? You need to start work by selecting a ready-made furniture project for the living room or by drawing up your own diagram of the future product. You don’t have to limit your imagination, but you should remember that the degree of complexity of the drawings should correspond to your level of skill. If you do not have sufficient experience, it is better not to try to assemble a very complex structure yourself.
The design of a table for your home can be drawn with a pencil on paper. First you need to draw a structure of the desired shape, and only then indicate its dimensions. Most often, a do-it-yourself table for the living room is made square or round, but for a kitchen or office (and any small room) a compact corner or adjustable-size table is suitable.
The dimensions of the table with your own hands can be absolutely any; when choosing the dimensions of the product, it is recommended to take into account, first of all, the dimensions of the room in which it will stand. Then, using the drawings, you can calculate the amount of material that will need to be purchased. It is recommended to purchase materials with a small reserve (just in case).
If you are a beginner who is assembling furniture at home for the first time, then it is better for you to give preference to soft wood (for example, pine).
Such materials are very pliable and do not split during assembly. If you are making furniture for the living room and aesthetics are important to you, then choose poplar. If the homemade table will be used outside the home, it is recommended to choose treated wood or mahogany.
A forged table with a wooden top will also be durable. A wooden product decorated with forged elements will add charm to your yard.
To assemble a simple table at home, you will need:
- edged or tongue-and-groove boards, beams with a square cross-section (for legs) and with a rectangular cross-section (for the frame);
- white or yellow wood glue;
- screws (it is advisable to take self-tapping screws measuring 4x60);
- screwdriver;
- drill;
- set of clamps;
- sandpaper or sanding machine.
Making a countertop right
We begin the work with a description of the countertop manufacturing process. There are several ways in which you can solve this problem. What determines the choice of one method or another? First of all, it depends on the skill of the furniture maker and the intended appearance of the table for the living room or country house. So, here are the main ways to make a homemade countertop:
- Production from boards. This material is characterized by its relatively low cost, excellent appearance and environmental friendliness. If you are a novice craftsman, then you can make a table with your own hands from tongue-and-groove boards (that is, blanks with ridges and grooves.
Experienced master can assemble living room furniture from edged boards. To do this, he will need dowels or a short soil carrier. These will be used to connect the boards to each other.
- Made from a single piece of wood. In this case, you don’t even have to worry about how to make a table with your own hands with a sufficiently strong and beautiful table top. The best option is to purchase plywood made from hard wood. However, such a product will be quite expensive.
- Assembling a product from leftover materials. This is a very cheap way of making furniture for the home, but quite difficult to implement. It will be necessary to select pieces of wood that will harmoniously combine with each other and will not create problems during installation and further use of the product. Putting the leftovers together is also not easy. In this case, you will have to use screws and a large amount of glue or create an underframe (stiffening ribs).
In the first case, the boards are layered on top of each other, connected with screws and glue. Since all boards are different sizes, the finished product will need to trim off any protruding elements and do a thorough sanding. The result is an original and comfortable table.
The second method involves fastening the remaining materials in any convenient way (using glue, screws), followed by strengthening the structure by installing a subframe or stiffening ribs. This DIY table will be stable and durable.
If the table will be located in the courtyard near the house or in a stylized living room, then you can order a forged frame with legs for it. This will add a special flavor and originality to the product.
When the countertop is ready, you can leave it overnight to dry thoroughly. The manufacturing technology for this part of the table is approximately the same, regardless of the chosen shape of the product. The main differences between the projects in this case lie in the shape that needs to be given to the edges of the boards or a single sheet of wood.
If you are making original corner table ik, then the edges of the boards will have to be made at an angle. It is very important to correctly calculate the degree of each cut so that the edges of the product are even.
However, if unevenness does result, the edges of the table will need to be sanded properly. You can also first fasten the boards together, and then draw a triangle on the workpiece and cut out the finished product.
If you are making a round table for the living room or a product with rounded edges, it is recommended to fasten the boards of the future product together, and then draw the lines of future cuts on the workpiece with a pencil or chalk.
The finished countertop for such a project will look like this:
Frame as the basis for a reliable table
The next step is to make a frame for the living room table. The frame is a wooden square (for a square or rectangular table) or a polygon (for a round product), which is attached to the tabletop and ensures the fixation of the legs.
Making a frame for a regular table is not difficult even for a beginner. To do this, you need to turn the tabletop upside down, measure the canvas, count a few centimeters in depth and make marks. Then you can draw a rectangle or square using the marks.
After this, you need to cut four pieces of wood of such sizes that correspond to the drawings on the tabletop. To make the frame, it is recommended to take timber rectangular section. A frame made of boards may not be strong enough. Then the frame needs to be attached to the tabletop using glue or self-tapping screws. The second option provides higher reliability of the design, however, in this case, the screw heads will be visible on the surface of the tabletop.
We make strong and reliable legs
At the next stage of the unusual project, you need to make the table legs. First, you can cut off one leg of the desired height (it is recommended to use timber for the production of legs square section), and then, using it as a sample, cut off the remaining 3. If you are making a corner table, then there will be not 4 legs, but 3. After completing the cutting process, you should clamp all the legs together and cut them so that they are the same length.
At the next stage of work, the legs need to be sanded using grinding machine or sandpaper. But the top and bottom of the products should not be sanded, as this can ruin the correct cut angle. Then you need to attach the legs. To do this, the table can be turned upside down.
The first leg should be placed in one of the corners of the frame so that the top cut touches the table top, and the two sides of the leg are adjacent to the frame. Then the contact lines of the parts must be generously lubricated with glue and connected using fastening screws, which are screwed through the table frame. It is advisable to make holes for the screws in advance so that during the screwing process the screws do not split the wood.
From using nails and a hammer in the manufacture of standard or corner table It is better to refuse, since nails can split the wood, and using a hammer requires special skill from the manufacturer. In addition, screws hold wood better than nails and can be removed from the product if necessary.
Be sure to make sure that the legs are attached to the table under right angle. One of the advantages of screws is that they are easily adjustable. If necessary, their position can be easily changed. Then the same operations should be performed with the remaining legs. You can also screw the legs through the tabletop, but in this case there is a risk of splitting the top of the legs. And the aesthetics of the living room table will suffer from this.
When the glue is completely dry, you need to check the product for stability by shaking it vigorously. However, if you have made a corner table, then you can skip this step. It will touch two walls of the living room or office, and this will give it additional strength. Then all that remains is to sand the surface of the finished product and coat it with wood varnish or special paint. This completes the work. Now you can complement the interior of your apartment or garden with a wonderful product.
Regardless of the size of the kitchen, be it a spacious kitchen in a new building, country house or small in a small family, the most important piece of furniture is the kitchen table. Today, different types of tables are used to produce tables. Construction Materials, for example, glass, metal, stone, plastic, wood. But of all these materials, wood is still used more often. If you want to save money, you can make the kitchen table yourself. In this situation, you can save up to 70% of the cost of the table. But first you should do a good job and take into account a large number of factors, which we will consider with you in this article.
We make important measurements and calculations
Before starting work on making a kitchen table, it is important to make some calculations. Typically, such tables are designed for a specific number of people. Typically, this number ranges from three to nine. But it’s best to take into account a couple of extra seats when making your calculations, in case guests arrive. If you are a hospitable host, then most likely you will need a large table that can accommodate up to fifteen people.
Important calculations:
- The working distance for one person should be 60 cm. This figure is multiplied by the number of people. The resulting figure will be the perimeter of the future table.
- How exactly the table will be installed: in the middle of the kitchen, near the wall. In the first option, the table can accommodate more guests.
- Will the table have drawers or other accessories?
You need to decide on the size and location. Optimal width a table is considered to be 80–110 cm. If a narrower table is planned, you will have difficulties when serving. If you choose an oval table shape, you need to calculate the circumference. To do this, multiply the square of the radius by Pi (3.14).
Round or oval kitchen tables must be located only in the center of the kitchen.
- Do not place the table near the stove.
- You cannot place the table under the air conditioner.
It is equally important to decide on the shape of the table. Surface geometry can dramatically change the appearance of an entire space. The shape directly determines whether it will be convenient to eat or not. The rectangular shape with right angles is most in demand. These countertops are great for square or rectangular kitchens. Moreover, it can be placed near a wall or in the center of the room.
Oval-shaped tables are also very popular. There are several valid reasons:
- The oval table has an attractive appearance.
- There is no need to go around corners. This is especially convenient when there are small children in the house.
- An oval table is better suited for a formal meal.
There are a large number of advantages in favor of an oval-shaped kitchen table. But if available big family it is inferior to the rectangular shape. There are also round shapes, but with this option it will be inconvenient to take certain dishes. As for the oval tabletop, the ideal diameter is 140 cm.
So, when choosing the shape of the table, proceed mainly from your own taste. Moreover, remember that for a kitchen with an area of 8 m2 or less, an oval table will be impractical, as it will require a lot of free space.
Preparing drawings and tools
If you have decided on the size and shape of the kitchen table, then you can proceed to the next stage - drawing up a drawing. It should display the required dimensions of the surface, legs and other elements. You should consider the method of fastening certain components. Consider, for example, a kitchen table that will have the following dimensions: 120×60×75.
Although such a table will be small, using its example you can easily understand the principle of manufacturing such furniture. In your drawing, you can change the dimensions of the table to suit your needs.
You will need:
- Tabletop 1.2×0.6 m – 1 piece.
- Cross bars 40×2.5 cm – 2 pieces.
- Longitudinal jumpers 100×2.5 cm – 2 pieces.
- Legs for a table 70 cm high - 4 pieces.
To build a tabletop, you need to prepare boards of the appropriate size. Before starting work, you will need to consider a method for attaching important components.
First of all, you will need to collect all necessary tool and materials:
- plane,
- hacksaw,
- electric jigsaw,
- screwdriver,
- sandpaper,
- ruler or tape measure,
- square,
- pencil,
- circular saw,
- milling machine,
- file,
- clamps,
- paint brush,
- wood glue,
- polyurethane varnish: matte or glossy,
- solvent.
When everything is ready, you can start working.
Assembly Guide: Tabletop Requirements
As for the tabletop, it is important to decide whether it will be sliding or not. For example, when assembled, the table can be used for preparing food, and when extended, it can be used as a means of eating.
The countertop should not absorb odors and grease. Consider practicality too.
A good countertop should not absorb moisture or withstand strong impacts. The table surface should not be afraid of steam, condensation and high temperature. All these requirements are met by a countertop made of natural and artificial stone or covered with ceramic tiles. But it should be noted that such a table will look only in an Art Nouveau style interior.
One of the most common types of countertops is chipboard, laminated with film or covered with plastic. The price of chipboard slabs is affordable for many. Moreover, this material is the easiest to work with. Some may deny that chipboard countertops are practical. This is partly true, but if it is treated correctly it will last for more than one year. Here are some recommendations and tips for working with chipboard countertops:
- The film or plastic should be rounded at the ends of the chipboard.
- Each 90° rounded end is treated with silicone.
- However, in this position the end is vulnerable to moisture, so it is better to turn the end 180°.
You should be objective and mention the disadvantages of such a tabletop. If the chipboard swells, then there is no way to fix this problem. As a result, what will have to be done new table or at least a countertop. But, on the other hand, such a surface is resistant to aggressive detergents and to mechanical stress.
Of course, if we talk about the most ideal and environmentally friendly option, then wood rightfully comes first. But such a surface is more capricious in care. Do not allow moisture to penetrate into the wood, scratches or other damage. Microbes can settle and multiply inside them, which negatively affect mechanical strength wood Therefore, from time to time, wooden countertops need to be varnished, cleaned, and covered with a layer of wax.
Requirements for legs
Depending on the shape and size of the table, the number of legs will vary. For example, if you are making a table from laminated chipboards, then 4 legs, which are attached to the corners of the tabletop, will be enough. If you make strong wooden legs, then this design will be durable and strong.
You can make the legs yourself. To do this, you can purchase a ready-made sketch. The complexity of this work will depend entirely on the shape of the legs. If you think you can't do it, then buy ready-made metal legs or choose carved wooden ones. Everything will depend on your financial capabilities.
The table can be on one leg. As mentioned above, this will depend directly on the weight, shape and configuration of the table top and table as a whole.
A table with one massive leg looks impressive and beautiful from the outside. To install it, a high-quality cross-shaped strapping is performed.
Two massive legs are located at a certain distance from each other. In most cases, a table with two legs is rectangular or oval. The advantage of such structures is that the legs will not interfere with any of the sitting people. As for the design of such legs, they expand at the bottom to increase the support area. They are connected to each other by a jumper board.
But even ordinary tables with four legs are simple in design and do not require precise and complex calculations. This table is stable and durable. The most important thing here is to choose the right size of the legs and mount them at the correct distance. At the same time, tables on four legs can be very different in shape: oval, round, square, rectangular.
So, regardless of the number of legs chosen in your design, the most important thing is always their aesthetics. The aesthetic appeal of table legs is even more important than the beauty of the tabletop. After all, the tabletop is always covered with a tablecloth or oilcloth, and the legs are always visible.
We build a folding table
One of simple shapes kitchen table - rectangular. This design consists of four legs and six sidewalls of the box. The tabletop and sides can be made from 18 mm chipboard, and the legs from 40x40 mm blocks. First you need to make drawers from plywood, 2 cm thick (the table legs will be attached to them), as well as two horizontal slats. It is on them that the removable part of the table will be placed. In our case, for manufacturing you will need to purchase the following material:
- Self-tapping screws 4×16.
- Self-tapping screws 4×50.
- Furniture corners 30×30.
- Laminated edges to match the color of the chipboard.
- Wooden dowels 8×40.
To make the table extend, you can use standard guides. They ensure smooth movement of the tabletop. So, everything is pre-made necessary details following sizes:
- Leg 710 mm.
- Two fixed parts 450×700 mm.
- Removable part 400×700 mm.
- For the non-removable part box there are four sidewalls 420×120 mm.
- For the box for non-removable parts, two end ones 600×120 mm.
- There are two side drawers made of plywood, 830×120 mm.
- There are two end drawers made of plywood, 498×120 mm.
- To accommodate a removable tabletop, two strips 498x120 mm.
With such preparations you will get an extendable table with the following dimensions:
- When extended, 1300×700 mm.
- When assembled, 900×700 mm.
It is best to cut all the blanks using special equipment. This is important in order to accurately maintain all dimensions. All plywood and wood pieces should be thoroughly cleaned and varnished in two layers.
So, step by step instructions:
- First of all, the lateral and longitudinal drawers are fixed with outside legs flush with the ends. Afterwards, using 4x50 mm self-tapping screws on the outside and 4x16 mm on the inside, the corners are attached. The corners are attached to the longitudinal drawers through horizontal strips.
- Next, with inside A wide guide is fixed to the side drawer.
- You will need to drill two holes at the inner ends of the tabletop for the dowels. They are attached for a collapsible connection, that is, one half will be free, and the second will be attached with glue. The distance from the dowel to the edge of the tabletop should be equal, but not exceed 10 cm.
- Two dowels are mounted on the removable tabletop. To do this with reverse side two holes are drilled.
- At the next stage, it’s time to assemble the U-shaped parts of the laminated chipboard box. In this case, the end elements 600x120 should be located between the sidewalls 420x120 mm.
- Now screw on the narrow guides. This is necessary so that the chipboard box moves on average 2 mm above the plywood collet.
- Afterwards, the guides are latched and checked for movement along the drawer.
- Using corners and 4x16 mm screws, attach the non-removable part of the tabletop. Both parts must match perfectly. Therefore, just before attaching them, slide both parts and check their alignment. Then carefully move the drawers apart and secure the tabletops.
- Place the removable part of the tabletop on the shelf inside the table.
A folding table is an original solution for a small kitchen!
If your kitchen is miniature in size, then choosing the right shape for the kitchen table can be difficult. However, there is always a way out. For example, you can build a homemade folding table. When folded, it will serve as a decorative frame, and when unfolded, it will serve as a full-fledged table for dining. Although in each individual case the size of such a table will be different, we will take our sizes as a basis. This will allow you to visualize exactly what your drawing will look like.
To work you need:
- MDF board 180 mm thick – 5 pieces,
- 150×90 cm,
- 130×10 cm – 2 pieces,
- 90×20 cm,
- 70×20 cm,
- holdfast,
- wood glue,
- acrylic putty,
- electric drill,
- drill for wood 3 mm and for metal 8–10 mm,
- sandpaper,
- acrylic paint for wood,
- roller,
- masking adhesive tape,
- screws 3.5×30 and 3.5×16 mm,
- loops,
- screwdriver,
- two furniture bolts.
The entire process will not take you much time if you strictly follow the step-by-step instructions below.
- Based on the set of materials, the table will be made of MDF. Make drawings in advance.
- The first step is to construct the frame. To do this, four smaller elements are attached to the bottom of the largest board using a carpenter's vice. Every 250 mm, holes are drilled in the frame with a Ø3 mm drill, up to 3 cm deep.
- Afterwards, using a metal drill Ø8-10 mm, a hole is drilled to a depth of 3 mm. This way it will be possible to deepen the heads of the screws.
- Next, wood glue is applied to the lower surface of the four frame elements, and then each element is placed in its place. Each of them must be pressed well with a carpenter's vice.
- Attaching the frame with glue is not enough, so you should additionally secure it with screws.
- At the same time, mask the screw caps so that they do not spoil general view. For this you will need acrylic putty.
- When the putty has dried, you can sand it sandpaper surface of the decorative frame.
- The ends of the tabletop should be taped with masking tape.
- Paint the surface of the frame acrylic paint using a roller, and paint the corners and edges with a brush.
- Then screw the hinges along the short edge of the tabletop. There must be at least 150 mm from the edge. Mark holes on the wall and drill for dowels. This way the hinges will be screwed to the wall.
- When the table is in a vertical position, it will be held in place by bolts from above. They should be secured in such a way that they are not conspicuous, for example at the edges of wall shelves.
Table from postforming tabletop in 5 stages
Such a table can be completed in the shortest possible period of time. To do this, you will need to first collect all required material and tool. You will need:
- pencil,
- postforming tabletop,
- jigsaw,
- jigsaw file,
- Sander,
- edging,
- cutter,
- silicone sealant,
- rubber mallet,
- sharp knife,
- clamps,
- metal legs with holder,
- hex wrench.
All work can be completed in 5 successive stages.
Stage 1
Apply markings on the front side of the tabletop with a pencil. The markings will correspond to your drawing. Each rounding is made with a radius of at least 60 mm. This will prevent the edging from changing color in sharp bends.
Stage 2
Now you need to give the tabletop the appropriate shape. To do this, use a jigsaw. When cutting, it is recommended to leave a small gap of 2-3 mm. Pay attention to the direction of the jigsaw blade. It should have a reverse direction of the teeth. This will avoid chipping the plastic coating. Although they may be partially hidden by the edging. To accurately finalize the dimensions and outlines of the tabletop, you need to work on the ends grinder tape type.
Stage 3
In the third step, it's time to mill the groove. Milling is always performed strictly in the center of the end. And this is even regardless of whether the edging exactly matches the thickness of the tabletop or is large. If you do not have a cutter with the exact dimensions of the edge groove, then you can go through it several times with a cutter that has a smaller tooth height.
Stage 4
When the groove is ready, you can start filling the edging. To do this, the end is first coated with silicone sealant. This will prevent water penetration. The sealant is applied to the upper edge of the edge. The edging itself is stuffed rubber mallet. The joint should be formed in the most inconspicuous place. When the padding is completed, it is important to make an accurate joining of the edge. There is no way to do this without sharp knife. After this, you will need to remove the excess sealant that was formed when driving in the edging along the entire perimeter of the tabletop.
When securing tabletops using clamps, it is important to use special spacers. They are installed on the protruding edges of the edge and prevent their damage.
Stage 5
At the final stage, the legs are secured. To do this, you should attach the molded holders to the underside of the tabletop. To ensure that they are at the same distance, mark with a pencil. The leg should be at a distance of up to 10 cm from the edge. This holder is secured with 2.5 cm long self-tapping screws with a countersunk head. Now all that remains is to commit finishing touch: Secure the legs in the holder with a hex key. Dinner table ready for the kitchen!
As you can see, the postforming table top is very simple and, most importantly, accessible to homemade at home. To do this you need to have basic carpentry tools. But here we should also remember the dangers. If handled carelessly, there is a risk of breaking the holder, which is made of fragile material. But if you use this table carefully, it will last for many years.
The choice is yours
We have looked at several options for how to make a kitchen table. There are other technologies for its production. In most cases, everything will depend only on your financial capabilities and ingenuity.
Video
This video shows an example of making a rectangular kitchen table with rounded corners. Balusters are skillfully used as legs:
This piece of furniture is one of the most versatile in use. The table can be a dining room, a utility table, or installed in a living room, on a veranda, on a property, in a workshop, and so on. In a word, it is impossible to do without it. But many people are not satisfied with purchased products in terms of a number of parameters - size, design features, form or for any other reason.
Considering that wood is relatively easy to cut and sand, making a table from it according to your own drawing, with your own hands, is not a problem for a good owner. And it will come out much cheaper. Plus - satisfaction from such work.
Room
Ideally, this is an extension, a barn, an empty garage, although a small area under a canopy will do. Working with wood on the site, in the open air, means being completely dependent on the vagaries of the weather. If there are suitable ones for making furniture " square meters", then you should worry about high-quality ventilation. Natural is sometimes not enough (besides, it depends on changes in wind direction and pressure), and a hood is installed.
Arguments that if you use protective equipment, you can work in a closed space do not stand up to criticism. Wood dust will immediately settle on everything, including the sample with which some action is being performed. Neither an accurate cut along the line nor high-quality surface treatment of the wood (not to mention the impregnation and finishing coating with paint and varnish) will be possible.
One cannot ignore the fact that many preparations used for wood processing contain toxic components. For example, varnishes, paints, impregnations: if they are not natural, then harmful fumes are guaranteed.
Tools
Their selection depends on the extent to which it is planned to “ennoble” simple design made of wood, what shape to give it and a number of other nuances. If the master does not lay claim to the elegance of a wooden table and does not aim to achieve its originality, then an ordinary carpenter’s set will be enough.
For more “delicate” work in the process of making a table of unusual shapes and external design, special devices will be needed.
El/jigsaw. It will not be possible to make an inclined vertical cut with a regular saw, maintaining the angle exactly. The canvas will begin to “play”, and therefore the quality of work will be extremely low. The electric jigsaw is universal in use, and also gives high accuracy cutting wood or making cuts in it.
Many of the listed devices can be rented if making furniture is not a hobby, but a necessity.
Impregnating and other compositions
Rot protection:
- Working off machine oil– an effective, and also free, remedy. But not for dining tables.
- Flaxseed oil. A natural and effective product that penetrates deeply into the wood structure and protects it from mold and mildew. The downside is the high cost. But if the table is intended for eating, this is a great option. The drug has no color, therefore, after processing lumber, it does not leave any traces in the form of darkening, stains, or streaks, unlike processing.
- Water-polymer emulsion. It is characterized by long-lasting action and safety for health.
- Acrylic varnishes. They have practically supplanted their predecessors in the “NC” category, since they are harmless and in many respects better than compounds that are diluted with solvents.
- PVA, bone glue and a number of others. More detailed information about carpentry compositions - .
To decorate a tree:
- Clear varnishes are used not only to protect the material from moisture. With their help, you can preserve the texture of the wood and shade it.
- Stains.
- Varnishes with a coloring effect (tinting).
- Paints (but only for wood!).
- Putties.
Using colorless varnish and pigments, you can make a coloring composition of any shade. It is enough just to correctly determine the proportion of components. This is easy to do by experimenting with mixing and applying a sample to a discarded board. This will allow you to choose an acceptable tone. It is more than advisable, since it is not always possible to purchase exactly what you need on the market.
Fasteners
It is better to ignore all advice on assembling a wooden table using nails (the reasoning is simple, quick and cheap). The reasons are as follows:
- The nail easily pricks dry wood (and this is exactly what is used; more on that below).
- It is quite difficult to direct its leg correctly (strictly vertically). In some cases, it is even more difficult to redo your mistake.
- A tree, even the most protected from rot, succumbs to it over time. The maintainability of a table knocked down with nails is extremely low. Practice shows that it is rarely possible to remove such fasteners without damaging adjacent structural parts. As a result, instead of the planned replacement of one element, 2–3 will have to be changed.
- When assembling a wooden table, if glue alone is not enough, you should use only self-tapping screws.
- Sometimes its individual parts (at joints) require reinforcement. Strengthening the strength with hardware with a thicker and longer leg is impractical. The reason is the same - the likelihood of the tree splitting. For these purposes, metal strips, brackets, and corners are used.
Features of choosing wood
Some people focus on the cost of lumber, others care about the wood’s resistance to rot, and for others, its texture. What can you recommend to a novice furniture maker? Do not use the same type of wood for a table unless it is intended to be installed somewhere in a utility room or garage. This is exactly what many novice “craftsmen” do, selecting the same type of boards and bars from what is left from construction or renovation and gathering dust in the barn.
When making a wooden table for a living space, veranda, etc., you need to take into account the properties of individual species. Naturally, if you do not have sufficient experience in assembling furniture, you should pay attention to cheaper wood. The first table (chair, stool) in your life is just a kind of training in making and gaining experience.
Tabletop. Here, strength and minimal moisture absorption come first. It is on this part of the table that something constantly spills. The optimal choice is pine, larch, oak (although the latter is more expensive). Thickness – at least 3 cm.If the size of the countertop is small, then you can use wood-based slab products (OSV, OSV and the like). But only with lamination to prevent the material from swelling when liquid gets on the table surface. For example, chipboard.
Low-grade lumber is not used in the furniture industry. This is not economically feasible, since pre-treatment of wood increases the production cycle time. But when making something, wood of lower grades, substandard wood is just right. The same pallets left over after using stacks of foam blocks or bricks.
And not just because it is free or relatively cheap. Many of the disadvantages of such wood can be turned into advantages with the right approach. For example, after coating with colorless varnish, the tabletop acquires a unique, original look.
The main thing is that the boards do not have obvious defects in the form of rot, cracks, falling knots and wormholes.
If pine is chosen for the countertop (this also applies to many other coniferous species), then you need to pay attention to the location of the annual rings. These arches are called humps. The cuts of the boards show how they are oriented, and this is taken into account when laying them in a row. Samples obtained by tangential cutting are arranged alternatingly (one top down, the next one up); radial cutting - the same (with arcs in the same direction). The nuance is insignificant, but compliance with this recommendation eliminates the risk of warping and splitting of the boards.
For furniture, if you think about its durability, you should take only dry lumber. As wood shrinks, it will become deformed; This is a natural process, and its consequences in the form of twisting, warping, and bending are inevitable. Such a table will quickly become warped, and you will have to repair it. And here you need to decide whether to purchase highly dry wood or rid it of moisture yourself. The first option is simpler, but such a tree is more expensive. The second one will cost less, but there are a number of purely technical difficulties.
- Firstly, it is necessary to ensure stable temperature regime at the place where the workpieces are stored. Changes in its value will lead to uneven evaporation of moisture, which will negatively affect the strength of the tree.
- Secondly, good ventilation must be organized.
- Thirdly, and perhaps this is the most unpleasant moment - you will have to wait up to about six months, depending on the initial moisture content of the tree. But this is not a guarantee that the result will be as expected; Even this requires practice.
This once again confirms the idea that when starting to make furniture from wood for the first time, you should focus on the simplest table for household needs made of cheap lumber, without pretensions to its sophistication and originality of design. For example, for a barn, garage and the like.
Options and patterns of wooden tables
It should immediately be noted that any work related to the design and self-assembly- the process is creative. There are no stereotypes in this matter, so you can only take the model you like as a basis, and everything else - linear parameters, shape, manufacturing specifics - depends on the purpose of the product and your own imagination. Here are just a few examples of what wooden tables can be like. For example, for summer cottages and small utility rooms, it is worth choosing structures whose geometry can be easily changed - folding, camping, hanging, garden, level, and so on.
Tables that are supposed to be used for eating, games, as coffee tables for installation in living rooms intended purpose, they are made stationary, that is, unchangeable in size. These assemblies are more “solid”, since all articulated parts are rigidly fixed; no hinge joints.
Features of assembling wooden tables
If a person undertakes to make something, it means that he knows how to use tools, read blueprints and work with lumber. Such a home craftsman does not need to be taught the basics of carpentry. But it would be worth noting a number of nuances when making a wooden table. These notes will only help in the process.
Let's start with the types of connections. There are quite a few of them, but for a table that you assemble with your own hands, the ones listed below are quite enough.
On the dowels
In this case, the parts are fastened by placing them on an adhesive composition (Fig. 1 – 3).
The nuance is that to make the “cylinders” that are inserted into pre-drilled “channels”, a tree of a denser structure than the table elements is taken. This is what ensures the strength of the connections. Before installing them, chamfers are removed from the edges of the dowels and holes.
These round sticks are available for sale in any furniture showroom in several sizes. Turning them, even if you have a carpentry machine, is a waste of time. It is not recommended to purchase plastic dowels for the table; they are used for detachable connections. For example, frame furniture (walls, multi-level shelving, etc.).
You should not use nails to fix table elements (Fig. 4). Metal and wood differ in the degree of thermal expansion. Such a connection will not last long - it will begin to “shatter”, especially if the table is intended to be installed on the territory or in an unheated room.
On the kings
It is advisable to make such connections if the table either has to be disassembled periodically, or without this it is impossible to move it through the doorway. Although not all drawers require dismantling the structure. The most commonly used options are shown in the figures.
Bolted
Such connections are used mainly for garden furniture or those installed in extensions; for utility tables. An example is shown in the figure.
The nuance of working with fasteners
In order for the self-tapping screw to be easily screwed in and “go” in the desired direction, a hole is first made at the point of its installation using a drill with a diameter slightly smaller than the fastener leg. The main thing is to maintain the coincidence of the axial lines, that is, to prevent skew. In this case, to “plant” the screw, you can do without a screwdriver.
Features of wood processing
Everyone knows that a plane is used first, an abrasive with a large grain, and then a fine one. But sometimes it turns out that the last stage, polishing, has to be done many times. Much depends on the type of wood and the degree of drying. After applying the first layer of varnish, the fibers may “stand up”. Nothing wrong with that. You should wait for the workpiece to dry and repeat its processing with abrasive. The work is painstaking and takes time. But it is precisely this method that can bring “problem” wood to ideal “smoothness.”
To eliminate the risk of injury to a person, all edges and corners of the table should be slightly rounded.
Features of external decoration
- Minor defects in the form of cracks and chips are eliminated with putty.
- Once sanding is complete, all wood dust must be removed. In this case, a regular household vacuum cleaner with an appropriate attachment will help out. It is recommended that after such cleaning, wipe the entire table with a slightly damp cloth, let it dry and repeat removing any remaining dust. After this, you can safely start applying stain or varnish - there will be no “pellets” on the wood.
- You can add originality to the table not only with the help of curly cutouts, an unusual shape of the tabletop or legs, a combination of textures of different species, and so on. One of the good options is artistic painting.
And finally. Work on self-production anything made of wood (the same table) is just the initial stage of mastering the skill of a “designer-assembler”. Having developed technologies and techniques on wood and acquired the necessary skills, it is enough to simply switch to other materials - metal, plastic, glass. So the benefits of a wooden table made even by yourself simple drawing(besides the pleasure of work and the money saved) is obvious - time well spent.
