Puzzle Table and Puzzle Piece Sorting Trays

My wife loves to put puzzles together. She prefers to stand and finds the normal table height uncomfortable to use for very long. So my son and I made a custom table for her, designed to fit the biggest puzzles she tends to do, stand at a height that is comfortable, and made sorting trays for pieces that can double as an attractive top to the table.

Supplies

We mostly used salvaged lumber from three sources

• an old shelving unit
• a wooden bed frame
• pieces of dimensional 2x4s

For this project we used the following materials:

• 4 legs of 3"x3" teak
• 8 braces of 2"x4" teak, cut at 45 degree angles. The long edge is 12 inches.
• Ample 1"x2" painted and weathered teak wood
• More 2.5"x2.5" unpainted wood
• 3/4 inch plywood
• 1/4 inch plywood
• Screws of varying lengths
• Nails
• Lots of wood glue

We also used the following tools:

• Miter saw
• Table saw
• Drill and bits
• Planer
• Sander
• Clamps
• Tape measure
• Square

Step 1:

First, we disassembled the shelving unit. Jacob removed as many screws and nails as possible. Then he trimmed up one end of each of the pieces with the miter saw to make measurements easier.

I had already disassembled the bed frame.

Step 2: Table Frame

We cut each of the leg pieces to the same length based on my wife's height and what she found comfortable to work standing. Then we cut a pair of 45 degree braces out of the 2x4 (dimensional) and glued and screwed them to each leg. After checking on the dimensions of the puzzles, we knew the maximum size that she would typically need, so cut some of the bed frame wood to create the structure to connect them. Wood glue and screws was used to put everything together.

Step 3: Table Top

We cut a piece of plywood to fit on top of the frame we had built. We glued it in place. Then we decided we didn't like the raw plywood edge showing, so used some of the shelving slats to trim around the outside. We had to run them through the planer to get their thicknesses the same, but also to achieve a snug fit. We glued and nailed these into place. Then Jacob did some sanding to smooth things up a bit. And our table was done!

Step 4: Sorting Trays

We decided it would be cool to have matching trays that could be used for sorting puzzle pieces or flipped over to make the table top a little more unique.

I ripped a slot into more pieces of the bed frame and fit in thin pieces of plywood with it glued and clamped. Then I had fun making patterns with the wood pieces I had available. I glued each piece in individually both to the plywood below and to the adjacent pieces. They came out solid and heavy. I made a herringbone pattern and a diagonal one with just the teak from the shelving. Then I used a piece of wormwood driftwood that I had picked up on the beach months before for a panel with a contrast. The last panel I used some wooden picture frame to create concentric boxes.

Step 5: