At the moment my wood scrap heap is getting too big, so I needed to thin it out. Barn quilts are a great project to make to use up your scraps. I had an old round table that I was given and thought it would be good to try and upcycle it into a round barn quilt table. I had to add this picture of my new puppies posing for the camera, they are just too cute. I am very lucky because my Son works for a builder, so I get all of my wood for free. He brings home all the wood leftover from the job site, that would otherwise end up in the skip. The wood he brings home is not in good condition but with a little work it does clean up. If you have never tried making a barn quilt I can tell you they look a lot harder than they are. If you want to try a small one first here is a tutorial for you.

Step 1: Find a Table

I used this old outdoor table that I was given for free as the base for my table. It had seen better days but the structure was still good. The main wood I used for this project was old bed slats. I did not have enough to do the whole project and did have to add some different wood to fill in the gaps. But once stained it just added to the effect. I make most of my projects using mainly recycled materials which I harvest from scrap or recycled wood. You can see where I find my materials in this post.

Step 2: Cleaning the Wood

If you are lucky enough to have a wood planer this is the best way to clean up your wood fast. A few passes through the wood planer and your wood as good as new and all the same thickness. I would highly recommend that you prepare extra wood from the start, in case you run out. To have all your wood the same thickness is important when making a table because you want your surface to be flat so glasses do not tip over. Once all the wood has been put through the planer you can now sand the surface smooth. I tip I pick up, is that it is a good idea to sand both sides of your wood. Because of the angles, you do have to flip them at times to fit. This will save time later.

Step 3: Cutting the Wood

The size you cut your wood will depend on the design you want to create. For a table I would recommend cutting longer and thicker pieces, this will make it easier to keep the surface flat. I cut some of the pieces in half using a table saw. Different sizes will create a more interesting pattern.

Next, you can cut some of the wood into smaller sizes. At this stage, I only cut a few at a time while I worked out the design I want to create. You can cut the wood at any angle that you choose, but they must all be the same to fit together. I like to do mine at 45 degrees. I used a mitre saw, but this can be done with a hand saw and mitre saw box.

Step 4: Cutting Tip

To keep all the wood the same size you can set up a stop block on your drop saw. Another tip is to make a mark in pencil on the saw fence in case you have to go back and cut more pieces. Once you have your wood cut you can start creating your design.

Step 5: Create Your Design

To keep your design straight you need to add guidelines to the table surface. Using a pencil, divide it into 12 “pizza Slices”. These lines will be your guide when creating the design. The easiest way to start your design is by putting two pieces together in an arrow shape. You need four of these to start. Using the lines as a guide to keep the design straight. You are not glueing the wood yet, we glue when we have created at least 80% of the design.

Step 6: Plan the Design

You can keep making more arrows and adding them to the design, as shown above. The width can be any size as long as the angle is the same, they will all slot in together. I kept moving my design around until I was happy with the pattern. This is a basic design that should be easy to follow from the image above.

Step 7: Cut the Final Pieces

The design will start to get a bit tricker as you come to the edges of the table because of the shape. I left a handover at this stage until the whole design was complete. As careful as I was to keep the design straight, mine still went out a few millimetres at the end. To solve this, I had to cut the wood to the size of the gaps for the last few pieces.

Step 8: Photograph Your Design

I also ran out of matching wood and had to use a different type to fill in the gaps. This does not cause an issue and will add to the design in the end. It is a good idea to take a photo of your design before you start moving them for glueing, so you know how they go back together.

Step 9: Staining the Wood

This is the fun part of the project, and the most creative. Once you start adding the colours you will see the design come together. A good tip is to stain the sides of the wood as well. This will disguise any small gaps you may get. I used dark mahogany, cedar stain and left some wood plain. You can now start to glue the wood to the table. Start in the middle and glue the wood to the table as you go along using the pencil lines as a guide.

Step 10: Gluing the Wood

You can now start to glue the wood to the table. Start in the middle and glue the wood to the table as you go along using the pencil lines as a guide. To glue the design I used wood glue with a small amount of hot glue. The hot glue will hold the wood in place while the wood glue dries, so you can continue. You can still change the colour at this stage by flipping the wood over and staining the other side. I did this a lot and it helps that the wood is already sanded. This is where the photo becomes handy, you would have had to move some of the pieces from the table so you can start gluing them down. I also move mine in groups so the design can easily be put back together.

Step 11: Shaping the Final Pieces

To get the round curve on the barn quilt table each end piece must be cut to size. Put the piece of wood in place and use a pencil and draw a pencil line on the bottom using the table shape as a guide.

I am really rubbish at cutting straight with a jigsaw, so I cheated and used a benchtop sander. I used the line as a guide and sanded away the excess. If you don’t have a benchtop sander you can use a hand sander. You have to repeat this step with every piece.

Step 12: Adding the Veneer Tape

I did not like the sides showing the two layers so I added some wood veneer tape. I used an old iron, I would not recommend using your best one because you will get adhesive on the service.

Cut the veneer to the length of the circle leaving a 1cm in case your get shrinkage. I prefer to have an overhang at the top and the bottom so I know it will fit properly. Next, hold the veneer tape in place and push the iron with no steam onto the veneer for a few seconds. You repeat this step until you have added the tape to the whole table. To remove all the excess you can use a sharp blade. To remove any sharp edges on the veneer tape I like to use a scouring pad. This works well without damaging the stain.