Chevron Table

Since my last project , the wife and I have opened our own business doing marketing and branding. The building we chose to put our office in is an older warehouse converted into offices and is near the train tracks in our city. As this is a new business my wife has decided that we should build a lot of the furniture ourselves and the designs should be rustic in style. We decided to build a chevron table using some legs from an older office table we had that broke. This project took limited tools and money to make and added some extra character to the conference room area. So, let us get started on this project!

Step 1: Gather the Materials and Tools

The wood purchased and cuts needed in this post are for a six foot by three-feet table. You may need to adjust accordingly if you decide to go with a different size. When it comes to the tools needed for this table it’s quite simple. All you will need for this table is a good drill with a bit for drilling pilot holes and one for screws, a miter saw, sander, hammer and Terry cloths for the stain.Instead of screwing down the chevron pattern, we're going to hammer them in. You can use screws if you would like, but there will be a metric ton of pilot holes needing to be drilled.

Step 2: Preparation and Assembly

To start off the table you need to form the frame of it. For this, you will need to cut two 6 foot 2×4’s and two 3 foot 2×4’s with a 45-degree angle on both ends. Use the screws to hold them together making sure you drill pilot holes so the boards stay even when put together and to prevent cracking in the wood. Once the sides are together cut four 13-inch long 2×4s with 45-degree end cuts. Place the cut pieces into a row within the border of the table and mark where the ends meet, you will need to place 2×4 beams longways inside of the frame so the chevrons can sit on them for support. After the beams are placed cut the rest of the 13-inch chevrons (There were roughly 60 altogether) and begin to place them on the support beams. It is important to dry fit them into the table to ensure a proper fit. When all of the 13-inch pieces are in place you can cut the pieces to place at the small gaps at the ends of the table. After all of your pieces are dry fit and looks even you can begin nailing them in.

Step 3: Smoothing and Staining

Once everything is assembled give the tops and edges a good sanding. Now it’s time to stain/paint it, this all depends on your preference. For this project, we will use an alternating pattern of Dark Walnut and Cherry stains.

Place some painters tape over the patterns that are going to be stained in cherry first and stain the rest with the Dark Walnut to include the framing. For the staining, use brushes and Terry Towels to apply it and wipe it off. When the Dark Walnut is finished drying remove the tape, apply tape to the stained pieces and stain the Cherry sections.

Step 4: Add the Legs

Now that your table is assembled, it's time to add the legs to the base. The legs you have chosen for your chevron table may meet different manufacturer guidelines than the ones that I used. So for this part, I will refer you to the manufacturers installation instructions.

Step 5: Conclusion

It's up to you if you would like to put glass on the top. I personally felt that it added more of a finished look to the table, as well as making it a lot more functional. You can find cheap glass panes in your local area resell stores. I found this one in the picture at a federal office supply resell store and had it cut to size, altogether it was about $40.

Making this table for the office was a great experience with many lessons learned, scraped fingers and good laughs. The compliments rolled in from customers and employees alike once it was in the office. So go ahead, take a chance, build a table, and show this post some love!