Japanese Zen Garden Table Made From Old Furniture

My wife loves Japanese zen gardens, so I thought it would be fun to build her a mini sand table version of zen garden. I made this sand table with a couple of old tables since I do not have the equipment to make a table from scratch. I also created rakes for the sand using left over wooden garden stakes and take-out chopsticks.

Supplies

Table Materials

36" x36" tabletop
24"x24" Side table or up to 36" x 36" -- must be sturdy to take the weight
4 pieces 1/4" x 2" x 36" red oak pieces or get cut pieces from the store. See step 2 for lengths. Make sure all pieces are straight and not twisted.
wood filler
clear silicone caulk
EZ Strip paint remover
Osmo Polyox Satin Hard Wax
99% isopropanol
sand - it's important to use silica free sand so we used Sandtastik sand.
pebbles

Our sand table is essentially two tables put together: the bottom half with legs is a side table, and top part with sand is a tabletop. We added 4 wood pieces on the tabletop to form the square perimeters of the sand box.

You could build this project without a separate tabletop. We only used a tabletop because the underside face of our tabletop happens to be conveniently recessed in the middle like a billiard/pool table, perfect for the sand and pebbles to sit in. So we took advantage of it by flipping the tabletop upside down to use in our project.

FYI, the side table is a 40-year-old table from Craigslist for $25. The tabletop came free from Craigslist, which I have previously used as a desk (with hairpin legs).

For the tabletop and side table I recommend using solid wood, as they are much easier to refinish and sturdy enough to take the weight of all the sand and pebbles above. These do not need to be expensive and I recommend looking for old furniture on craigslist, facebook market place and other places. With some patience and a bit of luck you can find great quality solid wood furniture at a very affordable price or even free.

We used red oak pieces as perimeters of the sand box. They can be bought from big box stores such as Home Depot and Lowes or a specialty wood store. Make sure the wood is straight, not bent or twisted. Also note that the thickness and width of the boards are nominal and will probably be slightly smaller when measured.

For the sand, we believe it's important to get silica free sand for your table. Most sand contains silica which can potentially cause silicosis long term so we believe it's safer to buy some silica free sand for use in your home.

For the pebbles, while you can find them on the beach or buy them in the store, ours are polished pebbles that were originally bought years ago by a friend for their wedding table centerpieces and eventually given to us. They've been passed around to whoever needed them so they've probably been in 5 weddings already.

Rakes

I originally designed and 3D-printed the rakes as experimental models. Then I created wooden rakes using:

scrap wood pieces
Square wood garden stakes or square dowels from the hardware store
chopsticks
wood glue

If you don't have the tools listed below, they are fairly common so I recommend borrowing them from friends, your local tool library or buying them used.

Tools

paint scraper
paint brush
Minimum 2 - 4 clamps but more will make it faster and easier
Right angle positioning squares
Orbital sander with 80, 120,180, 220, 320 grit sand paper or a similar set of sand paper. You can also sand by hand instead
Utility knife
Measuring tape
Hand plane (or just use sand paper in step 4)

These items below are only needed if you're cutting the wood yourself:

Mitre box, magnetic saw guide, or make your own magnetic saw guide with a square block of wood and screw in magnets
Saw (note some mitre boxes come with a saw)

Personal Protective Equipment

a well ventilated area
dust masks
safety goggles
gloves suitable for the paint strippers and finishes you choose to use
respirator with proper filter cartridges for the finishes you choose to use

Please make sure that your PPEs match the safety requirement of the chemicals you use.

Step 1: Wait for Wood to Acclimatize

As odd as this may sound, I recommend bringing the furniture and wood into the space you will be placing the finished table and wait two weeks before starting. Differences in humidity can cause wood to warp so waiting at least two weeks allows the wood to acclimatize to your location. Some of the wood may warp during this process but it's better to find out now rather than after you've completed making the table.

Step 2: Cut Wood for the Sand Box

Determine how big you want the sand box. We wanted our table to have a 24" x 24" sand box so we marked two pieces to be 24" long and two to be 23.5" long. Make sure you mark both sides of the board Tip: Make sure you measure and take the thickness of the wood into account! The thicknesses of the boards can be different from the thickness written on the package. The two shorter pieces should follow the calculation Length - 2 x Thickness. This will ensure that your final sand box is a square. Measure your pieces again just in case, before you cut them.
When you cut wood, the opposite side of the board tends to have some tearing of the wood. In order to help avoid this take a utility knife and straight edge and score the bottom of the board along your cut line. The idea is to cut through the wood fibres on the exterior of the board so tear-out does not happen there.
In order to cut straight, align your marking to the board with the saw guide or mitre box (diy magnetic saw guide is used in the image above), clamp it down, and cut. Tip: In order to have matching lengths, be consistent on where you cut the boards with respect to your marking line (ie left of the marking line, on top, or to the right). Every saw removes a specific width of material as it cuts (this is called the saw kerf) so by being consistent where you cut all your pieces will be the same length.
Take some sand paper and gently sand the ends to remove any ragged edges and loose wood fibres. I typically use 120 grit for this. Gently sand down the rest of the board as well. It's easier to do it now but if you forget you can still do this later on before you finish the table.

Step 3: Create the Sand Box

Take the right angle positioning squares and do a test fit (without glue) to make sure you're happy with how the walls of the sand box will line up. Mark which pieces will mate together and which sides are the top edge so you don't confuse them later.
Once you're satisfied, apply wood glue to the end of the board and clamp two mating boards with the positioning squares. You want enough glue to cover the joint but not so much that lots of it squeezes out. Try with some scrap pieces first if you need.
Wait the required clamping time that's mentioned in the directions for the glue, then remove the clamps. Scrape off the excess glue that seeps out of the joint, then wait the cure time of the glue. Removing excess glue is important since it generally doesn't take finishes in the same way as the actual wood. If you don't do it now, you still might be able to scrape or sand it off later.
If you have extra clamps and positioning squares you can glue and clamp the rest of the sides together at the same time. Otherwise, you can simply do them one at a time.
If you would like to add pebbles outside the sand box but your tabletop isn't recessed like a billiard table like ours, then you could create a second (outer) perimeter with thin dowel rods as shown in the example image.

Step 4: Fix Up the Tabletop

Scrape off any nasties from the tabletop, like gum etc. Tip: If big pieces of wood fall or break off, keep them and glue them back on. Wood filler will never look as good as real wood.
Fill in the holes with wood filler. For areas that are going to be hidden by sand or stones the color of the wood filler doesn't matter. For other areas, get as good as a match as you can. To get the best match many people recommend making your own filler using saw dust from the type of wood you're filling and wood glue. If your table is made from solid wood, the easiest way to get the dust you need is to partially sand your table. Do not do this with any other table except solid wood.
Wait for the wood filler to cure then plane the surface smooth using the hand plane. If you don't have a hand plane, use a low grit sand paper with the orbital sander and just sand down any high points

Step 5: Attach the Sand Box to the Tabletop

Measure and mark out where the sand box is going to sit. I find that marking the outsides of the area with painter's tape makes it easier to see
Do a fit test (without glue) and make sure you're happy with the location of the box and how well the box sits on the table
Since we are using solid wood tables, we are using silicone caulk to compensate for wood movement. Wood movement causes the wood to expand/shrink due to the absorption/loss of moisture in the wood due to the humidity levels in the air. If we do not compensate for wood movement, the sand box could eventually split from the table. In this case we're using the flexibility of the silicone caulk to help compensate for this.
Run a bead of silicone caulk along the sand box and place it on the table. Remove excess caulk with a paper towel. Place weights such as books on the box and wait for the silicone to cure

Step 6: Prep the Tabletop and the Side Table

You can also do this step immediately prior to Step 8, but we found this was easier to do when all the pieces of the table were still separate.

When refinishing furniture, prep work is 90% of the job. The finish you apply amplifies the imperfections so spend most of your time making sure you've prepped things properly. If you're happy with the finish of the furniture pieces you're using, you can skip this step. We never bothered to refinish the side table since it still looked fantastic for something 40 years old.

Wipe the furniture down then apply the EZ Strip paint remover
Follow the instructions of the paint remover. For EZ Strip we need to wrap the furniture with plastic wrap while we wait for the finish to soften.
Check periodically if the finish has softened, and once it has use the paint scraper to remove the finish.
If needed repeat until the finish has been removed. You probably won't be able to remove everything but get off as much as you can and we will sand the rest off in later steps.
Fill any dents with wood filler that matches the wood or take some wood dust from your table, mix with glue and use it to fill the dents.
Wait for the filler to dry.
Use the orbital sander to sand the wood down until smooth. If the wood feels rough, start with a lower grit and work your way up to the grit recommended by your finish. If it feels smooth already, I would just do a light re-sand starting with 120 grit and work your way up to the recommended grit for your finish.

Step 7: Attach the Tabletop to the Side Table

Flip the tabletop so that the sand box is on the bottom. Prop up the whole thing so you don't damage the sand box.
Measure out the side table, center and use tape to mark out the perimeter of the side table on the tabletop. This will be used as a target to glue the tables together.
We wanted to try to avoid damaging the tabletop and the side table in case we ever wanted to use the furniture pieces separately in the future. So place a line of silicone on the side table's top surface near the edge of the side table. Putting the glue only near the edge will allow us to slice through the silicone with a knife if we ever want to split the tables apart in the future.
Get help from another person and place the tabletop on top of the side table. Move the table around until you have it properly centered, wipe off any silicone residue and wait until the caulk has cured.

Step 8: Apply Finish to the Table

Now it's finally time to apply the finish to the table! Make sure you use a well ventilated and not dusty area, follow all the safety instructions, wear all the proper protective gear, and dispose of your waste properly. For some finishes like Osmo and Tung oil, rags with these finishes on them can catch on fire so make sure you follow the manufacturers instructions for how to deal with your waste.

Use a paper towel and 99% isopropanol to wipe any dirt off the table and wait for it to dry. Do not use water as it can take a long time for it to dry.
Apply the finish as per the manufacturer's recommendations.
Wait for everything to cure.
Between coats I lightly sanded the table down by hand with 400 grit sand paper to make the table extra smooth.
Repeat steps 2-4 as needed.
Dispose of all your waste materials appropriately.

Step 9: Make the Rakes - Cut the Pieces

The rakes can be made in different ways. I made some 3D printable designs using fusion 360 to figure out the scale of the rakes we wanted. You can find those here.

We also made rake designs using materials you probably already have such as takeout chopsticks, popsicle sticks, scrap wood and square garden stakes. If you cannot find these materials, you can also use square and round dowel rods of various sizes from the hardware store. The key to using these materials is to take advantage of the factory machined surfaces to glue pieces together as they're usually flatter and more square than what we can cut ourselves. We've put together some examples for what you can do but use your imagination and have fun! There are no rules.

For the finished rakes we made we used a square garden stake, round chopsticks for pegs and rounded chopsticks with flat square ends for the handles.

Measure out your pieces and cut. We cut 2", 3" and 6" segments of the garden stakes and 0.75" sections of the round chopsticks. You can cut all these pieces with a saw but for the round chopsticks you can also simply place a knife on top and slowly roll it back and forth to cut it. When the cut is deep, you can just snap it off.
Sand the ends as needed.
The rounded chopsticks with the flat ends are being used as the handle.

Tip: the rakes are easier to use with a long handle.

Step 10: Make the Rakes - Drill the Holes

On the rectangle block, mark where you plan to drill the holes. Make a dent in the middle to help prevent the drill bit from wandering.
Mark with a pencil where you plan to glue the handle as well.
To make the round holes, measure and find a drill bit that will fit the chopstick piece (7/32" in our case). In order to get the right depth, measure the depth you want on the drill bit and wrap it with tape as an indicator.
Drill the holes. If you need something to help you drill straight, find something that's a right angle as a guide or use a drill block.

Step 11: Make the Rakes - Glue It Together

Do a test fit without glue and make sure you're satisfied
Lightly put wood glue on the flat edge of the rounded chopstick with the flat face and glue it to the rectangle block. Clamp it and let it dry as needed
Lightly put wood glue on the round pieces and stick them into the rectangle block to the desired depth and let it dry