I was asked to make a simpler version of the bedside table I designed years ago. Why not, a suitable relaxing after work project to work on.

Step 1: The Box for the Table

The box is a simple shape since every side is just a rectangle. I used 300 mm wide glulam and decided to use pocket holes to put everything together because I haven't had a chance to use my pocket hole jig that much and I need to use it to learn more about this method. Of course this is not a mandatory method to make a box.

First I made all the pocket holes that are needed and then connected the 3 sides of the box together. Then I connected the assembly of the sides to the bottom piece of the box. Then I removed it because it will be re-attached later when the legs are already attached to it. I made this attaching/reattaching move because the box is so small that my cordless drill won't fit into it and the screws for either the base or the top need to be inserted using a short screwdriver and it is easier to do that if the screw holes are already there.

The previous side table that I made had a drawer but this was so small that it ended up being impractical. This time I decided to use hinges to make the front plate a door. There are different type of hinges and I decided to use ones that have a resistance mechanism inside them and therefore the door cannot move freely. Installed the door, made sure that everything works and then removed the door and hinges to paint all the pieces.

Step 2: The Legs of the Table

The four legs of the table are made from oak glulam with 60x60 mm cross dimension. The three legs are perpendicular to the base of the box but one of the front ones is under a 10 degree angle to make it look as the table is stepping forwards.

To make this angled piece I recommend to make the 10 degree cut on one tip of the leg piece and then use the height of the other 3 legs to mark the height of the second angled cut. It is easier to do that than to measure the distance onto the piece with a ruler.

Step 3: Attaching the Legs to the Base Plate

First I made two holes into each of the corners of the bottom plate of the box to be able to attach the legs with screws. These screws have to be long and strong enough to assure that the legs will stay in their place. I decided to remove the legs to make the painting process easier but it would be possible to protect the legs from paint with painting or masking tape.

Step 4: Sanding, Painting, Oiling

Glulam is a good material for these kind of builds because it is already smooth and therefore not much sanding is needed. After cleaning everything I painted the box white (personally would have painted it light blue but the interior into which it goes would not support it). Two layers of paint.

When the second layer of the paint was dry I painted a face onto the front piece of the box. To do that I printed out a drawing and then cut out the eyes and mouth to use the drawing as a pattern. Then painted the eyes and mouth with a black paint and a small brush.

I used Osmo furniture oil to cover the legs.

Step 5: Assemble and Finished

Putting everything together is a simple task because the holes for the screws already exist. After reattaching the legs to the base plate of the box I attached them both to the box. Then had to put the hinges in place and its almost finished.

At the moment I didn't have the special plastic covers that go into the pocket holes in white and therefore you can see the screws. But the table will go into use right away and I will install them later (when they finally arrive...). Overall it was a fun project to work on and the bedside table looks happy as well :).