Introduction: Rustic Table

After searching all over the place to find a coffee table for our livingroom, and not being able to find anything with the right dimensions or finish, I decided to just make one of these myself. This puppy cost me about $150 and took about 6 hours. I saved a ton of money versus buying one.

The goal of the table was to make is look like it was made from reclaimed timber without the cost of using reclaimed timber. I wanted the edges to look like they were made of 8"x8" beams. This bed is made out of white pine. I used a brad nailer and glue to attach each board.

Major Tools Needed:

Air Compressor

Brad Nailer

Miter Saw

Table Saw

Sander

Step 1: Step 1: Build the Frame

In this pic you can see that I took a 2x4 and ripped it. Then used those peices to made the corners. In this picture you'll see one side of the table. Then I made another one identical to it. Then I used 1x4s to hook those together. I think the size of this table was 57" x 67" x 19".

Great part of this project is that you can customize these building steps and make any size table you need.

All parts of the table are hooked together with a brad nailer and wood glue.

Step 2: Step 3: Building Top

Here I used 1x8 white pine for the board that make up the top of the table. BEFORE you hook it to the top you are going to need to distress the sides of the boards. See sample pic above. Once that is done, you can nail them to the frame.

Step 3: Step 4: Adding the Sides & Top

Here you will need 1x6 white pine boards. You will need to rip a 45 degree angle along the top edge and at the end of both ends of the board. This board will run the length of each side of the table. You will need four of these. Measure 5 times, cut once. You need these boards to fit snug to creat the illusion of actual beams.

Once you've attached these to the sides with glue and brad nails, you will do the same thing for the top of the table, ripping a 45 degree angle down the lenght of the board, and then a 45 degree cut across the face of the board. Attach these to the tops of the table.

Step 4: Step 4: Adding the Sides

The pictures are pretty obvious. Make sure to use glue and brad nailer to tack them down on all four sides. I used 1x6 boards with a 45 degree rip down the sides.

Step 5: Step 5: Adding Edges at the Four Corners (foot of the Table)

You can see that I beefed up the feet of the table by adding another layer of wood.

Step 6: Step 6: Distress Table

I filled in all of the brad nail holes with wood filler then sanded the table. Here is the part that will take some time, I took an exacto knife and distressed every single edge and corner of the table. I shaved off a lot of wood. Then I took a square-finishing hammer and beat on the table, I took a counter sink and made holes all over it to look like bug damage. Once I had distressed the edges of the table with the knife, I went back in and filled with wood puddy and then sanded those areas down.

Step 7: Step 7: Stain

I used grey stain to give it a weathered look. I didn't take any pictures here, but I will tell you that you should practice on scrap wood so you know how to work with the stain. For this table, I wiped it on and wiped it off fast. And I only did one coat and didn't do another thing.

Step 8: Step 8: Rebar

I added rebar to the table to give it a little more character. You can buy them pre-cut in 2 foot lengths. I hooked them to the table using copper 1/2 inch water pipe clamps to the underside of the table.