Building a utility table

The best way to have a table of the right size for your needs and available space is… to build it yourself.

It can be made of wood, melamine or MDF, in a variety of costs, appearances and purposes. The legs chosen will also have a major impact on appearance and price.

Get your actual free plan for this table as well as the list of required materials for this project. For viewing and printing, you will need to use Acrobat Reader software.
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Tools list
Material list
PDF Plan (3 M)
Project guide service
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Choice of materials
1. Preparing the tabletop
2. Installing the legs
3. 
4. Finishing the table

Choice of materials

    Wood:
    Pine panels made of bonded boards are sold at an affordable price and produce a table with a rustic look. However, pine is a softwood that is not appropriate for all purposes (e.g.: drawing). Still, varnish can improve its resistance.

    If you want a very resistant surface, use hardwood (e.g.: maple), which also costs more.

    Melamine:
    The choice of available colours and finishes makes this option very interesting, especially since the surface is resistant and easy to clean. You should apply tape edging on the contour to hide the material on the inside of the panel.

    MDF:
    Inexpensive and easy (but dusty!) to cut, MDF has a hard surface that can be painted.

    In the project presented in this guide, we will use MDF panels.

1. Preparing the tabletop

1.1 

Trace two saw kerfs (saw-cuts) on the 5/8 in. MDF sheet as indicated on the cutting plan, so as to obtain two 24 in. × 42 in. panels, and cut the parts by sawing at the centre of those kerfs. Because of the kerfs, the panels will actually be less than 24 in. wide. Dry all surfaces with a slightly damp cloth.

1.2 

Apply wood glue on the surface of one panel, and then place the other panel on it. Make the rims of both panels as flush as possible. Since the glue isn’t sufficient to prevent the two panels from separating over time, they must be screwed together. The face on which to screw them is of course on the underside of the table.

1.3 

Use a countersink bit to pre-drill the holes 4 in. apart and 1 in. from the rims, and then screw the two panels together (No. 8, 1-in. flat head screws). Dry excess glue and allow to dry. If the panels are not perfectly flush, sand the contours with a sanding block after the glue has dried.

The tabletop may be used as is, or its corners may be rounded; in the latter case, trace the rounded contours, cut with a jigsaw*, and finish by lightly sanding.

1.4 

For an even more original table, you can cut two panels bigger than 24 × 42 in., glue them together, and then draw specific contours (oval, artist’s palette, profile of a cartoon character, abstract pattern, etc.). Here again, cut with a jigsaw*, and finish by lightly sanding.

If the joints between the two panels are visible, you can fill them in with a wood filler and then sand them after it dries. Another solution is to glue a moulding on the joint, but this is applicable only to a table with straight contours.

*If you plan to give a specific shape to the panels or to round the corners, don’t put screws where they might be in the jigsaw’s path.

2. Installing the legs

2.1 

There is a wide variety of legs (shapes, materials) that can give a tabletop radically different looks. The legs are easily installed with screws (you have to pre-drill the holes); if you use an electric drill, it is recommended not to screw to the end, but to finish with a screwdriver to avoid the risk of fraying the holes.

For this 24 × 42 in. table, secure the legs so that their attachments are 1 in. from the table’s rims. This distance may vary depending on the type of legs, the desired effect, and especially the tabletop size: the bigger the table, the more recessed the legs should be placed (up to 4 in. for a big table).

2.2 

If you want a table that can be moved it should of course have four legs, but if mobility is not required the table may have two legs and be supported by a squared strip of wood (1 in. × 1 in. × 42 in.) screwed to the wall. The table is then screwed to the strip from underneath (pre-drill beforehand) using 1 ½ in. screws, and nothing will show.
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