Build an island table

Difficulty:

Close Difficulty

Beginner Do-It-Yourselfer - Easy

Intermediate Do-It-Yourselfer - Moderate

Experienced Do-It-Yourselfer - Difficult

Professional - Expert
Completion Time : Week-end Project

This multi-use table island will be the centerpiece of your kitchen. Plenty of work space, style to suit all decors, functional and charming: raise your glass to making life a whole lot easier, and better!

Although the turned legs give it the appearance of a table, the island is 36"H, or standard counter height. An ideal lunch counter and great for preparing food, this island comes with three practical drawers and a work surface made of solid 1 ½” maple wood.

Tools and materials required

Your kitchen transformation starts with a good plan. Download our planning guide and leave nothing to chance.

TOOLS

Sliding mitre saw
Screwdriver drill
Router
Square
Pencil
Tape measure

MATERIALS

1 maple counter board, 1 ½" x 36" x 72"
1 sheet Russian wild cherry wood ½" x 60" X 60"
1 sheet hardboard (high-density fiberboard), 1/8" x 24" x 60"
1 maple board, ¾" x 6" x 96"
3 maple boards, ¾" x 8" x 96"
2 maple boards, ¾" x 4" x 96"
4 hemlock 36" table legs
3 pairs 20" slides
3 knobs
16 metal squares, 1" x 1 ¾" with fastening screws
1 ½" screws

Before Assembly

ELEVATION(S)

ROUTERS

The router is a motorized tool that can be equipped with a variety of cutters, or bits, making it extremely versatile. Router bits exist for making mouldings, carving grooves (e.g. for inserting drawer bottoms or cabinet door panels), giving a more professional-looking finish to the edges of pieces of stock (boards, shelves, tables), planning surfaces and making dovetail joints. Router bits are often sold in sets, usually with illustrations of the patterns that they can cut.

Depending on the model of router and type of work involved, the user either moves the router along the fixed material (e.g. to follow curves) or moves the material itself along a fixed router table (e.g. to carve grooves). A number of routers are designed to be used either way and can be fastened upside down under a router table.