Contents
The table is not that hard to make. However, as in any business, there are some nuances. Choose the material, decide on the size, shape and style, everything matters. Since the most common material is wood, let’s discuss options for how to make a kitchen table out of wood with your own hands.
What to make a countertop
The main components of the table are the upper part, called the table top, and the lower part, in the form of legs. The main thing is the tabletop, it sets the overall look and, depending on the material, determines the durability of the table.
The easiest option is to use a ready-made countertop, and it is much more difficult to make it yourself. The choice of material for the manufacture of tables is wide. It could be:
- tree;
- chipboard;
- MDF;
- plastic;
- a natural stone;
- fake diamond;
- glass;
- metal.
Of all the presented, wood is the most affordable and easy to process material. For the manufacture of the table, boards or bars left after construction are suitable, suitable in length and thickness. You can buy a quality board.
Before starting work, you need to decide on the wood. The thing is, it’s hardness is different. A tabletop made of soft woods is impractical, as it will become dented over time. It is better to use solid wood. If you don’t care or you are not going to cook on the table, but only eat, then you can safely use soft varieties. The table shows the types of wood used and its hardness.
| soft varieties | hard varieties |
|---|---|
| cedar | nut |
| pine and spruce | oak |
| fir | birch |
| chestnut | maple |
| alder | ash |
| juniper | plum |
Choose dry material, ideally chamber drying, and grade of your choice. Some people like knots, color changes, as they give individuality to the product. It will be grade B or C. Someone prefers a tree without a single flaw, this is grade A or AA. The thickness of the timber or board is desirable from 40 mm, but this is your choice. There are no restrictions on the width of the lumber, it can even be slats. If the countertop is assembled from slats of different types of wood, we get a decorative panel.
A table three meters long is a rarity. For this reason, it does not make sense to buy three-meter expensive boards or timber and then cut them. The length of the table is less than two meters, and this is not the standard for lumber and is usually marked down. The price in this case is reduced not due to quality, but because of random length.
For the manufacture of the table top, it is permissible to use chipboard, fiberboard or plywood. They are cheap and easy to work with, but contain harmful chemicals and are less durable. The surface can be painted or covered with a self-adhesive furniture film, and the edges are laminated with a vinyl film.
Solid wood is more difficult to process, but the result will last for many years. In addition, modern woodworking tools will cope with any material.
Woodworking Tools
To properly make a table, all boards must have the same size and even edges. To do this, they need to be calibrated and processed. The best option would be to pass through a thicknessing machine, then the entire board will be the same thickness. But to have such a machine at home is expensive. However, it can be replaced with cheaper tools. For work you will need:
- planer, electric planer;
- wood grinder or grinder;
- drill;
- screwdriver
Having set the required depth on the planer, we adjust, if necessary, all the boards in thickness. If the material is roughly processed, it will help to remove roughness. The side edges of the boards or timber must be even, as they will stick together. Otherwise, with large flaws, gaps will remain after gluing, and strength will decrease.
A grinder or “grinder”, with a special nozzle for working with an emery cloth, will be needed to process the workpiece after gluing. A drill and screwdriver will be needed to assemble the countertop, as well as to attach the legs.
However, work should begin only after you have fully decided on the size and shape of the table.
Size and shape
The size of the kitchen table depends on several factors. The main thing is the size of the kitchen. It is clear that in a small kitchen, a large table will create inconvenience. In second place are your needs, that is, you need to consider the number of people in the family. It is believed that for 1 person, on average, there are about 60-65 cm, and when calculating the size of the countertop, this should be taken into account.
After we have decided on the dimensions, we move on to the form. The classic, rectangular table is comfortable and practical. Moves close to the wall or into a corner, which saves space.
More people can be seated at an oval or round table. They are safer for children because there are no corners. But they take up a lot of space and are not suitable for a small kitchen.
Tables of a non-standard, original shape are suitable for a spacious kitchen, designed in any style.
A semicircular folding table will fit well into a small kitchen. It moves close to the wall, saving space, safe for children, and, if necessary, unfolds into a full-fledged table.
Folding or sliding tables are more convenient. They take up little space, and if necessary, they are laid out, with an increase in the area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe countertop up to two times. In addition, they can be of various shapes: square, rectangular, round or oval.
Drawing and scheme
Before starting work, make a sketch of the table. It will help to present the required amount of materials. After that, make a drawing with the required dimensions.
When drawing a table, consider a few recommendations:
- measure the place in the kitchen where the dining table will be installed;
- the height to the top of the countertop is considered standard in the range from 74–85 cm;
- the legs are fixed at a distance from the edge of 8–12 cm;
- comfortable width for a dining table at least 80 cm;
- the beam between the legs should have a thickness of no more than 5 cm.
tabletop
Since the tabletop is the main element of the table, it must be made as high quality as possible. Wood prepared in size will greatly facilitate subsequent processing. The best result will be after processing the materials with a thicknessing machine. As already noted, it is difficult to achieve even edges with planers. However, most of the flaws will go away after grinding with coarse sandpaper.
Treat the wood with a moisture and insect repellant, such as an interior antiseptic.
Do not carry out finishing work immediately. Fasten the legs or underframe and only then proceed to the finishing.
We glue the countertop
To make a wide tabletop, processed boards or bars must be glued together. The best option is wood glue, but you can also use universal glue if it glues wood. Joiner’s clamps (wimes) will be needed to press the boards one against the other while the glue dries.
Glue is applied according to the instructions on the side parts of the boards or timber with a frequent snake. The workpiece is laid out on a flat, clean surface and pulled together with clamps. To prevent pressure from forming dents, flat wooden blocks are placed under the clamps. After the glue dries according to the instructions, the clamps are removed.
Large clamps are very expensive and it is unprofitable to purchase them because of one use. You can get out of the situation by doing them yourself. You need to purchase several long threaded rods, nuts and washers. Having drilled holes of the required diameter in the cut bars, pull off the workpiece.
After gluing, the surface is treated with coarse sandpaper to smooth out irregularities and adhesive protruding. This will remove the bumps from the planer. This is followed by sanding with fine abrasive paper. Finishing – coating with varnish or oil for wood, do after the table is fully assembled.
How to glue without joiner’s clamps
If buying carpentry clamps is not included in your plans, you can do without them. It’s not a classic technique, but it works. There is one limitation – this is how you can assemble a tabletop from bars or boards of small width, about 10-15 cm.
You will need a vise or small clamps, wood screws, and a screwdriver. The length of the screws depends on the size of the bar. It should be 1,7-1,8 of the width of the beam, that is, for a thickness of 40 * 40 mm, the length should be 68-72 mm. Take with a flat head, it will sink into the wood without drilling. A vice or clamps will be needed to connect the first pair to be connected, but you can do without them.
Choose the two most even bars, apply glue to the side faces. Next, fold them and pull them with a vice or small clamps to each other. Pulling is only necessary for the “starting” pair. Check that the bars are folded evenly, and proceed to twisting with self-tapping screws in increments of 20 cm. After tightening the last screw, remove the vise. Next, assemble the countertop by screwing one bar to the starting pair. For this:
- We coat the side face of the next bar on one side.
- We apply the timber, align the edges and twist along the edges, then in the center in increments of 15–20 cm. Before screwing in each self-tapping screw, control and correct the position of the timber relative to the front surface of the countertop. The bar can be pressed down or bent, aligned “flush”.
We continue the process until the countertop has the required width. After assembling the shield, leave it on a flat surface until the glue dries, the time is indicated on the package.
You can compress glued bars or boards with a jack.
With a wider board, to connect it, you will additionally need: a long bit; drill with a diameter of Ø4 mm with a length greater than the width of the board; and the so-called “feather” – a special drill for wood with a diameter of 10-12 mm. Since it is quite difficult to evenly screw a self-tapping screw into a wide board, the task can be facilitated by drilling. First, we drill the board in width through with a drill, then we expand the hole with a “pen”. This is necessary for easy passage of the screw head and bit.
After drying, dried glue will appear on the surface of the workpiece both from below and from above. To remove it, we use a skin with a large grain, while the surface is leveled and small irregularities are removed. Next, we carry out grinding with fine sandpaper and then varnish or oil. Read more about marking sandpaper in the article on the site.
The best tool for grinding will be an orbital sander, but a grinder with a special nozzle can also handle it.
Tie assembly
The boards are wider than the beam and it will not be possible to connect them with screws. In this case, special ties will help. To do this, you need to purchase a Forstner wood drill for drilling recesses into which screeds will be installed.
This method assumes that the side faces of the material are absolutely even. This can be achieved only by processing in a thicknessing machine, otherwise during assembly you will get a curved surface.
You can make a recess with a crown on a tree, the tree remaining inside is easily removed.
Be careful – you can make a through hole with a centering drill.
Fasten the supports to the tabletop
The tabletop is only part of the table, you still need to attach the legs to it. They can be made independently from timber, boards or metal, but you can also purchase ready-made ones. This will save time, and the price for them is much lower than for the countertop.
There are two ways to attach the legs to the tabletop: removable and non-removable. In the first case, additional fittings are needed, in the second, fastening is carried out directly to the countertop.
In the classic version, four legs are installed at the corners of the tabletop, a little less often they are attached to the underframe. There are other options, for example, the tabletop is mounted on small shields along the short sides of the table. It is possible to use three legs, but the stability of the table will decrease.
If you want to make a dining table on wheels, for ease of movement, then subtract the height of the wheels from the standard height. Also consider the wheel mounting area, it should be equal to or less than the leg area.
classic table
In this case, the legs are pre-attached to a frame consisting of several boards mounted on edge. Another name for the boards is the tsargi and, accordingly, a table with a tsarg belt. The supports are fastened at the corners of the frame into grooves, and special ties are used to increase strength.
The frame is screwed or glued to the back of the tabletop. Fixation can be implemented by various means:
- screws;
- Z-shaped holders;
- fasteners eight;
- squares.
In reality, there are many more mounting methods, only the most popular are given. For reliable fixation, double fastening is allowed: self-tapping screws and carpentry glue.
detachable mount
For separate legs, a detachable version is possible. A metal base with an internal thread is screwed to the lid, into which the legs are screwed. The advantage of this method is the simplicity of the solution and the possibility of disassembly for transportation, for example, for going out into the countryside.
This option is suitable both for those who decide to install ready-made legs, and for those who make them on their own. It is enough to purchase a set for attaching legs. However, it is worth noting that even though the fastening will be quite reliable, but still, if you strongly hook the leg with your foot, it can be broken off. In this case, it is preferable to install the table top on the frame.
Underframe
Instead of ordinary legs, you can install the table top on the underframe. There are many options for making the underframe – on one leg, two, etc.
To make a dining table in a modern style, a wooden tabletop is installed on a metal frame. With a sufficient thickness of the tabletop, the legs are screwed directly to the back.
The easiest way to make a metal underframe is from a profile pipe with a wall thickness of at least 1 mm. Standard height – from 75 cm or according to your requirements. The length and width depends on the size of the tabletop. Pipes should run 7–12 cm from the edge. As for the specific form of the underframe, there are many of them, for every taste.
Steel pipes or steel strip have high strength. This makes it possible to realize any form.
pin mount
The cheapest way and not very reliable. This option may be suitable if you want to make a small wooden table with your own hands. The legs are fastened to wooden or metal pins. In both cases, a hole is drilled in the connected parts for the installation of the pin. Diameter – 1-2 millimeters less than the diameter of the pin, and the depth of the hole should be:
- when using a wooden pin (dowel) – 1/2 of its length in the lid and leg;
- for a metal pin – 1/3 of the length in the cap and 2/3 in the leg.
During installation, the fasteners are lubricated with carpentry glue and hammered. The second part is smeared with glue and pressed against the countertop – this is an integral method of fastening. Metal pins are also glued.
Clearance at customs
Upon completion of the installation work, they begin to design. The sides can be closed with decorative strips, decorate them with carvings. The router will help to remove sharp edges.
Before painting, all parts of the table must be sanded. Identified small defects are puttied and leveled.
If you prefer to see the structure of the wood, then choose stain and varnish.
Having decided to paint the table, pre-treat it with a primer. For the best effect, paint and varnish in several layers. After painting, the layer must dry completely. Next, the layer is polished and a new layer is applied.
Choose paint without a sharp, unpleasant odor, best of all, quick-drying water-based. The main colors for the dining table are white, gray, brown, but can be anything. The main thing is that it harmoniously complements the interior.
How to make a round dining table with your own hands
Conclusions
- Making a table for the kitchen yourself is quite troublesome. Requires some skills and tools. However, using a finished tabletop and legs, the process is greatly simplified and anyone can do it.
- Steel pipes or steel strip have high strength – this makes it possible to realize any shape.