More Two-by-Four Furniture: The Country Kitchen Table

Nothing beats the smell of a freshly cut 2x4. Seriously, it's the one of the best smells on earth, and when you catch a whiff of that smell and hear the high pitched whine of an electric saw on a sunny Saturday afternoon it means times are good.

Two-by-fours are generally used for construction, but they are good for a whole lot more than just building houses. You may have to spend a few minutes sorting through the bin at your local big box hardware store for good, straight boards without a lot of knots, but its time well spent.

Two-by-fours are cheap, sturdy, and easy to work with. You may not end up with an heirloom quality piece that will be passed on for generations, but for less than $20 in materials and a long weekend you can construct some basic furniture that far surpasses what's available at Ikea or Target.

Take this small kitchen table I built to go next to our gas range for example.

Materials
2 2x4's
1 3/4" x 5" board
1 16 x 36" pine panel
1 8" x 8" piece of 1/4" plywood
12 Angle Brackets & screws.

Basic 2D drawing of the table.

It pays to plan ahead and make the most of your raw materials.

A. Legs
B. Front/back Drawer support
C. Sides
D. Drawer Sides
E. Drawer Front/Back
F. Drawer slide supports
G. Table Top
H. Shelves

You can customize the dimensions to your situation, another advantage over store-bought furniture. Just make sure to make the drawer is slightly smaller than the frame so it slides nicely.

The Legs

1. Plane the edges of the two by fours until the edges are nice and square. This is key if you don't want your piece to look like its made from your remodeling left-overs. A tablesaw will also take the rounded edges off, although you'll need to do more sanding later.

2. Cut the legs to the desired length.

2. Use a jig to cut an angle on the legs. Woodworking stores sell fancy jigs for this, but I've found that a long, straight board with a notched block nailed or screwed to one end works just as well.

The Frame

1. Glue the drawer slides (F) to the bottom of the sides (C) to form an L-shaped piece that will hold the table together and support the drawer.

2. Use dowels to join the legs (A) to the sides (C).

3. And to to the front and back (B)

4. Clamp and wait. While you're waiting, you can get a head start on the drawer.

The Drawer

1. Cut the sides and front/back of the drawer to ~1/8" less than the frame.

2. Mark the edges and use a 1/2" router bit to cut the notches for the box joints. A dado blade for a tablesaw will also work, just make sure the notches are offset so the drawer fits together nicely when you're done.

3. Cut a slot 1/4" from the bottom on the inside of each piece, to fit the drawer bottom into.

3. Cut out the notches that will be used for handles. I cut the sides with a coping saw and used a chisel to punch out the center.

4. Carefully dry-fit the drawer. You will most likely need to shave down some of the box joints so they fit correctly.

The Top & Shelves

1. Cut the pine panel into three pieces, a large one for the top (G) and two smaller ones for the shelves (H).

2. (optional) Use scraps from the 3/4" board to add false edges to the top and make it appear thicker than it is.

3. Attach the shelves using the angle brackets.

4. Attach the top using thin planed boards or angle brackets.

The Finished Product

The finished product after 3 coats of polyurethane.