Showing posts with label endtable. Show all posts
Showing posts with label endtable. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

DIY End Table

I promised to share with you all how my brother and I built our mom's book end table for Christmas! Bear with me as I explain because I am not "tool savvy," but I will do my best to explain all of the directions very clearly. Here goes nothing!


Materials:

- About 12 hardback novels, varying in thickness
- One 3 foot rebar rod, you will have to cut off excess
- 2 wooden blocks for bottom of table, added for balance
- 1 bag of nuts
- 1 bag of washers
- Wrench
- Drill (w/ paddle bit)
- 4 screws
- Saw, to cut excess rebar
- Palm sander

Steps:

1. Gather all of your materials together. Stack your novels up to the height you want your table to be. You may have to add 1 or 2 books (at the end).
2. Drill holes through the centers of the books with your paddle drill. The holes should be the size that the rebar rod is round (1/2" I believe).
3. Put a nut and washer at the very bottom of the rebar rod, then slide the first novel onto the rod.
4. After each novel is added to the rod, put a nut and washer between each. Repeat this process until the last novel is added. Only put a washer on top of the last novel. This is to keep the book flat against the table top.
5. Cut the wood for the table top to the size you want it to be, then sand it with the palm sander for a smooth surface.
6. Drill a hole through the center of the table top and add it to the rebar on top of the books. Secure it with a nut and washer.
7. Screw the two wooden blocks to the bottom of the first novel. This will give your table extra support.
8. Tighten all nuts and washers with the wrench. This will lessen the height of your table, you may have to add 1 or 2 books now.
9. After everything has been adjusted and secured, cut the excess rebar off with the saw. Make sure the nut and washer that are on the table top are tightened as well. Voila, you have a table!

After the steps above are completed, your table should look like ours in the picture above! Please note that the two books on the table top are decoration, not apart of the books that the rebar runs through. I hope these instructions are clear enough and are helpful if you want to make a table of your own!
*The only thing I didn't like about this table project is that you can see the nut and washer on top of the table. Fortunately, it's easy to cover up in the end!