Post by kelabar on May 30, 2020 19:53:20 GMT 10
Based on the wooden outdoor tables you see everywhere, here is a basic table that costs nothing and is easy to build.
The first pic is what we will use.
On the left we have 12 slats. These are 100cm long and 20mm x 75mm and form the top of the table. The length of these determines how wide the table is. The width of the slats doesn't really matter but wider is a bit easier because we don't have to nail as many on. EDIT: We actually need 14 because I forgot about the struts for bracing! Oops.
Then we have a couple of 116cm 2x4s. They are actually 38 x 98mm but timber of around this size is usually called '2x4's. In this thread I'll call them runners. These go under the tabletop and the slats get nailed to them. Having these at least 80mm deep is handy because we have to nail into the sides of them later. These get 20cm or so cut off of the end. We do this for two reasons. One is we need 2 short bits of timber later to attach the legs and secondly because it is difficult to reach across a table that is more than a meter deep. I cut about 20cm off of each one so that left a bit over 97cm. So the table will be about a metre deep.
Lastly we have the 'legs'. These are more 2x4s about 124cm long and have a funny shape because they came from a pallet. The hollow bits allow forklifts to get underneath.
A quick note before we start. I don't need another one of these tables where I built it so I pulled it apart again after I took the photos. Most of the nails you see will be sticking up a bit, if you build one of these, hammer the nails all the way in and skew them. Also I only used one nail per slat in the photos. Use two if you build one, maybe three if you use really wide slats. I was just making it easy for myself!
We'll start with the top. We lay out the runners for the tabletop. I usually put them 10cm in from the end of the slats. Don't go too far in or the table will tend to tip sideways easily. In pic 2 all the slats are laid on top of the runners. This is a dry run to see how big the gaps between the slats will be. If the gaps are too big it is annoying when things fall down between them. About pencil width or under is good. It lets dirt and water fall through but most things don't.
For this table the gaps will be about half pencil width so that is good. If the gaps don't work out nicely we can use more slats or cut the runners a little bit shorter to suit.
The two middle slats have been lifted up to show the runners more clearly and to the right is the two 20cm bits we cut off the runners to use later.
Picture three is where we start assembling the top. Take all the slats off again except for the top and bottom one. Put one nail at each end of the bottom slat and hammer it into the runner. All the slats will have two nails at each end so offset the first one and leave room for the other one later. On the top slat put in two nails but only hammer one into the runner. Hammer the second one in but not deep enough to touch the runner. We will hammer this one in fully after we get the tabletop square.
Now grab your tape and measure the distance from the bottom left corner to the top right corner as seen in the image. Remember this measurement and then measure the distance from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. What we need is to have both measurements the same. When they are, the top is square. For this size table the first measurements were 143 and 136 cm. So we tap one slat to the left or right so the measurements get closer to each other. Eventually with a little fiddling around they were both around 141 cm. Close enough.
Once we have the top square we hammer in the second nails on the top slat. This holds it square while we nail the other slats on.
Pic 4 is an easy way to find the centre of something that someone taught me years ago. We measure the length of the runner. It is just over 97cm. To get somewhere near the centre we halve this number. So about 48cm. Close enough. We then measure 48cm in from the LHS of the runner and make a mark. We also measure in from the RHS and make another mark. These are the two smaller texta marks. They are equal distances from the end so the centre of the runner is in the middle between them. So we make a bigger mark in the middle and this shows us where the middle is.
So now we can start attaching the slats and they will be evenly spaced. Pic 5 shows the two middle slats nailed into place. If we looked in the gap between them we would see the long texta mark at the centre of the runner. Note one of the leg timbers butted up against the end of the slats, this is an easy way to get them lined up nicely. Just slide them along until they touch the leg timber and that entire edge will be nice and straight.
Pic 6 is the finished top. Again, normally all the nails would be hammered right in and there would be two nails in each slat but I'm lazy!
Continued next post.
The first pic is what we will use.
On the left we have 12 slats. These are 100cm long and 20mm x 75mm and form the top of the table. The length of these determines how wide the table is. The width of the slats doesn't really matter but wider is a bit easier because we don't have to nail as many on. EDIT: We actually need 14 because I forgot about the struts for bracing! Oops.
Then we have a couple of 116cm 2x4s. They are actually 38 x 98mm but timber of around this size is usually called '2x4's. In this thread I'll call them runners. These go under the tabletop and the slats get nailed to them. Having these at least 80mm deep is handy because we have to nail into the sides of them later. These get 20cm or so cut off of the end. We do this for two reasons. One is we need 2 short bits of timber later to attach the legs and secondly because it is difficult to reach across a table that is more than a meter deep. I cut about 20cm off of each one so that left a bit over 97cm. So the table will be about a metre deep.
Lastly we have the 'legs'. These are more 2x4s about 124cm long and have a funny shape because they came from a pallet. The hollow bits allow forklifts to get underneath.
A quick note before we start. I don't need another one of these tables where I built it so I pulled it apart again after I took the photos. Most of the nails you see will be sticking up a bit, if you build one of these, hammer the nails all the way in and skew them. Also I only used one nail per slat in the photos. Use two if you build one, maybe three if you use really wide slats. I was just making it easy for myself!
We'll start with the top. We lay out the runners for the tabletop. I usually put them 10cm in from the end of the slats. Don't go too far in or the table will tend to tip sideways easily. In pic 2 all the slats are laid on top of the runners. This is a dry run to see how big the gaps between the slats will be. If the gaps are too big it is annoying when things fall down between them. About pencil width or under is good. It lets dirt and water fall through but most things don't.
For this table the gaps will be about half pencil width so that is good. If the gaps don't work out nicely we can use more slats or cut the runners a little bit shorter to suit.
The two middle slats have been lifted up to show the runners more clearly and to the right is the two 20cm bits we cut off the runners to use later.
Picture three is where we start assembling the top. Take all the slats off again except for the top and bottom one. Put one nail at each end of the bottom slat and hammer it into the runner. All the slats will have two nails at each end so offset the first one and leave room for the other one later. On the top slat put in two nails but only hammer one into the runner. Hammer the second one in but not deep enough to touch the runner. We will hammer this one in fully after we get the tabletop square.
Now grab your tape and measure the distance from the bottom left corner to the top right corner as seen in the image. Remember this measurement and then measure the distance from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. What we need is to have both measurements the same. When they are, the top is square. For this size table the first measurements were 143 and 136 cm. So we tap one slat to the left or right so the measurements get closer to each other. Eventually with a little fiddling around they were both around 141 cm. Close enough.
Once we have the top square we hammer in the second nails on the top slat. This holds it square while we nail the other slats on.
Pic 4 is an easy way to find the centre of something that someone taught me years ago. We measure the length of the runner. It is just over 97cm. To get somewhere near the centre we halve this number. So about 48cm. Close enough. We then measure 48cm in from the LHS of the runner and make a mark. We also measure in from the RHS and make another mark. These are the two smaller texta marks. They are equal distances from the end so the centre of the runner is in the middle between them. So we make a bigger mark in the middle and this shows us where the middle is.
So now we can start attaching the slats and they will be evenly spaced. Pic 5 shows the two middle slats nailed into place. If we looked in the gap between them we would see the long texta mark at the centre of the runner. Note one of the leg timbers butted up against the end of the slats, this is an easy way to get them lined up nicely. Just slide them along until they touch the leg timber and that entire edge will be nice and straight.
Pic 6 is the finished top. Again, normally all the nails would be hammered right in and there would be two nails in each slat but I'm lazy!
Continued next post.
