Craft Table

I am really excited about this project, because it's the first piece of furniture I made all my myself!

From planning it, cutting everything (with my $10 miter saw) and construction, I was going solo.

My husband and I have built everything together thus far, but he's been working 70 - 80 hours a week so the last thing he wants to do when he is home is help me build crap.

So I was a little nervous, and it had it's frustrating parts, but I'm really proud of the outcome.

When I had finished the frame, and measured diagonally corner to corner to check for the table being square, I was sure it would be off, so I did a little dance out of excitement when both diagonals were the same!

SO ON TO THIS TABLE.

My craft/ sewing stuff shares my husband's office.

The room is small to begin with, only 8.5' x 10'.

I'd been sewing on our folding table, which took up too much space and I was practically in the middle of the room, sandwiched between the desk and the cutting table.

So I'd drawn up plans to make a wide, narrow table to try to use the space the best we can.

I'd planned to use 3/4" thick MDF, which is around $35.00 a sheet.

Obviously I could use the rest of it for other projects, but when I saw closet doors (the double bi-fold kind) at the thrift store, I thought it would be an easier, cheaper option for the table top.

So here's my plans if you have an old closet door you'd like to make into a table.

SUPPLIES:

1 closet door (I bought mine for $10 for the bi-fold, so one door was $5.00)

2  2x4's (about $2.50 each)

3  1x4's (about $3-4.50 each)

screws, glue, sandpaper, primer, paint

1. CUT YOUR WOOD:
4 - 2x4 @ 28 3/4" long (legs)
2 - 1x4 @ 76" long (long sides/ aprons)
6 - 1x4 @ 16" long (supports and ends)

2. SAND

I chose to sand all the legs, long sides, and 2 of the outside ends before I ever put the table together.  Mainly for the legs.  Because I was using 2x4s, there are tons of imperfections to sand off for smooth legs, and it was so much easier to sand them as individual pieces rather than vertical table legs.

3. Make Leg Boxes

Screw the legs and 2 supports into 2 boxes

4. SCREW SIDES ON

Now you have the frame of the table set.

5. SCREW THE 2 SUPPORTS ACROSS

I only used 2 supports, you could do more obviously.

6. ATTACH CLOSET DOOR ON TOP

To attach the door, I glued it on the frame, centering it with even overhanging on the sides.  It ended up being about 1/4" front to back, and the ends had around 1.5" overhang.

Obviously, the length of closet doors can vary, but because they are hollow, you need the frame pretty close to the edges to have solid wood to attach to your frame.

I screwed 4" screws into each table leg.

To attach the rest of the closet door, I drilled holes, then hammered thin 3" nails around the perimeter, into the 1x4 sides.

7. FILL HOLES WITH WOOD FILLER AND SAND

At this point it was nice to not have to sand the legs!

8. PRIME and PAINT

I used oil based primer for stain blocking and durability.

Then I painted 2 coats of semi-gloss paint: Behr Popped Corn that I've been using for the kitchen cabinets, mantle, trim, etc.

9. POLYURETHANE

Because this would have a lot of use, I just painted the 2 coats of satin polyurethane on the table top, but I was too lazy and didn't want to "waste" the poly on the sides and legs.

FINISHED!

The final dimensions are 30" high (standard table height), 18" deep, and 6.5 feet long

It's so much better as far as space and organization in the craft room/ office. 
Looks a lot better than a folding table too!