I’ve kept a bunch of reclaimed wood in my garage for years. I knew I would use them, but I was waiting for the right kind of project.
I used to work for a truss manufacturer, and I would collect all kinds of wood that I thought I could use in woodworking projects. Lumber delivery trucks often came with pretty sizable, hardwood dunnage boards for really big bundles. The truckers didn’t want to haul the boards back with their empty trailer, so I benefitted from the cast offs.
Many years later, I finally turned some oversized 3×3 boards into a simple base for this coffee table.
Making the coffee table base
The reclaimed boards I collected from the lumber trucks were a mixture of oak and poplar. These were nice, solid 3×3 pieces that would make the legs for the coffee table.
I joined two sides of each leg to make a square edge, than ripped them to square sides on my table saw. Each leg was cut to length with a 10° angle.
From there, I cut a stretcher piece to connect two legs together along with reclaimed pallet board stringers to connect the top.
Each joint I used a Forstner bit to counter sink a 5 inch lag screw. After gluing and screwing each joint together, I glued a dowel plug into each inset hole.
Making the top
I didn’t worry too much about matching wood for this project. I never add finish to my projects opting to let the new owner choose the finish. Besides, my goal is to use up my wood collection. I mix-and-match what I can for the most part.
For this coffee table top, I used two pieces of oak and what I think is a piece of ash🤔. I’m not sure, so let me know in the comments.
Nothing intricate for the top. Just an edge glue up as I was trying to get this done in one day. In hindsight, I should have opted to use my biscuit jointer to align the boards. Instead, I got the opportunity to take out my antique smoothing plane and flatten the joints. I don’t mind really.
The final product
I connected the legs with two 1×1 pieces—also reclaimed dunnage sticks—with pocket holes to complete the base. After countersinking, drilling, and screwing the base to the top, this coffee table was done! I rounded over the edges of the top with a trim router and sanded everything.
I really enjoyed this table. It was a departure from my typical designs, which are super simple farmhouse style using pine.
This is my first woodworking post, even though it is one of my most recent projects. I’ll continue adding past and future projects.
If you like this project, I built a desk in the same style. So, subscribe to see more woodworking so you don’t miss that post! I’m going to enable newsletter categories, so you can follow only woodworking projects if that’s all you’re interested in.