How to Build a Coffee Table With Drawers

Table Construction

• 1

  Lay out the 34-inch lumber with the narrow sides vertical. Line up the boards to be 4 feet apart and parallel to each other. Make the ends flush. Place the 4-foot lumber on either side of the 34-inch boards. Set the sides of the 4-foot board against the ends of the shorter boards. Put the 5-inch boards at the other end of the 34-inch boards with the sides of the 5-inch boards flush against the ends of the 34-inch boards.

• 2

  Drill screws through the sides of the 4-foot board and the 5-inch boards into the ends of the 34-inch boards.

• 3

  Set the plywood over the frame with the edges flush to the frame. Screw a smaller screw into each corner of the plywood into frame. Measure and mark a point every 6 inches on each side. Set screws through the plywood into the frame at these points to finish the table top.

• 4

  Overturn the table top so the frame is on top. Put a post at an interior corner of the frame so each corner has a post. Use larger screws to connect the legs. Drill screws through the frame into the post using two screws on each side per post.

Drawer Construction

• 5

  Put the 37 1/2-inch boards parallel to each other with the narrow sides vertical. Set a 2-foot spacing between them. Put a 33 1/2-inch board at either end of the longer boards. Have the sides of the longer boards flush with the ends of the short boards. Attach the frame using short screws by drilling through the sides of the long boards into the ends of the short boards.

• 6

  Put the smaller plywood piece over the frame. Line up the sides. Measure and mark spots every 6 inches on each side. Use short screws drilled into the plywood at each mark to attach the drawer base.

• 7

  Put a runner on the top of the 33 1/2 sides of the drawer. Make the outer edges of the runners flush with the outer edges of the drawer. Use the pre-made holes in the runners with the short screws to attach the runners to the drawer base. Line up the matching runner pieces on the underside of the table top to match the drawer. Attach these runners the same way.

• 8

  Attach the handle or knob to the center of the front of the drawer. Slide the drawer into the coffee table.