How to Build a Table With Furniture-Grade Plywood

Furniture-grade plywood provides a low-cost and high-quality alternative to more expensive hardwood designs. The integration of high-end plywood into a furniture plan allows for stability and strength while allowing a wide versatility of end-product finishes. Because of its light color, plywood can easily be painted or stained to match a variety of more expensive wood tones, and the final product will be lighter and easier to uninstall, move and reinstall. Plywood tables make great accents for the dining room, can be made with shorter legs as coffee tables and can be used in the work space as desks or workbenches.

4 table legs - 3 inches by 3 inches by 3 feet
Furniture-grade plywood leg support board -- 1/2 inch by 3 feet by 4 feet
Drill
Drill bits
3-inch wood screws
2 side boards -- 1/2 inch by 3 inches by 30 inches
2 front/rear boards -- 1/2 inch by 3 inches by 42 inches
Furniture grade plywood tabletop -- 1 inch by 4 feet by 6 feet
1-inch wood screws

Instructions

- 1
  Stand up all four legs, and position the leg support board on top of them. Move one leg to each corner of the support board, so that the outer two edges of the table legs line up perfectly with the outer two edges of that corner of the support board. Predrill three holes into each leg, passing through the support board and into the table leg. Secure the legs in place using the 3-inch wood screws.
- 2
  Hold one of the side boards in place between the table legs on the smaller side, with the wider surface facing outward and the thinnest surface flush with the support board. Position the side board either flush with the outside edges of the legs or inset 1 inch into the center of the table. Predrill three evenly spaced holes down through the support board and into the side board. Attach the side board to the support board with the 3-inch wood screws.
- 3
  Predrill a hole into the bottom surface of the side board, 1 inch from each end and angled at a diagonal into the adjoining leg. Secure the boards together with a 3-inch wood screw, sinking the screw into the wood until the head is not visible from the side. Repeat these steps for the other side board and the front and rear boards, keeping them uniform and either all set flush or all inset 1 inch between the legs.
- 4
  Flip the assembled table upside down and set it on top of the underside of the tabletop. Position the assembled legs evenly in the middle of the tabletop and predrill eight evenly spaced holes through the support board and into the tabletop, being careful not to break through the top surface of the tabletop. Attach the support board to the tabletop with 1-inch wood screws.

Repurposing a Table for a Child

How to Build a Concrete Coffee Table Top

Tables