Side Table

About a month ago I got a Kreg Jig.  I’ve been wanting one for a very long time and was finally able to get one.  If you are unfamiliar with a Kreg Jig, it’s basically a pocket hole jig.  Kreg is just the name brand.

So when I got it, I excitedly went to the garage and tried it out.  And it was very intimidating.  It required math.  I’m horrible at math.  I gave it a few tries, and I just couldn’t figure it out.  I was disappointed.  Mostly in myself.  I thought I would just “get it”.  So when I didn’t, I gave it a rest.  Like a month rest.  Then last week, I decided to give it another go.  And this time, instead of trying to do the math to figure it out, I just used my own common sense.  And this time I got it!

So I needed to build something to try it out.  I needed a new side table in the living room so I went online to find something I liked.

This is the Benchwright Reclaimed Wood side table from Pottery Barn.  It retails for $449, on sale right now for $349.  Seriously, who has that kind of money to spend on a side table?

I looked to see if there were already plans for this on Ana-White.com.  And there weren’t.  So I figured I would just make it up as I went.

I didn’t know if any one part would work, so I didn’t take pictures of the steps.  I just needed to see if it would come together.  There were a lot of angles and beveling to do.  So if I told you how I did it, it wouldn’t make any sense.

Here’s a top view.  See how weird it looks?  I have no idea what I was thinking.  But you never see this part anyway, so it’s not really a problem.

Now for the table top.  I could have just made a square top and it would have been easy.  But I wanted round.  So that was another thing to figure out.

I laid the boards out then rigged up a circle maker.  A scrap board with a screw half way through.  Then I drilled a hole the distance of the radius.  Then I stuck a pen in the hole and drew my big circle.  From there I knew where I need to put my pocket holes.

After drilling all the pocket holes, I assembled the large square top.  And then jig sawed out the circle.

After some sanding down it was perfect.

Then I attached it to the base with some more pocket holes.  Here’s the view of how it all came together -pocket hole style.  There are double pocket holes because I forgot to reset my jig’s thing-a-ma-jig height.  Like I said, it’s kinda complicated.

And here she is all put together.

The paint color is called “Safari Green” by Glidden.

And what’s a post without a picture of a kid?

So here’s a run down on supplies: 1 – 2X2, 2 – 1x4s, 1-1×2.

About $5 in lumber, $2 in paint.  That’s a savings of $342!  That’s not even counting shipping.

Sure, it’s not exactly the same as Pottery Barn’s but I’m willing to be okay with it.