How to Make a Coffee Table With Storage

Multiple-purpose coffee tables save space while keeping the living room clutter free. A storage coffee table must blend with the style of the other furniture in the room. It should be more than just a place to stuff items out of view. Multiple drawers hold craft and scrapbooking supplies, game cartridges and DVDs. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1




Find two pieces of irregularly shaped burled walnut about 2-by-4 feet by 1-inch thick. These will be the top and bottom of the storage coffee table. Lay out a 24-by-48 inch rectangle on the bad side of each piece, using a sharp carpenter's pencil. Lay out a second 23-by-47 inch rectangle inside the first one.

2




Drill 1/8-inch diameter pilot holes in the four corners between the two rectangles you scribed on the two burled walnut sheets. Refer to the image that accompanies this step for the correct screw hole positions. Drill corresponding pilot holes in the 23-by-24-inch by 1-inch side pieces. Countersink all the holes. Turn the top and bottom pieces so that the good side is facing up. Place the side pieces between the top and bottom and screw them loosely into place at the four corners with 2-inch brass wood screws. Do not tighten these four screws all the way until after the next step.

3




Fit the 23-by-47 inch sheet of walnut between the top and bottom pieces and the side pieces to make a back piece for the storage table. Tighten the four corner screws all the way. Drill 2-inch deep 1/8-inch diameter pilot holes through each side piece and into the back piece, indicated by the black squares on the image that accompanies this step. Countersink all the holes. Attach using 2-inch long brass wood screws.

4




Drill 2-inch deep, 1/8-inch pilot holes, through the top and bottom, into the back piece, where indicated by the white square marks on the image that accompanies this step. Countersink all the holes. Attach using 2-inch long brass wood screws.

5




Position the two 1-by-1-by-46 inch pieces of walnut 7 inches apart, flush with the front edge, between the side pieces, as indicated in the image that accompanies this step, to form divisions for the drawers. Drill 1/8-inch pilot holes and screw drawer dividers into place. The drawer dividers should create three equal-width openings where the drawers will eventually go.

6




Place the four drawer supports in the indicated positions, between the inside front edge of each drawer divider and the inside back of the storage table. You should now have a storage chest frame without drawers.

7




Build three drawers using a piece of 45 3/4-by-6 3/4-by-1/4 inch Masonite for the front and back of each drawer, a piece of 21 3/4-by-6 3/4-by-1/4 inch Masonite for each of the two sides, and one sheet of 21 3/4-by-45 3/4-by-1/4 inch Masonite for the bottom of each drawer. Use 3/4-inch finishing nails to secure the drawer pieces together in an open-topped rectangle. For a more traditional, dove-tailed drawer design, see the link in Resources.

8

Cut three pieces of 7-inches wide by 46-inches long by 1/2-inch thick burled walnut for drawer facings. Coat the front face of each drawer built in Step 6 with 5-minute epoxy. Press wood facings onto each drawer and clamp firmly until the glue dries overnight. Pad each clamp with a folded felt square to prevent damaging the finish of the walnut.

9

Attach the four 4-by-4-by-4 inch wood cubes to the bottom of the table using 6-inch brass wood screws to make feet. Sand all surfaces of the storage table with coarse, medium, fine and extra-fine sandpaper. Finish the table with several coats of clear acrylic wood treatment.