Make a simple stool/bench/coffee table/sideboard

by tessew

This is a basic instruction of how you by using standard moulding from a lumberyard can make your own
furniture. Its possible to make them without electrical tools (but of course its faster and the result is more
precise if you do). I used pine in my furniture, but you can use any kind of wood that you prefer. This furniture
can be made really cheap and simple, or more expensive and complicated depending on the choices you make.

Step 1: Supplies + Tools

Material:
1. Outside corner moulding for the legs; stool or bench 1,80m, table 2,10m
2. L-shaped moulding for the frame; stool 1,50m, bench 2,80m, table 2,30m
3. Material for the seat or table top; stool 35*35cm, bench 35*100cm, table 40*70cm
(4. Small outside corner moulding for the shelf; table 1,50m)
(5. Small moulding for the shelf, table 6,20m)
Read the whole instruction to understand why the measurements are approximate.
Tools needed:
- Something to cut the wood with; a circular saw, or if you are working by hand a Japanese saw or veneer saw
that enables fine cuts.
- Some things to assemble the wood; wood glue, screws 15-20mm, screwdriver, (staple gun and staples if you
have), (clamps if you have).
- Sandpaper (and maybe a hand plane).
(- A drill, its easier to tighten the screws if you pre drill.)

Step 2: Cutting the legs

If youre making a stool or bench the legs should be somewhere between 40-45 cm, and a coffee table is usually
between 35-55 cm. You can use any dimensions you like. To measure a furniture that you like and to use that
measurement is a good idea. I made the stool and bench 43 cm and the coffee table 50 cm.
If you couldnt find the moulding in your lumberyard do like the picture shows and glue two pieces of wood
together. The picture shows one 44*15mm and one 27*15mm glue together.
If there is sharp edges, round them with a hand plane, then use sandpaper on the edges to get rid of splinters.

Step 3: Make the frame

The size of the frame is the same as the size of the seat or table top. For a stool a normal size is about 30-35 cm,
and a bench could be about 80-110 cm long and 35 cm wide. The table I made is 40*70cm, but you could
choose any size you like.
The frame should be miter jointed. So you need to cut the moulding in 45 degrees and then glue the
pieces together. If you have a staple gun use it to connect the pieces in the corners (like the picture shows). Use
the sandpaper on the edges.

Step 4: Cut the seat/table top

You can use any material you like for the seat or table top, such as wood, mdf, plywood, stone, marble,
concrete, glass or upholstered. If you chose some kind of wood, cut it in the same size as the frame. Otherwise
buy the material in the right size.

Step 5: Assemble the legs with the frame

The frame should be glued and screwed to the legs, leaving a distance to the legs end as same as the thickness
of the seat/table top.

Step 6: Done?

Put the seat/table top on the frame between the legs sticking up, and you are done! Unless you want to paint,
upholster etc.
If you want to make the shelf under the table (or the stool or the bench) go forward to step 7.

Step 7: The shelf

If you want a shelf under your table, stool or bench you need to cut two pieces of the small corner moulding in
the same length as the table top/seat. Assemble it to the inside of the legs with glue and screws, about 30 cm up
from the floor (or any height you think is good). Cut the small moulding (no. 5 in step 1) in pieces as wide as
the table/stool/bench, you need about 15 pcs for a table. Glue them to the small corner moulding.