How to Build a Dining Table & Benches

It can be very expensive to buy a dining table and chairs, especially if you want something durable. This table and bench set fits well into most informal or modern eating areas, and it can be built with common dimensional lumber from your local home center. It requires no complex joinery or expensive tools. Best of all, you can easily adjust its dimensions to make it larger, and it will remain relatively inexpensive to build. The plans give the requirements for one bench; double the building materials if you want to make two. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

Assemble the Table

1

Make a U-shaped assembly using two of the long 4 x 4s (legs) and one of the short ones. Drill two holes through each leg into one end of the short 4 x 4, countersinking the holes halfway. Use four 4-inch screws (two in each leg) and glue to secure them.

2

Use the remaining 4 x 4s to make a second leg assembly.

3

Build a square frame with the 2 x 4s. Place the three shorter pieces between the longer (side) pieces on your work surface, standing them on the two-inch sides. Position a short piece at each end of the side pieces, with the third piece forming a brace halfway between them. Drill holes through the sides into the ends of each of the short pieces, using glue and 12 4-inch screws (two at each side/brace joint).

4

Attach the leg assemblies to each end of the frame, using the short screws. Drill five holes about six inches apart, in a zigzag pattern, through the short ends of the frame into the leg cross-members. Countersink the holes halfway into the frame, and assemble using glue and 10 2 1/2-inch screws (five at each end of the table).

5

Miter both ends of all four 2 x 2 pieces. Glue and nail these pieces onto the edges of the plywood panel. Use 46 nails (eight on each end, 15 on each side). This forms the tabletop. Using a framed panel makes the tabletop appear thicker.

6

Test fit the tabletop, cavity side down, onto the table base. The top should fit like a lid, with very little play. Remove the top, run a thick bead of glue around the entire top of the base, then replace the top. Nail the top to the base, using the nailset to set the heads just beneath the surface; use 30 nails (five on each end, 10 on each side).

7

Fill all the holes with wood putty. When all the glue and putty have dried, sand and finish the table as desired.

Assemble the Bench

8

Assemble the 4 x 4s into two leg assemblies, using two long and one short piece for each, as you did with the table. This time, drill only one hole through each leg into the short connector piece, countersinking it halfway into the leg, and use two 4-inch screws (one in each leg) and glue to put them together.

9

Attach the leg assemblies using the 2 x 4 side rails. Drill two holes through the legs into the ends of the side rails, countersinking each halfway, and use eight 4-inch screws (two in each leg/rail joint) and glue to secure them.

10

Run a thick bead of glue around the top of the bench base, then lay the 2 x 12 seat on top and attach it to the base using 22 nails (one nail centered in each end of the seat, and 10 nails down each side). Set the heads with the nailset just below the surface.

11

Fill all the holes with wood putty. After the putty and glue are dry, sand and finish the bench as desired.