Im very picky when it comes to choosing my furniture, especially when it’s so darn expensive. About a year ago, I sold off the buffet we were using as our TV unit, along with the dining set that went with it. Since then, I’ve been on the hunt for something to fill it’s shoes.
Enter this beautiful creature.
I knew I could make something just like it, in just the right size and height that I wanted.
I went out and bought seven 8 ft. boards, 6 inches across, and 5/4 inches thick.
I also got a pack of 3” wood screws, wooden buttons for filling in the drill holes, and stain. One can of minwax special walnut just covered the whole thing.
Other materials you will need are:
Tape Measure
Pencil
Orbital or belt sander
Drill
½” drill bit
Mitre saw
Old t-shirt
Face mask
Eye protection
5 Wood clamps with coordinating metal poles at least 3 feet long.
The first step is to place your planks next to each other to find which ones fit together the best.
One thing I learned in this process is that the end grain needs to alternate in the direction that it bends. The reason for this is that sometimes the wood likes to warp, and when the end grain is all pointing in the same direction, it’s easier for the board to bend either way.
I put wood glue on only one side of where the seams will be. Put a very thin layer as uniformly as you can, so there are no dry spots. I used my finger to spread the glue around. Now, I used wood clamps to hold the boards together. This strengthens the piece and gives it a more finished look.
Alternate the position of the clamps. Put three on top and two on the bottom. It should look like this. Tighten the clamps down but only about two turns past the point where you get resistance. Too tight and you will squish all the glue out.
Let it set for at least 8 hours.
While that dries, take one board and mark every 16 inches. Because the saw will take off a fraction of an inch, put the mark as close to the middle of the saw blade as possible.
After the glue has dried, sand down the whole surface to make it smooth and get off any extra glue that has escaped the cracks. The stain will not be absorbed if there is any glue on the surface.
After lining up where the pieces will fit, pre drill a hole for the screws. Because I did not want to be able to see the screws, I used a 1/2″ bit to make a hole for the 1/2″ wood buttons I bought. I marked 1/4″ up on the bit so I wouldn’t drill too deep.
Here it is all put together.
All I used was Minwax Special Walnut. I had planned on putting a gray stain over that, but it looked really nice just they way it was.
Isn’t it beautiful?
This took several days to complete. My dad was able to help me out a lot because I had no idea what I was doing. He provided the clamps, which was very cost effective.
Just the materials cost me just under $100. It is a solid piece that I know will last a long time and has the perfect look!
