DIY Coffee Table Design Ideas

Once you have located the right DIY coffee table plans, completion of your project will take just a few hours. Coffee tables can be created with just a few supplies and tools, many of which you probably already have on hand. Then some stain, varnish or paint and you're done. In fact, the longest time involved may be choosing the style of table that you want to build.
Plans
Table plans range from simple to complex. Many plans indicate the skill level needed to complete the project. Beginners should choose plans that will allow inexpensive wood to be used. That way if a mistake is made, it will not be a costly one to replace the miss-cut section.
Intermediate and Expert level woodworkers started out by completing simple projects. Each completed project adds new skills. The availability of pre-cut wood, spindles and routed trim will allow beginners to tackle some of the more complex coffee tables plans with ease.
Wood Choices
The type of wood that you choose to use to build your coffee table may be determined by what type of table you are making. If it will be holding a significant amount of weight, a hardwood would be the best to use. Cypress, oak and walnut are three strong woods that have tight grains and accept stain and varnish well. Tables with spindle legs like a butler's table can be made from softwoods. Softwoods like maple, ash and poplar are light in color but can be stained to match wood floors or existing furniture finishes. Beginners may want to use pine, as it is inexpensive and easy to work with.
Construction
Read any woodworking plans completely before starting the project. DIY coffee table plans, like other woodworking plans, will include a list of the necessary materials, tools and finishing products. Before starting, assemble the necessary wood, fasteners, hinges and tools to complete the project. It is frustrating to be half way through a project only to find out that you need to run to the hardware store.
Finishing your Project
Before you begin constructing your table, you should have selected a finish. Regardless of what type of finish you have chosen, sanding and applying the finish before you start constructing is the proper way to do it. Using this method you can sand hard to reach places like inside corners or around spindles. Once constructed, the coffee table will have a professional look if finishing occurs before assembly.
Recycled Materials
There are many recycled materials that can be recycled into beautiful pieces of furniture. With good coffee table plans, you can use wooden freight pallets to build a table with drawers or hidden compartments. Drop leaf coffee tables made from recycled barn timbers or salvaged wainscot from an abandoned house might become a treasured family heirloom. Once you get started using recyclable materials with which to build, you may run out of room before you run out of projects.
Learning how to make a coffee table is easy when you have some good coffee table plans to help you out. While making a coffee table yourself is definitely effort intensive, the rewards of your labor are also just that good. If you are wondering what benefits you stand to reap by making a coffee table yourself then here are some of them:
a. Keeps the costs down: For the majority of the people getting started into woodworking, sticker shock is common. Good looking pieces of furniture come at very high prices. When you are making a table (or mostly any other the DIY woodworking project) yourself you have the freedom to choose the parts and materials that you want so that you can control the costs. While there definitely is a cost of the equipment and tools that you will be requiring, this is only a onetime cost.
b. Gets you involved with your project: When you are making a table as a DIY Woodworking project you can add your own creative input to it and make sure that it comes out the way you like it.