I have finished the design of our first project an easy to build nightstand. The nightstand is dimensioned for a room at the beach house I am helping makeover. However you can make it any size you would like. It is 13 3/4” Wide x 16” Long x 23 3/4” Tall. You can build it with or without the bottom shelf. I have designed this to use 2”x2” legs. I have had a difficult time finding 2”x2” Pine Legs so I am going to use 2”x2” Poplar legs for mine. I am going to be painting mine white so it doesn’t matter that the wood is different. An option you could use would be to use 2”x4” Studs as the poplar 2”x2”x36” are about $5 a piece and you can get the studs for $2 a piece and get all 4 legs from 2 2x4’s. If you use 2”x4” Studs you will want to turn the wide edge to align with the longest side of the table. This way when you look at the nightstand from the front you get a narrower leg.
This is really up to you, as you can orient them any way you would like, however typically when building furniture you want to balance the symmetry or the piece so wider widths tend to line up with each other and likewise for the narrower widths. If you are interested in seeing a diagram of this let me know and I will draw it up and post the picture. Just let me know. I am going to suggest you build this with pine to keep costs down and the pine boards from a Lowes/Home Depot tend to be straighter than the cheaper whitewood you can also get.
Okay let’s get to the materials and tools list.
Materials:
2 – 1”x3”x72”(6ft) Boards
2 – 1”x2”x72”(6ft) Boards
4 - 2"x2"x36"(3ft) Poplar or Pine if you can find it or 2 - 2"x4"x96(8ft)" Studs
Suggested tools:
10” Miter Saw
Random Orbital Sander (ROS) You will also want 120grit, 150 or 180grit and 220Grit.
Speed Square or Framing Square
Image Courtesy of Wikipedia.org
*If you are going to use a Kreg Jig on this project you will want to use the coarse screws since pine is a softer wood.
Wood Glue: I use Titebond III but I know a lot of people use Gorilla glue. I have yet to use it. Maybe one of these days I will break down and get some and give it a try.
** Clamps: How could I have forgotten these…. You will want to have at least 2 - 24” Clamps. We will need these clamps to keep the top tight while the top glues.
***If you would prefer not to use clamps I can show you how to use the Kreg Jig to edge join the top boards. Clamps can get expensive but you will need them if you are going to do lots of projects. I don’t think you can have to many clamps.
I believe that should get us started with this build.
If you have any questions make sure to comment below or shoot me an email.
Have a Great Day!
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