A potential client had reached out and was looking for a long table to go behind their couch. It would be a place to sit while watching TV or having a drink. The table would be 8 1/2 feet long and has to get down into a basement. Somewhat conflicting requirements, but I got started on a drawing and away we went.

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Plans and Materials

Since this table had to fit down into a basement, I knew it had to be designed and built into sections. Joining those sections was the challenge. I went back and forth between screws, dominoes, plugged screw holes, knock down fasteners. I had to make a couple of test joints to become comfortable with using Festool’s knockdown fasteners. I also used a fair amount of screws where they can’t be seen. So, the table base would be comprised of two side supports, one long horizontal upper support and a lower horizontal rail. The materials were hard maple for the base and white ash for the top and drink rail.

Table Top

First, I selected a combination of boards to work for the top and started the process of milling. Since these boards were so long (almost 10 feet), I used a track saw to establish a straight edge. I still jointed that edge, but took a very light pass. Afterwards I could run the faces through the jointed and planer. Then rip to width on the table saw. I also ran that edge across the jointer. Then, time for a glue up.

Side Supports

The sides of the table were comprised of 8/4 maple and were joined with loose tenons. The small corner brace pieces were giving me a really tough time. I could not generate a flat cut on my table saw. So, I had to use the oscillating belt sander, with a jig, to get a flat surface. After placing the small corner braces, I knew I was going to have a finishing problem and not be able to spray paint in the corner. So, I opted to leave the corner braces off and attach them after a few coats of paint were applied. The corner braces would be attached with dominoes on one side and a #10 screw on the other. The screw would be hidden by the top or face the floor.

Horizontal Stretcher Assembly

The upper structure that the table top would attach to would look a lot like a ladder and be joined to the side assemblies with knockdown fasteners. Similarly the lower stretcher would be attached to side assemblies with knockdown fasteners. The top structure was joined with more loose tenons and clamped together. The table top would be mounted to the base with 4 bolts (down the center) and like 12 table top z clips around the perimeter.

Drink Rail

To ensure that drinks didn’t accidentally fall onto the couch a small rail was added around the perimeter of the top. It was made from 6/4 ASH and had a number of miters and loose tenons to keep it together. The rail was attached using threaded inserts and some bolts going through the table top. You can see the recessed holes in the picture above.

Angles and USB Outlet

To help stiffen the structure there are 3 pieces that connect the lower rail to the upper structure. 2 pieces are at 45 degrees and one is vertical. The vertical piece is using the knockdown fasteners and the angled ones are just using screws. The client also wanted a place to plug in a laptop or phone, so I made a small housing for USB/120 outlet that will screw onto the upper structure. Below you can see the outlet housing and the angled pieces cut, but I don’t have any pictures of them installed prior to finish.

Finishing the Top/Drink Rail

The top and drink rail were the easy ones to finish on this project. Before staining the actual piece, I made number of sample boards to pass by the client.

After lots of sanding and rounding of edges, I sprayed some Mixol Umber diluted with water onto everything. After that dried thoroughly, I sprayed on a really heavy coat of General Finishes Greystone and wiped off. Then 3 coats of General Finished High Performance Polyurethane.

Painting the Base

Painting the base was a bit of a logistics issues. I had about 15 small parts that needed to be painted and not a good way to do that. So, I got out my thinking cap and stared around my garage (maybe with a beer in hand) to figure something out. I eventually talked myself into tyeing some paracord around my garage door supports to hang the small pieces from while spraying.

I decided to try a new paint this time and went with Gemini Evo. After using it, I can say it is pretty tough and adheres well. It is also pretty thin and makes filling in light scratches a challenge (from previous sanding). My biggest mistake was using white primer. I should have gotten some tinted. With how thin the Evo is, it was very easy sand through on some small areas.

After 2 coats, I reassembled the corner braces and sprayed 3 more coats. One of those coats was a complete mess and had to be sanded off. After reassembling everything there were small edges that didn’t have paint or primer or both. So, I had to disassemble everything and hit those areas with a brush. If I were to build it all over again, I would worry so much about masking and just let paint cover it all.

Assembly in Shop For Last Time Then Install

The table turned out really nice and the clients liked it, which is most important. The top is pretty heavy on this piece and it isn’t that wide. It is also sitting on carpet and has a bit of a wobble. So I needed to attach the base to the adjacent wall with a simple bracket.