2 X 4 Table Top
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.43.01 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FQH/MWZV/J9SVNGR0/FQHMWZVJ9SVNGR0.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.43.01 PM.png)
![2x4 Table Top](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FZJ/XNAY/J9SVNIFS/FZJXNAYJ9SVNIFS.jpg&filename=2x4 Table Top)
So I made this table top so I could use it as a woodworking bench. I built it the exact same size as my welding table. I do a fair amount of woodworking and metalworking in my garage and I am a little strapped for room. This top is easy enough to take off and put on as long as you have a strong back or another person to help you move it. The table top is nice and solid and most importantly FLAT.
***Check out the video for an in-depth tutorial****
Materials I used:
- 2 x 4's
- Wood Glue
- 3/8" Dowels
- Polyurethane
Tools I used:
- Miter Saw
- Thickness Planer
- Clamps
- Dowel Jig
- Circular Saw
- Reciprocating Saw
- Orbital Sander
- Belt Sander
- Drill
- Stain Brush
Step 1: Build the Slab
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.43.26 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FKW/GWBR/J9SVNGR1/FKWGWBRJ9SVNGR1.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.43.26 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.43.37 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FK8/94WG/J9SVNGR3/FK894WGJ9SVNGR3.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.43.37 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.44.01 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FP2/YEJ1/J9SVNGR8/FP2YEJ1J9SVNGR8.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.44.01 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.44.53 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FWE/06SC/J9SVNGRA/FWE06SCJ9SVNGRA.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.44.53 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.45.13 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FID/PJK3/J9SVNGRB/FIDPJK3J9SVNGRB.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.45.13 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.45.27 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FY4/67YH/J9SVNGRD/FY467YHJ9SVNGRD.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.45.27 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.45.43 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/F6X/T75H/J9SVNGRE/F6XT75HJ9SVNGRE.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.45.43 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.45.49 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/F0K/RJE1/J9SVNGRI/F0KRJE1J9SVNGRI.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.45.49 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.46.11 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/F1P/U1SK/J9SVNGRK/F1PU1SKJ9SVNGRK.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.46.11 PM.png)
For this table I purchased 24, 2 x 4's. It took a little while to sort through them trying to find the best ones. Using my miter saw I set my backstop to 72" and cut off the worst looking end.
From there I took each piece to my thickness planer and planed approx 1/32 off each end. This makes for a nicer glue-up
After that it was time for gluing. I glued 8, 2 x 4's together so that the slab would fit through my planer. I used quite a bit of glue for this. I found a glue spreader at my local hardware store that seemed to work pretty well. I would simply drizzle the glue out of the gallon bottle and then spread it out with the spreader. After all 8 pieces were stacked on top of one another I clamped the slab with 4 clamps. Once the clamps were tight a ton of glue seeped out and I used a damp cloth to clean up the spillage on both top and bottom. Then I let it dry for 24 hours.
I made this table in 3 sections so this part was repeated 2 more times.
Step 2: Conjoin the 3 Slabs
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.46.33 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/F2X/16UP/J9SVNGRL/F2X16UPJ9SVNGRL.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.46.33 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.47.08 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/F7F/E14Q/J9SVNGRN/F7FE14QJ9SVNGRN.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.47.08 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.47.31 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/F99/GCCH/J9SVNGRO/F99GCCHJ9SVNGRO.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.47.31 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.47.40 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FL8/ZKOR/J9SVNGRQ/FL8ZKORJ9SVNGRQ.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.47.40 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.47.51 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FR7/E8G1/J9SVNGRR/FR7E8G1J9SVNGRR.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.47.51 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.48.13 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FT1/MKB0/J9SVNGRS/FT1MKB0J9SVNGRS.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.48.13 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.48.23 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/F1W/R6MX/J9SVNGRY/F1WR6MXJ9SVNGRY.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.48.23 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.49.12 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FE7/VTVM/J9SVNGSA/FE7VTVMJ9SVNGSA.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.49.12 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.49.21 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/F0H/MKTJ/J9SVNGSB/F0HMKTJJ9SVNGSB.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.49.21 PM.png)
After the glue has set, it's time to take off the clamps and run all 3 slabs through the thickness planer. Since I was maxing out my planer, and the slabs were so heavy, I had to take off 1/64th of an inch at a time. I made sure that I ran each slab through at the same height and I also did top and bottom of the slab. After everything was said and done I took off 3/16 of an inch in total so this was actually quite a lengthy process.
Now that all 3 slabs are flat and of the same thickness it's time to add the dowels. I picked up a cheap dowel jig from my local hardware store and chose to use 3/8 dowels. I marked 2 inches in on the ends, one in the middle and one in-between the middle and end. So I used 10 dowels in total. 5 on each side.
The holes were drilled, I marked the receiving end, and the dowel was glued, then the whole entire slab was glued. Then with the glue still wet I clamped the entire slab together using some pipe clamps. I then let this dry for 36 hours.
Step 3: Square Up the Top
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.49.50 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FHE/A6XC/J9SVNGSC/FHEA6XCJ9SVNGSC.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.49.50 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.49.59 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FGK/QTKW/J9SVNGSF/FGKQTKWJ9SVNGSF.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.49.59 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.50.08 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FQH/ZYG6/J9SVNGSH/FQHZYG6J9SVNGSH.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.50.08 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.50.41 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FTX/JICY/J9SVNGSV/FTXJICYJ9SVNGSV.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.50.41 PM.png)
To do this I used a drywall T-square. I just marked each end and went in as far as the furthest board stuck in. Maybe 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch. I drew a line and then used my circular saw to cut the ends. This did not cut all the way through so I used my sawzall to cut through the rest.
The sawzall ended up leaving a nasty edge on the ends of the slab so to get rid of this i used a belt sander with 120 grit sandpaper. This made for a quick fix.
Step 4: Sanding the Top
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.50.57 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/F3B/2R69/J9SVNGSW/F3B2R69J9SVNGSW.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.50.57 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.51.31 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FJ0/8VUD/J9SVNGT9/FJ08VUDJ9SVNGT9.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.51.31 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.51.47 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FFN/8ORP/J9SVNH5J/FFN8ORPJ9SVNH5J.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.51.47 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.52.25 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FIM/HIX9/J9SVNH5O/FIMHIX9J9SVNH5O.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.52.25 PM.png)
Since the belt sander was out, I decided to hit the top of the slab quick. I did not spend much time on this part and mostly focused on where the slabs were glued together. Then I used my orbital sander with 220 grit sandpaper and smoothed up the top and the edges / ends. After this I did a quick vacuum clean up on the top with the shop-vac.
Step 5: Finalization
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.53.27 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/F3J/HCVT/J9SVNH5P/F3JHCVTJ9SVNH5P.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.53.27 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.53.39 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/F31/FHI9/J9SVNH5V/F31FHI9J9SVNH5V.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.53.39 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.53.52 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/F74/A51E/J9SVNH5W/F74A51EJ9SVNH5W.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.53.52 PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.54.09 PM.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FG1/BIZC/J9SVNH5X/FG1BIZCJ9SVNH5X.png&filename=Screen Shot 2017-11-10 at 4.54.09 PM.png)
I have to denote that in the video I used butcher block oil before the polyurethane. This was completely unnecessary. All you actually need is some poly. I was going for the darkened look but poly would have been enough to do this.
I spread the poly on slightly thick using a one coat poly made by Minwax. I really like this stuff by the way. I applied it to the top, ends and sides of the top. Let it dry for about 4 hours and then it was ready for use.
All in all I think I spent around 40 bucks for this top. And it's worth every penny. It took about 6 hours in total work to complete but it's nice and solid and most importantly FLAT! I would recommend doing this if you're new to woodworking and want a nice solid top for cheap.
I hope everyone enjoyed this instructable. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment. Otherwise check out my YouTube channel to view more videos like this one!
~~~Adam
www.youtube.com/c/adamfleisch