5 Gallon Bucket Compact Packable Table Top

5 Gallon buckets are incredibly versatile items in the outdoor world. There are so many great add-ons as well. A waterproof screw top, a toilet kit, and organizers galore. Well my contribution is a table that sits securely on top and then packs away neatly inside.

4 -12 1/2” x 2 1/2” x 1/4”  (31.75cm X 6.35cm X .635cm) Hardwood Board

2 -10 1/8” x 2 1/2” x 1/4”  (25.71cm X 6.35cm X .635cm) Hardwood Board

4 - 2”x 3/4” x 5/8”   (5.08cm X 1.90cm X 1.58cm)  Hardwood Block

2 - 10 1/8” x 1/2" (25.71cm X 1.27cm) Aluminum Weldable Trim Channel (Hillman Model #11380)

Wood Glue

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

--------------The following supplies vary, just use what is available to you)------------------

Sanding supplies (course and fine grit sandpaper, power sanders if available)

Finishing Supplies (Stain, paint, or sealer, brushes, sprayers, Etc. What ever your preference is.)

Saw (any saw to cut the wood and aluminum)

Material for storage bag.

(I used an online converter for the metric conversions so they should be right. Just measure twice, and cut o....well, you know)

This is a fairly straight forward build. I purchased all of the material at Lowes, but they should be attainable at any hardware store or online. I used Poplar but any hardwood is fine.

Cut four pieces of the wood into 12 1/2”  (31.75cm) lengths. Then cut two pieces into 10 1/8" (25.71cm) lengths. I sanded them with 220 grit sandpaper and then with 320 grit. (an orbital sander makes this step go quicker, but hand sanding works too). They don't have to be smooth like furniture, so go easy.

Then cut the aluminum into two 10 1/8” (25.71cm) lengths. Smooth out all sharp edges on the aluminum with sandpaper ( I used 220 grit) or a file. I also rounded the edges a bit.

Then lay the four long pieces of wood out with the aluminum channels on the ends as shown. Then take the two shorter pieces of wood and lay across the four pieces at the ends and carefully push them into the aluminum channels on top of the other four pieces. Take your time here. You may have to sand a bit here and there to get them to fit. If the aluminum channel is too loose, you may have to use pliers to bend the channel sides inward to make it a bit more snug. And keep in mind what finish you are going to use as you want some slack in the fit so there is room for your finish too. I used several layers of a water based Polycrylic to ensure a harder surface

Once you get the fit where you want it, leave it assembled with the smaller pieces of wood face up.Then place the bucket top (plain bucket, Screw top, Etc.) on to the wood and center it as best as you can. Remember if you are using a special top, like a waterproof screw bucket lid, to place the exact surface that the table will sit on against the wood. So if it is a screw top, use the surface where the screw top comes out when mounted on the bucket and not the surface that mounts to the bucket, as in the pictures.

Then place your blocks on the shorter pieces of wood and against the bucket top. The blocks don't have to be perfectly symmetrical, they just need to be able to up against the top snugly, and not be to close to the aluminum channel. (I just eye balled it but you can use a measuring tape if you need to.) They will be at an angle at each end of the board they are mounted to. I also sanded a curve on the inside surface of the blocks to fit the screw top better.

Then mark with a pencil around your blocks and number the blocks and the spot where they belong. Be aware which surface of the block will get glued to the wood. Remove the bucket top and disassemble the table. Put wood glue on the mounting surface of the block and then place it in its correct spot via its matching number and secure it in place with a clamp. Repeat for the three other blocks. Then check the fit against the bucket top, and adjust as needed (Be sure to clean up as much of the glue squeeze out before it dries as this will make finish prep easier) Then leave it to dry overnight. Reinstall the bucket top on to your bucket.

When the glue has dried, remove the clamps, reassemble the table and place it on the bucket top to check the fit. If its too tight, you can sand the blocks, just leave room for the finish. If its too loose, you can mix some sawdust and wood glue and place it on the surface that faces against the bucket top (without the top against it), let it dry overnight and sand until you get the fit where you want it.

Once you are happy with the look and fit, its time to prep and finish. You can use whatever finish you want, and there are a lot of finishing videos and instructional pages on wood finishing on the internet, so I'm not going to get too deep into it, but I am going to show the stain and Polycrylic method that I used.

Double check and spot sand where you need to.

Then I put sewing pins into the ends of the wood and rested them on some scrap wood so I could apply the stain per the manufacturers instructions. When it was dry, I then put the first coat of Polycrylic per the manufacturers instructions. The key here is thin coats. After the each coat had dried the correct amount of time, I sanded it by hand with a fine grit sandpaper. After several coats,(and a few days) I was happy with the result and did a light wet sanding with 500 grit and called it done. Again, there are many techniques and methods of wood finishing, just find what works for you and go with it.

When finishing is complete, carefully reassemble the table. It may be tighter than before. Take your time, Carefully adjust the Aluminum channel edges with pliers (less is more here), light sanding of the finish, (not too much) and eventually, it will go together.

Now you have a great, compact camp table. I went ahead and made a nylon bag with a velcro top to store it in, And it rides the curve of the inside of the bucket so it's very easy to store. I've made a few of these and gave them to friends. A very wonderful, handmade gift that is easy to make, and very appreciated.

Thanks for checking it out.

Hope y'all enjoyed this block of instruction.

Cheers!