Reclaimed Lumber Nightstands

When the wife says "jump", your supposed to say "how high." However, since my vertical leap is not very impressive and my wife knows it, I said "how about some new nightstands" instead. In keeping with the running theme of our bedroom, I wanted to make the tables out of some reclaimed lumber and allow it to keep some of its rough appearance. I gathered my materials and got started

For this Project, I knew I wanted to use some of the reclaimed wood stock piled in my garage. Most of what i had was vertical grain Doug Fir, but this project does not require Doug Fir, I would encourage you to scavenge whatever you can, If you have a Habitat for Humanity Restore in your area, this is a great source of cheap reclaimed wood. In order to estimate the total amount of wood and other materials I would be using, I came up with a rough design sketch and from that, figured some rough dimensions, giving me an idea of what I would need.

The final materials list included the following:

• 2x4 lumber (roughly 16' of total linear ft.)
• 2x6 lumber (roughly 20' of total linear ft.)
• 1/2" diameter dowel rod (roughly 12" of total linear ft.)
• wood glue
• screws
• Polyurethane (you can also find this cheap at the Habitat Restore)

Basic tools include the following:

• table saw
• random orbital sander
• sand paper (80 grit, 120, grit, and 220 grit)
• impact driver
• drill
• jig saw
• clamps (at least 2 ft. long)

There were three main elements that each table was to be comprised of, and each element required the milling of unique parts from the raw lumber. first was the table tops, which I planned to construct out of 1-5/8" square stock, with a smooth refined finish. second, was the legs, which essentially would be just a 2x6 ripped in half and the existing rough sawn finish would be left as is, of which the final dimensions were 2-1/4"x 1-3/4". The third and final element was the cross members, requiring a stock size of 1-1/2"x3/4."

* Further, more detailed, instruction is given in the photographs for this step.

Here I took The square stock and using screws and glue fastened them together to make solid "butcher Block-esque" table tops.

* Follow along with more detailed instructions in the attached photographs for this step.

Its time to attach the cross members and the table legs to form a solid base. Please not, although I used the table top as a base on which to work, the legs were not yet attached to the table top. (In hindsight, it may be easier to immediately squared up the legs and attach them to the tops first, but in all honesty, I hadn't decided yet how i was going to attach them.)

* Follow along with more detailed instructions in the attached photographs for this step.

Using dowels and glue fasten the tops to the newly constructed bases.

* Follow along with more detailed instructions in the attached photographs for this step.

With the addition of a bottom shelf, you will not only be adding extra storage space, but you will also be providing lateral support for the two front legs.

* Follow along with more detailed instructions in the attached photographs for this step.

Each component was sanded before assembly with a random orbital sander, but still went over the table by hand before applying Polyurethane. I applied two coats over the entire table, sanding with 320 grit between coats, and 1000 grit to finish it off. (remember, the table tops were given 3 coats prior to assembly, so the finished with a total of five.)

I hope you enjoyed this instructable, follow me on instagram @ingrownsplinter. Thanks.