Simple Plywood Screwed-Up Coffee Table

This simple, sturdy plywood coffee table is easy to build and can be put together from parts you can have cut at the DIY store. It only requires some basic tools.

This project actually started with me wanting to build a chair for myself, however I lacked advanced woodworking tools and a workshop. I therefore began making furniture that was as straightforward as possible and could be build easily with simple tools. Most importantly, all parts could be cut at the DIY store where I got my plywood. This meant I didn't need a saw bench or lots of space. The cut parts were easy to transport to my home and I could pretty much build the whole chair on the kitchen table. This inspired me to make other furniture pieces in similar fashion.

The coffee table is one of several DIY furniture designs I did that follow the same principle. All other designs can be found at www.screwed-up.com. Also on the website you can download free PDF versions of this project with measurements both in imperial and metric units.

While this coffee table instruction is free, I'm trying to make a living with these. I care about the quality of each piece and a lot of work went into designing the pieces and making the instructions so unfortunately I have to ask a little money for the other instructions. However when put into the perspective of a whole DIY furniture project I guess it shouldn't make that big of dent in your budget.

This coffee table doesn't require many advanced tools. The drill is for pre-drilling pilot holes for you screws. 1-2 clamps are useful for fixing two parts when you screw them together. It's best to have a have a clamp that's big enough so it can clamp the height of the legs plus the table top.

When you buy your plywood at a DIY store, ask to have it cut to size. Most stores offer this service for free.

Using a 5/32″ drill, create holes at the locations indicated by the circles. This is where you will drive your screws into later.

Now, using clamps to fix the parts together, drive screws through the pilot holes. I recommend doing this by hand as it gives more control and allows for a neater finish.

Screw the top onto the legs through the pilot holes.

Lay the table on it's top and lower the final piece in place. If you're lucky it fits snugly and you can push it down to the correct height and it will stay there. If not, you might have to support it by fitting some spare wood pieces underneath. When you got it in the right position drive in the last screws.

Congrats! You've finished your coffee-table. If you liked building it and are happy with the result you can find other similar designs at www.screwed-up.com. If you want to know what's going on with Screwed-Up you can join the facebook page, or maybe you want to follow me on pinterest.

For finishing touches I recommend sanding the edges and corners smooth. Also treating the top with a (clear) wood finish to protect against spills is never a bad idea.