The idea of building furniture pieces like round kitchen table sets can often frighten a person. Not everyone dreams of being a carpenter and most will cringe when asked to get their hands dirty to produce something they could have just as easily purchased at the store. However, the average Joe might not realize how easy it is to build simple furniture pieces and also how cost effective do it yourself projects can be.
Think of it this way: when you go to a retail stores to look at round kitchen table sets, what are they really charging for? You have to pay for the materials it took to make the table, the labor, a portion of the store’s overhead, inflated brand name prices, adjustments so the store will turn a profit, and sometimes even a delivery fee. If you build the table on your own, in the comfort of your own garage or backyard, you only have to pay for the materials and invest some of your spare time.
Even if you are brand new to woodworking and have never built a table in your life, the round kitchen table is a simple, practical, and aesthetically pleasing piece of furniture that will serve you for years. A well crafted kitchen table might even be passed down from generation to generation and if you find that you have a knack for this carpentry stuff you can always start selling them on the side.
Use this easy to follow How-To guide to construct a basic wood round kitchen table that you can put in a breakfast nook, den, card room, dining room, or anywhere else in your house you might make use of it. If you’re looking for a guide explaining how to make a more advanced type of kitchen table like the drop leaf round kitchen table you should look elsewhere.
What Tools You Need:
If you are a novice woodworker you probably don’t own the more specialized tools and machines that professional furniture makers use, like rabbit planes and things, so this guide will focus on using simple tools that everyone should have in their garage or tool shed.
All you need to get started on your table are these tools: an electric drill with screwdriver bits that match the heads on your screws, be it flathead or Phillips, a hammer and some nails (2-inch penny nails preferably), a saw of some kind, be it a hand saw or an electrical circular saw, a 3 foot long piece of string, a pencil, some form of sander and sandpaper, and finally you can choose a type of paint or varnish.
What Materials You Need:
Once you have the tools at the ready you can go and pick up the various materials. This table is going to be a small round kitchen table with four straight legs and it is going to be made out of various kinds of wood. What you will need to get started is: 2 pieces 4×4 lumber, 2 pieces of 6-foot 2×4, and one 4-foot square piece of 1 inch thick plywood.
You can use any sort of wood you like but if you are a novice woodworker it is a better idea to use cheaper forms of lumber like plywood because it will make it less expensive should you make a mistake. Many amateur carpenters are able to make an oak round kitchen table or a glass round kitchen table.
Step-by-Step Walk Through
1. Make the Table Legs:
One of the axioms of carpentry is: measure twice, cut once. Make sure to follow that rule whenever you are working with wood and saws. You don’t want to cut out the wrong measurements and ruin your table before you even get started.
Take your 4×4 lumber and measure out four 28-inch segments. This will give you normal table height. If you want your table to be a little higher or lower adjust the leg length accordingly. Mark your cutting area with your pencil and then use the handsaw or circular saw to cut the pieces of lumber. You should end up with 4 square table legs that are equal in length.
2. Cut Pieces for the Support Frame:
Take the 2x4s you bought and measure out two 6-foot segments. Once again, mark the measurements with your pencil and then cut them. You should end up with four pieces of 29-inch wood. You are going to use this for the table’s frame to support and strengthen the legs.
3. Round Out Your Square of Plywood:
You might have wondered why a piece of string was important in making a round kitchen table well here is where it comes into play. Tie your pencil to one end of the string and then use your measuring tape to find the center point of that square piece of plywood. Tape or pin the non-penciled end of the string down at that center point and then stretch out the string as far as it will go. Now use that string to guide you as you run the lead end of the pencil along the plywood to draw a circle.
If done correctly you should end up with a perfect circle with a 2-foot radius. Use your handsaw or circular saw to cut along the pencil marks to remove the square edges of the plywood.
4. Smooth Out Any Rough Edges:
Use your sandpaper and sanding tool to smooth out any rough edges on the wood created by the saw. Make sure that you pay special attention to the edges of your plywood circle because they will have the most contact with the skin of your arms and stomach when you sit down to eat.
5. Assemble Your Round Kitchen Table:
To assemble your table you want to lay the plywood circle down on the floor and place the support beams on top of it in a square pattern. You want the ends of the supports to only touch at the corners of the wood because you need to line up the table legs with them.
Nail the supports down to the plywood with your 2-inch nails so that the nails are spaced at least 4 inches apart from each other. Now you can stand the table legs up on the table. Place the ends of your 4-foot legs in place between the support beams and then using the electric drill screw them into the sides of the supports.
Once you have attached all of the table legs you can stand the table up and see how you did.
6. Add the Finishing Touches:
Now you must choose between paint and wood varnish to seal and decorate your brand new round kitchen table. If you properly sanded down the rough spots it should be easy to brush the sealant along the surface of the wood and in no time at all you’ll be enjoying your first meal at your brand new creation.
