Easy DIY Custom Solid Wood Table Top
Making your own solid wood table top is an inexpensive way to make a bold change to your furniture flips! This method can be used to make table tops for everything from large tables to small end tables!
I decided to make this top for an Ikea cabinet upgrade. I had bought two EKET cabinets with doors and 2 EKET cubes to give me some storage for my kids toys. All the pieces would be attached together from the backside but I also wanted a solid top, where I wouldn’t see the spaces between each piece.
Step 1: Decide on Material and Size
There is a wide range of material that you could use to make your top; with a wide range in pricing as well.
I choose to use these rough edge barn wood boards that I stumbled on in my local hardware store. These boards were 1 in. x 4 in. x 6 ft.
For my cabinet, I need my top to be 69 1/2 in. long and 13 7/8 in wide.; therefore I bought four boards.
Step 2: Cut to Size (if needed)
Since my boards were 6 ft. long (72 in.) I needed to cut the length down slightly. I used my miter saw and cut my four boards at 69 1/2in.
Step 3: Drill Pocket Holes
Using my Kreg pocket hold jig I added four pocket holes to 3 of the 4 boards. You do not need pocket holes in your last board.
The pocket holes will used to attached each board to the next to create a flat bottom to attach to your piece of furniture.
Step 4: Screw the Boards Together
Using pocket hole screws at the correct length for your board thickness, screw through your pocket holes into the next board. Continue to repeat until you get to your last, end board.
With that you should have a solid table top!
Step 5: Finish the top of the Boards
There is a lot of options you could do for this step! You could paint or stain or just add a top finishing coat, or all of the above depending on the finished look you are going for!
Since my boards already had a dark finish to them, I decided to just add several layers of a polyacrylic finish to cover the barn wood boards. This cabinet sits against the back of our couch and would serve a dual purpose. The cabinet holds our kids toys but also serves as a sofa table when sitting on the couch. Therefore, I decided I wanted it to be well protected from kids and drinks! I put a total of four coats of the polyacrylic finish on my top using a disposable paint brush.
Step 6: Attach the Top to Furniture
To attach your top to your furniture will of course depend on your base. I attached my top by screwing directly from within the cabinet into the top with 1 in. screws.
Interested in more Kid DIY’s? Check out more posts here!
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DIY Solid Wood Table Top
Equipment
- Miter Saw
- Drill
- Kreg Pocket Hole Jig
- Disposable Paint Brush
materials
- 4 1 in. x 4 in. x 6 ft. Barn Wood Pine Board
- Pocket Screws
- Stain/Paint (if needed)
- Top Coat
- 1" Screws
Instructions
- Decide on Material and Size
- Cut to Size (if needed)
- Drill Pocket Holes
- Screw the Boards Together
- Finish the top of the Boards
- Attach the Top to Furniture