How to Make Your Own Outside Do it Yourself Pub Table From 2X4s

Pub tables are intended to look a little rough. Unfinished 2-by-4-foot stock lumber is much less expensive than other materials and will take a lot of abuse. Once planed, sanded and finished, stock lumber creates a butcher-block look that complements a Tuscan cafe or bistro-themed patio, deck or garden room. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Cut all stock lumber to 24-inch lengths using your table saw. Use your carpenters' try square to ensure that all ends and angles are 90 degrees. Fix any incorrect angles by cutting them again with a table saw and miter fence.

2

Lay one of the pieces of 2-by-4-by-24-inch stock lumber with the 24-inch length facing left to right and the 2-inch edge facing you. Arrange the other five pieces of the same width and length with their 2-inch sides butted together and all ends flush to make a 24-inch square.

3

Make a mark down the center line of each board, 6 inches from each end. Snap a chalk line across the boards along both sets of marks. These two lines mark the positions for the 2-by-2-by-24-inch crosspieces.

4




C-clamps will hold the parts together while you drill or glue.

Lay each crosspiece along the chalk lines and secure them with C-clamps at each end. Mark the center point of each of the 2-by-4-inch boards where it crosses the center line of each of the crosspieces.

5

Drill 1/8-inch diameter, 3-inch-deep pilot holes at each marked point, through the crosspieces and into the tabletop pieces. Countersink each hole.

6

Remove the clamps and sand all wood to remove burrs, using coarse and medium sandpapers, in that order.

7




Bar clamps provide a secure hold when clamping wide objects.

Dry-clamp the 2-by-4-by-24-inch pieces together using bar clamps. Verify that all ends are still flush using a straight edge. Ensure that all four corners make 90-degree angles by checking them with the try square. Woodworker Ian Kirby recommends dry-clamping before glue-up to ensure that all parts will fit together properly before you commit "...to the permanence of glue-up."

8

Measure side and diagonals. If the sides are not equal, take the assembly apart and cut away the excess wood. If the diagonals are off, reposition the clamps and make sure they are applying an equal amount of pressure until the diagonals are equal again.

9

Remove the bar clamps. Apply carpenters' glue along one edge of two of the 2-by-4-inch pieces and along both edges of the other three 2-by-4-inch pieces.

10

Butt all the glued 2-inch edges together and use the straight edge and try square to make sure the 4-inch ends are all flush and all the corners still make 90-degree angles. Put the bar clamps back in place and allow the glue to dry overnight.

11

Position the 2-by-2-inch crosspieces so that all the pilot holes match. Secure the crosspieces to the tabletop pieces using 3-inch long, 1/4-inch diameter wood screws.

12

Mark two points, 1-inch apart, 10 inches from each end of each remaining 2-by-4-by-24-inch piece of stock lumber. Snap a chalk line across each end of each board, along the paired marks. This should result in two lines that are 4 inches apart at the center of each board.

13

Cut each board 1-inch deep along the two marks. Remove the wood between the two lines with a wood chisel, jointer or dado jig to make a 4-inch-wide, 1-inch-deep dado in each board. This will allow you to lay the boards across each other with the dadoes facing, which will create a flat, 2-inch by 4-inch by 24-inch cross, which will be the feet for your pub table.

14

Apply carpenters' glue in both dadoes and press the boards together with dadoes facing. Place a cinder block or 10-pound free weight at the cross point of the two boards to ensure a good seal while the glue dries overnight.

15

Position one pipe flange on the crossed table feet so that one of the four screw holes of the flange plate are on each leg. Secure with manufacturer-supplied hardware.

16

Lay the tabletop with the crosspieces facing the ceiling. Find the center point of the tabletop by snapping a chalk line across opposite corners. The point where the two diagonal lines intersect is the center of the square, as seen in the second image on the Wolfram Math page about squares.

17

Align the screw holes of the second pipe flange along each chalk line, with the center of the flange at the center point of the tabletop. Secure with manufacturer-supplied hardware.

18

Screw the black iron pipe into the flange on the table feet, and then screw the other end of the pipe into the tabletop flange.

19

Finish your table as desired with bright paint, stencils, decoupage or clear acrylic sealant.