How to Make a Homemade Wood Bar Table

Adding character and style to a basement or main floor bar or recreation room can be simple and economical. Building a square, rustic wood bar table is one way to transcend the ordinary and create a whole new ambiance. While the construction and design is simple, the infrastructure must be well thought out and sturdy. No matter what we've seen in old western bar room brawls, real bar tables should never break into pieces when a lone desperado stumbles against it. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Build the rough table top. Cut the hardwood planks to length. Run each of the glue joint edges through the joiner. Glue and clamp the rough table top together, allowing ample time for the glue to dry and joints to cure.

2

Finish cutting the table top to size, trimming all four edges to a smooth, straight line.

3

Sand all six surfaces to an 80 grit smoothness.

4

Adjust the skill saw blade to 1/8 inch cut depth. Drag the spinning saw blade gently across the top surface in a gradual side to side motion. The spinning blade should be parallel to the wood grain; this process will create and ancient, scrub planed or well used look.

5

Sand the top surface again to an 80 grit smoothness and then finish sand the entire top to at least a 220 grit smoothness.

6

Build the table skirt out of the 1 inch hardwood plank material. The table skirt should be 3 inches smaller than the finished perimeter of the table top. Miter cut the skirt planks.

7

Pre-drill four holes near the miter joint in a square pattern. The holes should be 2 inches apart. When drilling the holes, first drill a 3/16 inch in diameter pilot hole all the way through, and then a inch diameter hole inch deep. The two holes aligned with the miter joint provide for the skirt frame attachment while the other two are for attaching the skirt frame to the table legs. Glue the mitered joints and screw the skirt planks together with 3-inch grabber screws.

8

Cut the 4 inch by 4 inch table legs to length. Glue and screw the table legs to the table skit frame. You should have four 3-inch grabber screws attaching the table legs to the table skirt.

9

Fill the inch deep screw holes with inch hard wood dowels. Fill the holes with wood glue and tap in inch dowels cut to extend inch beyond the surface of the skirt frame.

10

Sand the skirt frame, dowels and table legs to a 40 grit smoothness. Apply uneven pressure to the surface, edges and dowels to mimic the scrub planed look of the table top. Gradually prepare the surfaces for stain and finish by sanding the surface with 80, 120 and 220 grit sand paper.

11

Pre-drill two angled pilot holes on each of the table legs. The pilot holes should be drilled 2 inches down from the inside edges with a 3/16 inch drill bit. The angled pilot holes should be about 60 degrees.

12

Center the table top on the legs and screw the top to the sub frame with 3-inch grabber screws.

13

Apply the wood stain and lacquer.