Making Coffee Tables

Building the Top

The easiest part of a coffee table to build is the top. This can be made from any number of materials, including glass, slate, hard woods or a combination of the two. The simplest tabletop is just a square cut from one thick plywood sheet of maple that is sanded until smooth. Another option is to ply two pieces of board together with glue and sand the top. You can also build a small wood frame from any type of two-by-four board, router the inside edges with a 1/2-inch channel gap and install a pane of 1/2-inch glass to create a basic glass coffee table.

The Legs

A coffee table has four legs. The easiest way to get a set of legs under your project is to build them from hardwood boards. The legs can be routered with any type of bit to create a decorative channel or design. They can be belt sanded into a smooth, curved surface, or worked on a lathe until round. If you use a lathe, use a form to make your legs, so each one comes out looking identical.

Put It All Together

There's more than one way to put the coffee table together as well. The most common is to use 90 degree angle braces made of metal. Just screw these to the sides of the legs, and then to the top of the table. For added stability, glue or screw the legs into the table top by driving a screw down through the table and into the leg. Another method is to use wood block braces in a similar fashion. Tabletops can also be mounted outside of the tabletop, with screws or bolts driven through the sides of the table legs and into the tabletop.