Update your living room this weekend by building your own trendy DIY raw edge coffee table! The end result is stunning and can easily be customized with your choice of wood stain or table legs.
What You Will Need:
- 2 – 2” x 12” x 4’ pieces of wood (size is flexible depending on the size of coffee table you wish to make)
- Wood stain in your choice of color
- Wood conditioner
- Varnish
- Hairpin legs (or your choice of legs for the coffee table)
- Sponge paintbrush
- Belt sander
- Sandpaper
- Large piece of paper
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Wood glue
- Jigsaw
- Wood filler
- Safety glasses
- Wood working clamps or weights
- Screws
- Screwdriver
How To Make Your Live Edge Coffee Table:
Using wood glue attach the two 2” x 12” x 4’ pieces of wood together so you end up with a board 4” thick. Clamp boards together with woodworking clamps or place weights on top of the boards to keep the boards pressed together and allow the wood glue to fully dry.
Using a large piece of paper that is slightly larger than the size of the coffee table you wish to make draw out the shape of your coffee table. Cut out the coffee table shape which will become your tracer using scissors.
Place the coffee table tracer onto the large piece of wood and trace the outline of the table.
Put on safety glasses and using a jigsaw cut carefully cut out the marked coffee table shape on the wood.
Next using the belt sander sand the top and bottom of the coffee table until very smooth. Use the belt sander to create dents and grooves on the edges of the coffee table to give the raw edge look. Slowly create grooves and add more until you obtain your desired look.
Fill in any gaps between the two boards at the edges using wood filler. Allow the wood filler to dry then sand off the extra wood filler until the coffee table edge is smooth.
Prep the coffee table for staining by applying a wood conditioner which acts like a paint primer, to help the stain go on evenly onto the wood. Using a sponge brush, paint the wood conditioner in the direction of the wood grain. Once all side of the table have been conditioned and fully dried you can begin to stain the coffee table. Note: read the instructions how to properly use your wood conditioner as some conditioners require you to wait several hours before staining.
Apply the wood stain in thin coats with a sponge brush to prevent drip marks. Apply the stain in the direction of the wood grain. After the first coat of stain dries lightly sand the table top using fine sandpaper and remove any of the dust from sanding. Apply a second or third coat of wood stain until the coffee table reaches the desired finish.
Once the stain has fully dried you will need to protect the top of your coffee table using varnish. It is important when working with varnish to work in a dust free environment as any dust particles that land onto the table top while the varnish is wet will be glue onto the table. Use the sponge paint brush to paint thin coats of varnish onto the coffee table. Allow the varnish to fully dry between coats, and then using fine sandpaper sand the tabletop and remove the dust. To fully seal and protect the coffee table apply two to three coats of varnish. Allow the coffee table to fully dry overnight.
Flip the coffee table over to the bottom and position the table legs where you wish them to go. Screw the legs into the base of the coffee table. Flip the coffee table over and it is ready for use.
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