All Phase Maintenance

Building Custom Wood Furniture

Posted on January 16th, 2009 by siteshrine

My step-dad, Steve, taught me a lot of what I know about home improvement. So it wasn’t a big surprise when he told me about some custom furniture he was building. Even so, I was really impressed when I saw it in person.

Building Custom Furniture

Steve has only recently started building furniture and is still developing his skill set. So far, he’s put together an awesome coffee table and a night table. He built the coffee table with plans “from his head”. And the night table was reverse engineered to match one my folks already own.

The coffee table has an oak plywood top with 1-1/2″ piece of solid oak glued around the edge. You can see the routed edge cut into the solid oak. The wood is secured with strong pocket hole joints and the table features adjustable feet for any uneven floors.

The night table has a solid poplar top. Again, this table has a nice routed edge and pocket hole joints. The night table has a full extension drawer along the bottom.

Plans for Building Furniture

Steve is unique that he can build something without plans but I’d guess that most people enjoy having a specific set of instructions. Lots of sites offer plans for building your own furniture. Steve has been a Rockler customer for some time and recommends purchasing plans and materials from their site. They have concise plans that make it easy to complete your project.

Recommended Tools for Building Furniture

Steve has a great shop with a wide variety of tools and a setup that makes it easy to work. Aside from the typical shop tools, there are a few items that can really make building furniture easier.

Kreg K3 Jig - The Kreg Jig makes it easy to securely join two pieces of wood with pocket hole joints. This jig is an invaluable part of Steve’s workshop.
Router Kit - Steve uses a router to cut out an area on the face of a piece of wood giving it a professional looking edge.
Spray Gun - A gravity fed, spray gun makes it easy to add a nice varnish finish.

Steve’s Contact Info

Steve is enjoying putting this furniture together and he hopes to generate a little side business. If you are interested in some custom built furniture, get in touch with him. Steve’s email address is CQD2003@aol.com.

What do you think? Ever build your own furniture? What tips do you have?