Hey there, my name is Alexis and I'm going to show you how I made this simple coffee table, with a hidden drawer.
Dimensions are:
Tabletop: 22.5 inches (57cm) x 34.5 inches (88cm) x 0.75 inches (2cm)
Base: 33 inches (84cm) x 21 inches (53cm) x 16.5 (42cm) inches tall
The base is made from 1x2 red oak and 2x2 red oak
The drawer is made from 1/2 inch thick red oak board and 1/4 inch thick red oak plywood
All wood was bought at Home Depot
The inside dimension of the drawer is 15.75 inches (40cm) x 19 inches (48cm) x 1.5 inches (4cm) deep [1.75 inches if you cant the height the washers raised the tabletop.]
I started off by making a doweling jig that will be used to build the table base.
I used an actual dowel jig to keep my brad-point bit straight as I make the holes, but you can probably get away with not needing it.
I used the table legs and aprons themselves as the template and used super glue to quickly attach the side pieces of the jig to get as close to a perfect fit.
Once I made the jig for the aprons, I used the same jig to make another one for the table legs.
The main difference between the 2 jigs, aside from their size, is that the apron jig was made to have the dowels centered while the jig for the legs is made so that when the aprons are installed into the table leg, the aprons will be inset by an 1/8th of an inch from the face of the table legs.
Also, there will be another set of holes on the table leg jig so I can make holes on either side of the table leg, you could skip this step if you have the dowels going into the center of your table legs.
If I was to remake this again, I would make it so that the dowel holes a slightly further apart. My jig had them a little too close, which resulted in me having to shave some of the dowels down so they would fit easily.
Another issue I ran into was that I was unfortunate enough to use one of the table legs that happened to be a little bowed, which made the jig a little loose for the other legs, which resulted in some of the apron/table leg connections to not be flush with each other.
I adjusted it by just shaving the dowels a bit so it can be properly aligned, but the better move is to remake the jig. You could also add tape on the insides of the jig as spacers until you get a tight fit.
I installed the aprons onto the table legs one side at a time, using right-angle clamps to make sure the aprons are perpendicular to the table legs.
Since one apron will be a false apron since it will actually be the face of the hidden drawer, that apron was not installed, and I only clamped it to the base only to keep the apron opposite to it as square as possible as the glue dries.
After the glue dried, I added one more 1x2 oak board on the inside face of the aprons on the longer sides and added a cross brace in the middle to add more rigidity to the base, as it was not that sturdy since it had only 3 out of the 4 aprons installed. This also allows me to make the compartment for where the hidden drawer will go.
Beefing up the sides will bring the side aprons outside of the table legs from the inside so I can install the drawer slides without worrying about the table legs getting in the way.
(This sounds weird typing it, so here's a sketch of what I'm talking about in case I wasn't clear)
The inner pieces are held together with glue and screws and I counterbore the screw heads so the side braces can be glued flush to the aprons.
Next I worked on making the hidden drawer. I used a wider piece of oak board so I can get 2 sides from each cut piece. The corners will be mitered. I then used the table saw to cut a rabbet for the drawer bottom. After the rabbets were made, I cut the pieces to the final width.
Since the corners are mitered, I gave the ends of the pieces a thin coat of wood glue as a prime coat in order to clog up the pores, since I'm gluing end grain to end grain.
Since the drawer is very shallow, I chose to not reinforce the mitered corners, and the plywood bottom should also add some strength (along with the drawer slides).
Next, I cut the plywood bottom for the drawer, I used 1/4 inch thick red oak veneered plywood.
Now I install the drawer slides. I know what youre probably already thinking, "why are the drawer slides taller than the drawer itself"?
When I purchased these drawer slides, they were advertised to be about 1.5 inches tall, which is the same depth as the drawer. But when I received it, it turned out to be about 1.75 inches tall. I ended up keeping it since it was like 5 dollars cheaper than the ones at Home Depot.
Also, it was good quality. If you do happen to buy this, keep in mind that these didn't come with screws for some stupid reason, but if you're looking to save a few bucks, I'd say it's still worth it.
If you were to recreate this coffee table and you plan to add a hidden drawer slide, you may want to use aprons that are 2 inches wide or wider, as they don't appear to make these types of ball-bearing drawer slides less than 1.75 inches wide.
Next is to make a couple chamfers on the inside bottom of the false apron and on the bottom of the drawer face to act as a drawer pull. I made the chamfers in a couple of passes to avoid burning the wood.
Next, I installed the false apron in the drawer, I used playing cards to make sure the apron is evenly spaced then I predrilled and counterbored the screws.
Next is to work on the tabletop. I marked out which boards are concave up and down so when I perform the glue-up, the boards will alternate between concave up and down to minimize cupping.
To ensure I achieve a seamless glue-up, I followed the "up/down" method (skip to 6:30 for that method) where you mark up the mating edges of each board, alternating between up and down,
and each edge that you marked will be cut on the table saw, and the edges that were marked with up will have the board facing up and the edges that were marked with down will be cut facing down.
I learned both of these methods from a Tips video by Foureyes Furniture, which I highly recommend.
Unfortunately, the middle board I chose has quite a bit of cupping to it so I spent some time sanding it down. I didn't have the patience to get it completely flat, so I removed as much as I felt content with my belt sander.
Once that was done, I worked my way up to 220 grit to give it a smooth finish.
For the table base, I only handed sanded the edges since my palm sander can be quite aggressive. I made sure to sand in the direction of the grain. When hand chamfering the ends of the table legs, I never went against the end grain, as my past experience has taught me that doing so increases the chance of catching a loose piece of wood and making a big chip. If you happen to do that, don't panic, and just save that piece, glue it back and hold it with painter's tape, and sand it down once the glue has dried.
Once the table top was sanded, I cut it to the final length and width. I also hand-sanded the edges here. You could also use a chamfer bit here, but I wanted a subtle chamfer, almost nonexistent, so doing it by hand was enough.
Instead of using figure 8 washers to mount the tabletop to the base, I chose to counterbore the table base (through the aprons) to allow for wood movement. The counterbore holes for the head of the screw and for the threads should be larger in diameter to allow for wood movement. See the graphic below for a better idea.
A good rule of thumb is to use 1/2" diameter counterbore for the head and a 1/4 inch diameter counterbore for the threads, use a washer if necessary. Though this depends on the screw you use. I recommend a pan head screw.
I pre-drilled and pre-screwed the holes for the tabletop prior to staining and finishing.
I stain the table with my signature Minwax Golden Oak stain
Prior to adding poly, I had to fill in this little knot that goes all the way through the tabletop with epoxy. Where the epoxy will be in contact, I used packing tape and on the outside, I used painter's tape.
It took a few pours for me since it created some air bubbles a couple times, so I'd recommend adding only a little bit at a time. Have a toothpick or something as thin at hand to make sure it's less likely for air bubbles to form.
I used a utility blade to carefully cut the excess so I don't have to restain the tabletop. You could do this prior to stain, just make sure the epoxy isn't anywhere outside of the knot, or else the stain won't penetrate.
For the tabletop, I used oil-based polyurethane and for the base, I used water-based poly. You can use water-based for the top, I just prefer to use oil-based.
The last step is to install the tabletop. To address the drawer slides being at a higher elevation than the top of the base, I used these rubber washers to raise it. If you were to build this from scratch, I would just use wider aprons.
And you're done!
If you're in the market for some coasters for your own coffee table, check these ones that I made from Recycled Skateboards.
UPDATE: I added corner braces to the end of the table that does not have the drawer after i tripped and accidentally kicked one of the legs of the coffee table and the leg got loose.
Additionally, I will eventually add pocket screws (or add dowels via pocket holes) on the inside of the stretcher/apron to the legs that have the drawer, just to add additional strength to the legs (in case I get clumsy again and trip on the other legs lol).
Included an updated video here
If you've read up to this point, thanks a lot!
Other tools used
The drawer slides did not come with screws so I used sheet metal screws from home depot
I don't know why but the advertised "wood screws" have the tendency to strip on me with red oak, so I have always used sheet metal screws, they are stronger and work with wood.
Minwax Golden Oak Stain 1/2 pint
Minwax Golden Oak Stain 1 Quart
Microjig GRR-RIPPER 3D Pushblock
(Some links used are Amazon Affiliate Links)
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