My neighbor wanted me to build him an end table that was 12" x 12" x12" in size. Originally my plans were to build the table out of cherry but, decided to switch to southern yellow pine (SYP), since the project was so small. I figured that the grain in the SYP would make the project stand out more. The table had to have a drawer and also a shelf for magazines and whatever else could be stored there.

Getting Started

Firstly, I construction of the table frame using SYP stock planed to 1 1/4" final dimensions for the legs and frame. I then planed the table legs to the required dimensions and then cut to length. I decided to make the table a bit taller than 12" so that I would have some more space for the drawer and storage shelf. The customer approved the new dimensions. I planed the top material to 1-inch thick and glued the boards together using TiteBond III Ultimate glue. After the glue cured for 24 hours, I cut the top to final dimensions of 13" x 13".

Assembly

I cut a 1/4-inch groove in each leg to hold the 1/4-inch Baltic birch plywood sides. I then glued and screwed the frame together with pocket homes using a Kreg pocket hole jig. The Baltic birch plywood was treated with 100% pure tung oil before assembly. I didn't want any bare areas to show on the sides in case the materials shrunk a bit as it dried.

I constructed the drawer of 3/8" poplar, that I had left over from a previous project, with a SYP drawer front that was 3/4-inch thick.

After assembly, I then treated the table using Hopes100% tung oil. The table was left to cure for 2 weeks before I applied the polyurethane. I used Minwax Fast-Drying Polyurethane Clear Semi-gloss Oil-based Polyurethane to finish the table. I applied four coats of poly with sanding between coats.

After the finish had dried, I applied one inch PTFE furniture glides to the bottom of each leg to prevent damage to the floor. To prevent the legs from chipping, I sanded the bottom edge of each leg to a 45° angle.

I delivered the table to my neighbor's house once the poly had cured.