The Craftiest Workshop

This is the first house we’ve owned with a really large deck. Right now, ironically, we have the least amount of deck furniture that we have ever had.

My husband recently refinished the two wooden loungers that he built years ago. Every two years or so he sands them down and puts on a new coat of stain and spar urethane to protect them from elements.

I sat out in the sun on one of them last weekend and soon realized I had no where to put my drink. I decided that a nice little side table was exactly what was needed.

My first batch of pallet signs, the ones I stood up before they were dry, ended up curling. I recently used one to make my Welcome sign for our fire pit. They are also the perfect size for the top of a side table.

I originally planned to create a box with legs and overhang the sign as the top.

Unfortunately, the paint sticks on the back of the sign were too long to allow me to do that.

Instead, I measured the length and width of the sign and went right to the edges putting a 2X4 piece between the four 2X4 legs.

I cut the pieces to fit with my chop saw then glued and nailed them together, angling the nailer to attach the legs the brace piece together.

As I nailed the top to the base, the nailer helped to unbend the sign but there is still a slight gap on one side.

I decided on American Colonial Miniwax stain so that it would match the wooden lounger that we have on the deck.

A couple of coats of an outdoor clear finish and it was ready to go outside.

Although the lounger has also been coated with American Colonial, all that sanding and re-coating makes it look slightly different than the table.
We think it was built while we lived in Trenton so….around 12 years ago.

It is still in great shape.

I now have to make another one to sit beside the other lounger.

To finish this lounger, the torch was used so that is why it is so dark.

I guess my side table will need to be burned to match.

The whole project didn’t take me very long to make but when you add stain and a top coat, you have to wait a few hours in between each coat.

With the Varathane outdoor finish, it suggests waiting a week for it to cure before putting it outside.

A side table is an easy project to make if you have something to cut wood and can nail it together.

Now I have somewhere to put my drink.