untreated wood console table

With untreated wood used for concrete forms, it is easy to make a console table - placed in a hallway, this narrow table will welcome your keys, letters and bags when you walk in the door!
A quick sketch to design the shape of the table: legs tall enough to slip a pair of shoes underneath (there's nothing more frustrating than furniture with legs that are too low), a low shelf for a few decorative items (a basket, a large flowerpot) and another shelf to hold a few drawers. On top, a well-sanded untreated wood board and a pretty trinket tray.

formwork planks

This type of wood is used to hold concrete in place while it sets. It comes in long 4-m planks (remember to bring a saw in case your retailer doesn't have one for customer use), of varying widths (20, 25 or 30 cm, etc.). Made of Douglas fir, this wood is a good choice for raw-looking furniture pieces. For this hallway console table, two 30 cm(1 ft)-wide, 27 mm(1 in.)-thick boards were used.

formwork planks doweling

To assemble the parts, use dowels, a wood drill bit - to be inserted into a (unpowered) hand drill - of the same diameter as the dowels, and some wood glue. You can make the table more stable by screwing in small metallic brackets or nail on a back panel you can cut out of some recycled Masonite hardboard (painted with an organic acrylic paint). A back panel braces the table very well. If you intend to insert drawers, plan the height of the shelves and the width of the table accordingly.

console table plan

Cut 1 x 100 cm (3 1/3 ft), 2 x 90 cm (3 ft) and 2 x 85 cm (2 4/5 ft) boards. On the uprights (90 cm), 25 cm (9¾ in.) from the edges, make a pencil line to mark where the shelves will go. Use a wood off cut to check the thickness. Drill holes for the dowels, using a guide if needed. For a detailed explanation of how to do this, see the gluing doweling instructions. Once you have made holes in the two uprights, squeeze in a little glue and insert a dowel. Drill holes in the shelves as well, squeeze in some glue, and assemble to the uprights. Assemble the top board last. It will be placed on top of the uprights. Check that the table stands perfectly straight, and then place some weights on top of the table. Let stand overnight. The next day, sand all surfaces, including the edges, and choose a finishing.

For the table pictured, Branas baskets (9 x 9¾ x 6 in.) from Ikea were used as drawers (otherwise, make your own recycled hardboard drawers). Using some wood battens, nail back drawer stops into place, leaving a 1 cm margin.

The finishing used for the console table was two coats of linseed oil. It took two days to dry (without using any drier). Oiled wood is extremely silky to the touch. As for care, oil is an excellent protective treatment: simply rub the wood with oil or wax from time to time, using a soft cloth. If an accident occurs, you can sand the stain and apply a fresh coat of oil.

formwork planks console outline

February 2007 [furniture-instructions]
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