Today’s post and video shows you how to make a unique table from a traffic sign.
If you need a table but can’t find anything that catches your eye in stores or love carpentry and DIY work, this post is perfect for you.
Learn how to make a table in your home workshop with this step-by-step guide, using lumbers and a traffic sign.
BEFORE YOU START, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE
- A workshop.
- Tape measure.
- Carpenter gloves.
- Wood glue.
- 2” x 6” lumbers.
- 4” x 4” lumbers.
- Miter saw.
- Pen or marker.
- Carpenter square.
- Hammer drill.
- Impact driver.
- Nail hammer.
- 4” long screws.
- 4” long nails.
- Traffic sign without a post.
- Optional
- Wood filler.
- Sandpaper.
- Wood varnish.
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
STEP 1: CUT THE FRAME LUMBERS
Our Jack used 2″ x 6″ lumbers to make the table frame.
This time he’s working in a workshop. This location is perfect because there will be a lot of sawdust.
Safety gloves ensure that the lumber don’t slip out of your hands and cause splinters.
With the tape measure, take the size of the sign. With a pen, mark that measure on the 2″ x 6″ lumbers.
Our Jack cuts across with a miter saw (Makita 10″ Miter Saw). Make sure to securely clamped the miter saw to the table.
One of the pieces of wood broke. Although it worked, we discarded it to get the best possible finish.
Our Jack must cut the ends of the lumber at a 45-degree angle to make the frame corners.
Unlock and rotate the miter saw to 45 degrees. Secure the saw to hold it at 45 degrees.
Cut from the edge a distance equal to the lumber’s thickness to keep the frame’s length (see the image below)
As you can see at 0:22 in our video
STEP 2: ASSEMBLING THE FRAME
Our Jack first glues the two freshly cut 2x6s together with carpentry glue.
Then, use an impact driver (In this case, a Milwaukee M18 fuel 1/4″ Impact Driver) to fasten the corners with two 4″ long screws.
Do not drill the screws all at once. First, embed the tip of the screws, hold the two pieces together, and then finish driving the screw. Make sure the screw is perpendicular. Otherwise, it will go through the wood.
Put two screws on each side of the frame corners. Put the screws spaced apart but not so close to the edge of the lumbers to avoid splitting the wood.
In this case, a good edge spacing is one equal to the thickness of the lumber (2”).
Repeat the process with the other corners.
If the last corner causes you problems, you can rest the frame on the floor, drill the two screws, just enough to drive the tip in, put the lumbers together and finish screwing.
As you can see at 0:53 in our video
STEP 3: STIFFEN THE FRAME
The frame needs to be robust. Cut two more 2″ x 6″ lumbers, which will form a cross to put on the inside of the frame.
Our Jack measures the inside of the frame to know the length to cut. He needs two 67 cm (approx. 26″) long lumbers. Cut an extra 3/16″ on one end of each piece. That gap will allow the pieces to fit easily into the frame.
Make the cross by cutting a rectangle in the middle of each lumber. The rectangle’s dimensions should be (See image below):
- Height = Half the width of the lumber.
- Width = Thickness of the lumber.
On one of the rectangles, cut an extra 3/16″ so that the pieces will fit together easily when forming the cross.
Now we must fasten the cross to the frame. Using the tape measure, pencil, and a carpenter’s square, mark the middle of the frame on all four sides and extend the mark on the four ends of the cross.
Guide yourself with the marks, and use the impact driver to put a screw at each end of the cross. Then, finish fixing the cross with nails.
Drill 2” apart from the lumber´s edge. First, drive just the tip of the screw, then finish screwing it in.
After fastening the cross with screws, rest the frame on the floor and hammer two 4” long nails at each end of the cross.
Drive a nail 2″ from the edge and one nail in the middle of the lumber. Do the same with the other sides of the frame.
Before proceeding, confirm that the traffic sign rests evenly on the frame.
As you can see at 1:13 in our video
STEP 4: MAKE THE TABLE LEGS
For the legs, our Jack uses 4″ x 4″ wood.
Use the tape measure, pencil and miter saw (at 90 degrees) to cut the lumbers to 20″ (50 cm) long.
As you can see at 1:50 in our video
STEP 5: FASTENS THE LEGS TO THE FRAME
To assemble the legs, place the lumbers on the inside corners of the frame and fasten them with 4” long screws.
Our Jack uses the impact driver to put screws on the legs, two on each face in contact with the frame.
Remember not to screw near the edge of the lumber. Leave a distance equal to the thickness of the lumbers forming the frame (2″).
As you can see at 2:00 in our video
STEP 6: FINAL DETAILS (OPTIONAL)
For a better finish, you can fill the corners with wood filler, sand everything, and apply varnish.
Make sure to use wood filler and not wood putty. The key difference between wood filler and wood putty is that wood filler hardens once dried (so it can be sanded smooth) and wood putty doesn’t.
STEP 7: SET THE TABLETOP
Finally, our Jack fastens the traffic sign to the frame.
First, drill the traffic sign with a hammer drill (In this case, a Milwaukee M18 1/2″) to make eight holes, two in each corner of the traffic sign.
Don’t penetrate the bit all the way through. We just want to drill through the metal.
Our Jack drilled along the black outline of the road sign. Again, don’t drill close to the edge, or you will damage the wood.
After drilling, use the impact driver to drill 4″ long screws in each hole to fasten the tabletop to the frame.
As you can see at 2:20 in our video
CONCLUSION
As you can see, a unique table like this one is just a step-by-step guide away.
What are you waiting for? Give that old traffic sign a second chance, and tell us how it went hanging out in your workshop in the comments.