{"id":1523,"date":"2026-08-28T15:35:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T15:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/?p=1523"},"modified":"2026-08-28T15:35:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T15:35:11","slug":"24-outdoor-coffee-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/24-outdoor-coffee-table\/","title":{"rendered":"$24 Outdoor Coffee Table"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Build a simple outdoor coffee table from seven inexpensive 2&#215;3 studs, with flared legs, lower stretchers, and a glued-up solid wood top. Figure-8 fasteners secure the tabletop while allowing for seasonal wood movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Materials<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>2&#215;3 studs (7)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Scrap wood for 45-degree corner brackets (4)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wood glue<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wood screws<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Figure-8 tabletop fasteners<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>80-grit and 120-grit sandpaper<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cedar-tone exterior wood finish<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Miter or circular saw<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Drill\/driver<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Forstner bit<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bar clamps<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Smaller clamps for assembly<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Random orbital sander<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tape measure<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Speed square<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Straighten or rip the edges of the 2&#215;3 studs as needed so the boards fit together cleanly. Cut two long aprons at 35&#8243;, two short aprons at 20&#8243;, two lower stretchers at 20&#8243;, and four legs at 16&#8243;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cut both ends of each leg at 10 degrees with the cuts parallel to each other. This gives the legs a slight outward flare while keeping the top and bottom surfaces parallel.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cut four 45-degree corner brackets from 2&#215;3 scraps. Assemble the 35&#8243; long aprons and 20&#8243; short aprons around the corner brackets. Apply glue, predrill to reduce splitting, and secure the brackets to the aprons with screws.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Apply a generous amount of glue where each leg meets the corner assembly. Clamp the legs in position and drive screws through the corner brackets to secure them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Install the two 20&#8243; lower stretchers between the legs. Glue and screw them in place to stiffen the base, reduce wobble, and give the table a heavier look.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Glue up the tabletop from the remaining straightened 2&#215;3 material. Arrange the boards edge-to-edge, apply glue along the joints, and clamp the entire panel tightly with bar clamps. Leave the panel clamped overnight to cure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Remove the tabletop from the clamps and flatten it as much as possible. Sand first with 80-grit paper, then move to 120 grit. Trim the ends of the glue-up square to create a finished tabletop approximately 37&#8243; x 20&#8243;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Position the tabletop on the completed base. Mark the locations for the figure-8 tabletop fasteners and use a Forstner bit to create shallow recesses in the top edge of the frame so each fastener sits flush.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Screw the figure-8 fasteners to the base, position the tabletop, and secure the other side of each fastener to the underside of the top. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Finish the table with an exterior cedar-tone finish and allow it to dry before use.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Notes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Predrilling is especially helpful around the corner brackets and near the ends of the 2x3s to prevent splitting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A planer makes it much easier to flatten a glued-up tabletop. Without one, expect some variation between boards and a more rustic finished surface.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Figure-8 fasteners are a good choice for the solid wood top because they allow the tabletop to expand and contract instead of fastening it rigidly to the base.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For a future outdoor version, small gaps between tabletop boards could improve drainage and eliminate the need for a large panel glue-up.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pine is an inexpensive option for this build, but an exterior-rated finish and regular maintenance will help it hold up outdoors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Difficulty: Intermediate<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Estimated Time: 2-3 days<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Intermediate \u2022 2-3 days \u2022 7 boards<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1526,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-build-plans"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_0939-edited-for-web.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1523"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1525,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1523\/revisions\/1525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}