DIY: Simple Rustic Table from Pallet Wood

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This Rustic Table was a nap time project that turned out way better than I expected. Today was meant to be a day spent catching up on chores. However, this cute little pile of scrap pallets sitting in the shop, that I’ve been eyeing for a week now, and I couldn’t wait any longer.

First things first, if you’re starting with a pallet or skid like I did, you’ll need to deconstruct it for your boards. If it’s already loosened, and I’m feeling patient, I’ll usually try to use a hammer and pry bar to salvage as much of the lumber as possible. Today, I just took a jig saw to each board to cut out the pieces I wanted. Either way, be on the lookout for splits and keep a vigilant eye out on rusty old nails. You don’t want to hit one of those with a saw blade or accidentally cut yourself.

Drawing out the dimensions of my table was mostly determined by the length and width of the pallet boards.

Once I determined the general size, I was able to make my cuts. Each leg is two boards, and by keeping the width the same as my height, I was able to just cut fifteen boards all the same length. For this project, that was 12 inches.

To build these legs, I used my favorite Miter Corner Clamps to hold two boards in an “L” shape. Once the boards were clamped on one end, I used another clamp on the other end to pull it together nice and tight.

When the boards were clamped tightly, I used my Cordless Brad Shooter to secure the two pieces together. I went heavy on the 2″ brads and shot each board 5-6 times to make sure they were secure.

I repeated this process four times to build my four legs, and then I was ready to figure out the table top.

I was planning on securing my table top pieces together with a Furring Strip on the bottom (similar to the process I used in my Raised Planter) but when I placed the boards on top of the legs to see how it was looking, each “slat” rested on top of a leg and I was able to just use the Brad Shooter to secure all three pieces into place.

I considered sanding down the boards and painting the table, but, I gotta tell you, this petina and age on the pallet boards is just really stunning – I think I’ll end up leaving it as is!

For now, it’s living in my kiddo’s “Reading Nook” and looks adorable! I think I might need to build a few more for planters or lamps.