DIY 2X4 Side Table | How to

We made this modern side table using just 2x4s - less than $9 in wood - as part of the Modern Maker #two2x4challenge. This was a little labor of love - but we do love it! 👇 materials & links below! 👇
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Electro Brass by Joakim Karud

More thoughts on the project: While this side table was one of our more difficult projects because of the "fancy" joinery techniques we used (angled dados) and the cheaper, more difficult to work with materials, the fact that the 2x4s were cheaper is actually what allowed us to freely experiment with the angled dados in the first place. It does seem ironic that the cheaper your material gets, the more tools (which can cost a lot) you seem to need to get it into shape.

But we did learn other valuable lessons experimenting with this 2x4 side table other than just how to do angled dados! We also dealt with snipe from our planer for the first time, and I'm so glad we learned on cheap wood rather than something expensive. In addition, this was our first furniture piece held together only by glue (no screws!). Lastly, it was our first time doing the finishing combination recommended by David Picciuto of coats of shellac followed by a buffing of wax. It was really easy, really forgiving, and we love how the finish turned out.

[EvanAndKatelyn]

Did y'all know we have *4 channels* now? This main one, plus:
🎮 Evan and Katelyn Gaming
(us playing games and chatting, enhanced by epic editing and a heavy dose of memes)
🎙️ Evan and Katelyn Podcast
(chatting about life, YouTube stuff, and playing games you can play along with)
😹 Evan and Katelyn Too youtube.com/evanandkatelyn2
(still figuring this one out 😂)

[DigitalMonsters]

This channel has nothing to do with my own interests and I didn't even completely understand everything and yet I still found myself subscribing.

You two are great.

[BryanSchultzitis]

A few things:
1. You all are awesome
2. The table turned out great!
3. I always sing that when sanding (thanks David...)

[m.service]

When one considers what early woodworkers made with their limited tools, it is laughable that we have such problems with all these modern conveniences! I am continually amazed at what THEY did, AND what y'all make! I love the table! Some of those other designs were really cool, too! I'm glad you used 4 legs instead of two, no matter what happened to encourage that change in the design! You two are so great!

[Austin_]

I’m watching all the old videos… watching them slowly become more more goofy and funny. They were so serious at the start lol.

[craftedworkshop]

That looks awesome! You guys are killing it, such great videos.

[tksharkbait]

So, a weird little detail that made me so happy- that's Wilbur Smith's The Seventh Scroll in the living room shot. I LOVE that series! The first is River God and it's my favorite (Seventh Scroll is second, and it was originally only a trilogy, but became a whole series). I just love that you have it and that I instantly recognized it.

[whoever]

That looks a whole lot like the table I made in the woods, except taller. Since my fort is set lower than a normal house because I generally sit cross-legged either on the ground or on one of the low chairs I made, I also made the little table a lot lower than yours. If you don't count the cost of tools, then the only cost to my little table was labor. Since the point of doing this bush crafting was because it is relaxing, the labor paid out more than it cost in energy.

Now, as far as tools go, I did use a Corona folding saw, a Scotch eye auger, an axe (because I used a log I tried to split twice so that it was a relatively good board for the tabletop), wood glue, and a small set of carving knives (although you could get by with just a single whittling knife or even a well-sharpened buck knife). Those tools were pricey together but I've made loads of stuff in the wild with them so it's definitely not something that you use up for a project. When it comes to the natural materials, I used part of a big branch I cut out of a tree that was crowding another tree and that had died at the top of the branch already. I only cut wood that will improve the health of the forest, reduce the risk of wildfire, or do both. This way, I can have fun in nature and make sure to preserve it for more people to have fun in.

[heathdumler]

You two need to stop. Youtube can't handle the cuteness.

[mrpogueman]

I miss this kind of content, woodworking, practical, relatable.. more like this please?

[graffsker]

I like how you guys celebrate every single detail!

[donaldpowell]

I listened to Making It yesterday and Bob said to come here. I did and in a few hours I've made it through to this video. Great content so far!

[stephgiersz]

It's nice how you guys show your whole process including the little mistakes.

[reforzar]

Hahaha. Great attitudes and personalities. When glueing up wet pine, try flipping the boards so that the outside of the tree is up then down then up then down. It may still warp but it's not as bad. Nice to meet y'all tonight.

[tomsdreamshopworx]

Cool design, fun project, fun video, glad you showed the challenging parts too? Squaring the edges is the best thing to do with 2x4's, really raises the look of the piece.

[pershop]

I like using 2x4s because they fit into my sedan car (with that little hole in the back seat opened up from the trunk), so I don't need a big car/truck to transport wood, and people throw them out like junk, so you can often find total wood projects being done from 2x4s that you have picked up.

[FrigginBoomToys]

I think it's really useful to set challenges like this, you end up discovering methods of doing stuff you never would have worked out if you didn't have the crazy constraints

[OreoChickz]

You guys are adorable and it fills my heart with a wholesome happiness. And that table is awesome

[mhuang]

you guys are too flippin cute, cool table!

[woodscrew]

It's amazing what can be done with construction materials! That came out great!