Drag an orange dot to resize; a dashed line shows when it snaps to a common size. Click a dot, then use the arrow keys to nudge 1/8″ (hold Shift for 1″). Every size can also be typed in the panel.
Checks
- The top passes the sag check.
- The base reaches as far as the top, so weight on the top cannot tip it. A push sideways along the sofa still can: keep drinks near the middle.
- For a drink, a book or a laptop. Do not sit on it, lean on it to stand up, or let anyone climb it.
Shopping list
| Qty | Item | Est. |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2×2 furring, 8′ (board) | $4.00 |
| 1 | 3/4″ birch plywood, 4×8 sheet (sheet) | $68.00 |
| 1 | Wood glue (bottle) | $5.00 |
| 1 | 1 5/8″ wood screws (box of 100) | $9.00 |
| 1 | 3/4″ iron-on birch edge banding (25 ft roll) | $9.00 |
| 1 | Felt floor pads (pack) | $5.00 |
About $100 · rough estimates, check the store
Parts
| Part | Qty | Length | Width | Material | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Top | 1 | 15″ | 14″ | 3/4″ birch plywood |
| B | Upright | 1 | 25 1/8″ | 14″ | 3/4″ birch plywood |
| C | Base | 1 | 19″ | 14″ | 3/4″ birch plywood |
| D | Bottom glue block | 1 | 13″ | 1 1/2″ | 2×2 furring |
| E | Top glue block | 1 | 13″ | 1 1/2″ | 2×2 furring |
Cut list
3/4″ birch plywood, sheet 1 of 1
2×2 furring, 96″ → D 13″ · E 13″
Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.
Have the store cut it
Most home centers rip sheets on their panel saw. Show them this; do the short crosscuts at home.
- 3/4″ birch plywood: rip into strips 14″, keep the rest.
Steps
- Tape measure
- Speed square
- Pencil
- Drill/driver
- Clamps
- Safety glasses
- Hearing protection
- Dust mask
- Circular saw and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
- Sander, 120 and 180 grit
1Before you start
Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.
Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.
Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.
- Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
- Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.
2Cut and label the parts
Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.
To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.
Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.
Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.
Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.
✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.
STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.3Measure the sofa
Measure from the floor to the top of the sofa arm: you entered 24″. The table top will sit 2 1/2″ above it, at 26 1/2″.
Slide a tape or a ruler under the sofa beside the arm and measure the gap: you entered 4″. The base needs 13/16″ with felt pads, plus 1/4″ to slide.
Measure how far under the sofa the base can slide before it meets a leg or a cross rail: it should take the 17″ base.
- Tip Some sofas have a skirt or a solid base down to the floor. Then the base cannot go under; build it to stand beside the sofa with the base on the outside instead.
✓ A 1 1/16″ thick book or offcut slides under the sofa where the base will go, at least 15″ deep.
4Cut and edge-band the panels
Cut the top (A) 15″ × 14″, the upright (B) 25 1/8″ × 14″, and the base (C) 19″ × 14″, all with the grain running the long way.
Iron edge banding on every edge that will show: all four edges of the top, the two long edges of the upright, and the front and back edges of the base. Trim it flush with a sharp knife.
Sand all faces with 120, then 180 grit. Ease every corner so it does not snag the sofa fabric.
- Tip Cut plywood with the good face down when you use a circular saw or jigsaw: the blade tears out the top face, not the bottom.
- Tip Round the front corners of the top with sandpaper to about a 1/4″ radius. Sharp corners at sofa height catch knees and hands.
✓ The upright and base are the same depth as the top within 1/32″, so the edges line up.
5Join the upright to the base
Draw a line across the base 2″ from one end. Stand the upright on the base with its outside face on that line, so 2″ of base sticks out beyond it.
Drill four pilot holes up through the base into the upright's bottom edge, keeping them centred in the edge. Glue the edge and drive 1 5/8″ screws.
Glue the bottom glue block (D) into the outside corner, on the 2″ lip against the upright. Screw it to the upright and to the base, 3 screws each way, 1 5/8″.
- Tip A screw into a plywood edge splits it unless the pilot hole is centred and nearly as wide as the screw's solid core. Practise on an offcut first.
- Tip Wipe glue squeeze-out with a damp rag right away on surfaces you will stain, or let it go rubbery and scrape it off.
✓ The upright is square to the base: a speed square sits tight in the corner at the front and the back.
6Add the top
Glue the top glue block (E) inside the corner where the top will sit, flush with the upright's top edge, and screw it to the upright from the outside: 3 screws, 1 5/8″.
Glue the top edge of the upright and the block. Set the top (A) on them, its outside edge flush with the upright, and screw down through the top into the block and the upright: 6 screws, 1 5/8″, 3/8″ in from the edge.
Fill the screw heads with wood filler and sand flush once it dries.
- Tip Clamp the top on dry first and check it is square to the upright before any glue goes on.
✓ Lay the table on its back: the top and base are parallel, the same distance apart at the front and the back.
STOP. The glue blocks carry everything on the top. Let the glue cure a full day before putting anything on it.7Fit it to the sofa
Stick thin felt pads under the base, near the corners, so it slides under the sofa without scratching the floor.
Slide the base under the sofa beside the arm until the upright touches the side of the arm. The top's underside clears the arm by about 1 13/16″; the glue block under it just clears too.
Set a full mug near the far edge of the top and check the table stays put.
✓ The top sits level, 26 1/2″ off the floor, and the table does not rock or lift when you press on the far edge of the top with a couple of fingers.
8Finish
Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.
Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.
Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.
Paint, stain or a clear coat (water-based polyurethane is the easiest). Apply thin coats with the grain, let each dry fully, and sand lightly with 220 grit between coats.
Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.
- Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.
Conceptual layout, material estimate and assembly guide from the sizes you entered. Not engineering, not a building plan, not stamped or approved. Confirm measurements on site; follow local codes and product instructions; anchor tall pieces before use. Using this plan means you accept the Terms of Use.