Directions
1. Cut plywood to a 42- by 60-inch rectangle; reserve remaining plywood for step 3. Cut 2-by-2s into two 60-inch and four shorter pieces (sized to fit perpendicularly between the 60-in. pieces).
2. Glue 2-by-2s around the edges of the plywood (see below), then screw on. Use remaining cut 2-by-2s as crosspieces: Equally space them on the plywood, glue in place, then screw on.
3. Cut four 6-inch squares from remaining plywood and butt one into each corner. Secure with glue and four nails.
4. Take the assembly to a sheet metal fabricator and have the shop make a snug-fitting top. (Ours cost $65, including materials and fabrication.) You can select from two styles of galvanized sheet metal: one with the familiar silvery, flaked finish, or a smoother-looking bonderized finish, which makes the metal paint-ready. (We chose the latter, though we left it unpainted.) Ask the fabricator to fold the sheet over the sides, covering the plywood and 2-by-2s, and solder the corners.
5. When metal top is finished (ours took one week), attach it to the plywood base with heavy-duty adhesive. Sand all exposed surfaces with an electric sander, creating a mottled surface to help mask the inevitable scratches. Protect the top with a paste wax made for antique furniture; the wax will deepen the metal's color. Burnish with steel wool.
6. Screw the ready-made legs with metal brackets to the plywood squares underneath the tabletop.
Another table project: Memory box tabletop
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