The last step is the assembly.  Hopefully you will have figured out your joinery technique before you have even started to cut any stock.  I knew mine was going to be assembled with screws and glue.  Now I know that some of you die hard woodworkers are snubbing your nose at my choice but I do have a reason.  Originally I built the chairs with dowels which worked pretty well.  But, I had to ship the chairs whole and the mortality rate from Federal Express was enough to make your stomach churn.  You have to outsmart the guy working third shift who is cold and tired and really wants to go to bed instead of handling your package with utmost care.  So I choose to have the chair ship flat and have the receiptaint put it together themselves.

In order to dress it up a bit, I did choose to buy birch buttons, paint them and have them cover the screws.  This gives the chair a kind of a mission look, but it is better than looking at the screws in my opinion.  If the chair did not have to be shipped, I would go back to dowels and call it a day, but that is not the case and if you are thinking about selling some, you will have to cross this road too.

Table Skirt

The table skirt is basically a wood box with the table legs attached to the inside.  Very easy, very simple and quick to build.

Table Top

The top started out with a 30″ piece of Plywood, edged with a round over bit and then primed and painted.  This also is pretty straight forward.  Attaching the skirt to the top can be a little tricky, but again the name of my game is shipping the table, so I opted for these neat little 45 degree corners that I made on the miter saw.  Screw one end to the top and one to the skirt.  This allows seasonal movement and and easy assembly.

Related posts:

• Building Children’s Furniture, Final Assembly
• Building Children’s Furniture, Part 1
• Building Children’s Furniture, Part 2
• Building a Loft, Part 2
• Building a Loft, Creating the Perfect Bedroom, Part 1