Gary: With some beautiful Merbau timber, we're gonna create a nice table with a special little
twist, and it'll be the center point of this entertainment area.
These are the tools and equipment we're going to need to construct this outdoor table, and
our bucket that we're going to fit to the center of the table to hold our drinks.
All our timber has been pre-cut at Bunnings, except for a couple of miter cuts, and some
rebates.
In order to make our frame, our outer frame for our tabletop, we need to rebate the outer
frame so that our Merbau planks, that are gonna create our tabletop, will sit flush
inside that frame.
When we're cutting a rebate with our circular saw, we need to set the depth of the saw blade,
and we need to set the guide so that we get our rebate in the position that we want it.
So, there's our rebate completed, and that's where our Merbau planks are gonna sit.
Now that we've rebated all of our frame, we're gonna join it with miters at the corner, and
those miters are gonna be 45 degrees.
So, I'm gonna set my compound miter saw to 45 degrees.
We're gonna do those cuts, and then measure from the long side to long point, and do our
second cut.
To assemble your frame: Simply place the two pieces together, we're gonna drill a pilot
hole with the smaller drill, followed by a bigger drill, because we want these screws
to be countersunk in, so that they're out of sight.
As well as screwing this joint together, we're gonna apply a little bit of glue.
Don't use too much so that you get it on the surface of the timber, because it will stain.
To finish off our tabletop we're gonna place our decking onto the frame...
and we're gonna secure it with screws from underneath.
Flip over the tabletop, put the remainder of the screws in to secure your decking, then
we're gonna put some bracing across and screw all.
Measure and mark out where your bracing is going to go.
I'm gonna add an ice bucket to the end of my table, so make sure, if you're going to
do that, that you leave enough space to accommodate it.
Drill a pilot hole for each of the braces, and then secure with screws.
That tabletop's complete, so let's get started on the frame for it to sit on.
To cut the outside for the frame we're going to miter to the corners, then we're gonna
measure from the long end of the miter to the the other end, and cut the miter on the
other end exactly center.
We've cut the miters, assemble your frame.
Secure the two long sides of the frame together using supports.
Now that our supports are in place, put the first leg in the corner, miter a piece of
pine and add it to the corner of the frame, that's gonna add strength to the frame, and
also give us another anchor point for each of our legs.
We're gonna use some angle brackets to attach our frame to the tabletop.
Well our table's completed, looks absolutely fantastic.
You could leave it like this if you want, but another way just to change it up a little
is to add an ice bucket to one end, and that's what we're gonna do to ours.
So, we're gonna place it where we're going to position it, and then we're trace around
it, and make sure also that you've got inside of the supports under the table, because you
don't want to cut through those.
Because we're cutting through individual boards, they're just gonna fall everywhere unless
we secure them together somehow, so we're going to flip the table over and attach this
piece of scrap timber, and hold them together.
Normally if you were cutting a hole through a top of something like this you'd do a starting
hole so that you've got somewhere to find an entry point for your blade, but we've got
these handy slots between the planks, and we're going to go right in there.
Once you've finished cutting the hole, grab some sandpaper, and just clean up the splinters.
If you want to you can leave that bucket in there all the time, but, if you want a full
table, we can use these little butterfly cleats to position underneath, on the long sides
of the cut-out to hold that piece that we've cut out back in there.
So, there you have it, table's complete.
We're gonna go and find a lovely place for it.
I think I know just the place.
There's nothing like the color, warmth, and beauty of Merbau timber, and when we bring
it together in a beautiful project like this, a lovely outdoor table with a built in drink
cooler, it makes the ideal setting for this lovely courtyard we've created.
Voiceover: Bunnings Warehouse!