Aside table is a must-have piece of furniture that we didn't have. When I told my wife what I had in mind, her reply was, "Can you incorporate a magazine rack as well?" That's the beauty of DIY - you can make a piece of furniture to suit your needs. So here you have it, a two-in-one item that houses your TV remotes, cuppa and also takes care of your books. But I won't tell her it was a good idea.
Step 1 - Measure, mark and cut (on the waste side of the pencil line) two pieces of 20mm-thick and two 30mm-thick laminated panelling to length, the same width as the 450mm panel, making the base and the top pieces square. Next, pre-drill in about 30mm from the outside edge on the 20mm top piece, evenly spaced apart, before fixing it to the 30mm top piece. With a belt sander, sand the outside edges flush and the outside edges of the base pieces also.
Step 2 - To make the post, measure, mark and cut the 30mm panel to length (about 350mm), then cut five strips at 150mm, laminate the strips together by gluing and rubbing the joins together, with all pieces glued and as flush as possible. Clamp the pieces together and leave for the glue to set. Once set, remove clamps and sand flush, then trim both ends flush.
Step 3 - Mark and cut 45-degree mitred joints with the inner mark (to the size of the pre-drilled 20mm thick base) on the 280mm side pieces. Then, screwing up from the underside, fix the side pieces flush with the outside base edges, gluing and clamping the mitred joints. When the glue is set, sand the box with a belt sander so all outer edges are flush and smooth.
