DIY Potting Table

Make a potting table to help your gardening efforts.

Potting tables are a gardener’s best friend in the greenhouse or backyard. They not only provide storage for potting equipment, but save a lot of backache from bending over while potting plants on the ground. Potting tables are available commercially, but most are quite costly. Making your own potting table is not for the novice carpenter, but you don’t have to be an expert, either, and you’ll save a lot on a homemade potting table as compared to a store-bought variety.

Things You'll Need

• 4 planks, 30 by 3 by 2 inches
• 4 planks, 20 by 3 by 2 inches
• Miter saw
• Plane
• Wood glue
• Corner clamps
• 2 sheets of plywood, 28 by 18 by 2 inches
• Drill
• Screws
• 2 planks 35 by 3 by 3
• 2 planks 55 by 3 by 3
• Pencil
• Ruler
• 4 casters
• Bolts
• 1 sheet of plywood, 30 by 6 by 2 inches
• Sander
• Varnish
• Paintbrush

Instructions

1. Miter the ends of all the 30- and 20-inch planks to a 45 degree angle with the miter saw.

2. Plane a rebate, or groove, into the short edge of the mitered planks, using short, swift strokes to cut the rebate 2 inches deep and 1 inch wide.

3. Assemble the planks into two separate rectangular frames, the mitered ends forming the corners. Place wood glue in the mitered joint, clamp with the corner clamps and let dry. The rebates should be on the inner edge of the frames.

4. Dry fit the plywood sheets into the rebates of the frames. Plane any parts that are making the plywood sit unevenly. Drill a hole every 3 inches through the edge of the plywood sheets into the rebate. Lift the sheets, place wood glue along the rebate, replace the sheet, then screw it down into the rebate using the pre-drilled holes. This is the top and under shelf of your potting table.

5. Line up the remaining planks, which are the legs of the table. Measure 15 inches from the bottom, and draw two lines on one side, 3 inches apart. Draw a line 3 inches from the top of the shorter planks, and two lines at 32 and 35 inches from the bottom of the longer planks. Draw an additional two lines at 55 and 57 inches from the bottom of the longer planks.

6. Make a 1-inch deep cut at each line using the miter saw. Chisel out the wood from in between the cuts to make a housing.

7. Pre-drill a hole up through the center of the bottom of the legs, then screw in your casters.

8. Lay your shelves on their sides, then fit the longer legs over the top into the two 3-inch housings. Make sure the sides of the planks are flush with the sides of the shelves, and the plywood face of the shelf is facing away from the casters on the end of the legs. Drill two holes through the leg and into the shelves, then bolt the legs onto the shelves.

9. Turn the potting table over so that it is resting on the bolted legs, then position the remaining legs over the shelves so that the shelf edges sit in the housing. The top of the legs should be flush with the top shelf. Drill and bolt on the legs as you did the previous ones.

10. Stand the potting table upright, on the casters. Insert the remaining plywood sheet in the two remaining housings on the long legs, as a small shelf for the potting table. Make the back of the sheet flush with the back edge of the legs, then pre-drill two holes through the sides of the legs, into the shelf and bolt down.

11. Sand the entire potting table, then varnish. Apply two to three coats of varnish, allowing the recommended drying time in between coats, as per the varnish manufacturer’s directions.

References

• Tip Nut: 15 Potting Bench Plans