Scavenger Chic

TV Tray Meets Pallet Wood

• By Joan
• April 15, 2018
• 5 Comments

I’ve had a set of four TV trays sitting around for just about forever.  When my kids were younger, a special occasion was watching a movie sitting in front of the TV. 

Those days have past, now the tables just sit in a corner of the laundry room getting dusty.  They get pulled out every now and then as an extra table, but mostly they’re dusty.

Today I’m brushing off the dust and pulling one of those tables out and converting it to a more permanent side table.

The plan is to not only redo the top but to also add a lower shelf. There was one crossbar already on the legs of the table.  I’ll need another crossbar on which to sit my shelf.

Cut a 1×2 to fit and sand. 

Use a level or measure where to attach the new crossbar and mark.

I used a nail gun to temporarily hold the new crossbar in place.

To hold the crossbar more securely than just a small finish nail I needed to insert a longer screw.

Predrill a small hole through the leg into the new crossbar.  With a larger drill bit, drill a larger hole wide enough for the screw top and deep enough to countersink the screw.  That little squiggly thing is the finish nail from the nail gun.

Use a long screw to secure the cross bar thru the holes you just drilled and fill with plastic wood.  Sand when dry. Repeat if necessary.

Paint as desired.  This is black chalk paint.

I want my table top to be larger than the original TV tray, so I’m cutting pallet wood large enough so that it extends over the ends of the tray by about an inch on all sides.

Sand your pallet wood.

If you have a nail gun, this is a great time to pull it out to attach the pallet wood to the TV tray top.  If you don’t have a nail gun…get one.  No more hammered fingers. 

OK, you can always use a hammer and nails or builders adhesive.

For the bottom shelf nail a couple wider pieces of pallet wood directly to the crossbars.

You could leave the shelf as is.  I framed my pallet wood with 4 shutter slats I had pulled from a past project.

Use clear wax to seal the pallet wood.

Easy way to give you a before and after…just pull out another tv tray.

Until next time, stay inspired.

Shared at Metamorphosis Monday,

Talk of the Town,  Wow us Wednesdays,

Salvaged Junk Projects,

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