DIY Wood Stump Side Table

8 Materials
$50
2 Days
Easy

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Do you or someone you know have a tree that needs cut down or has had a tree cut down and you want to do something with the wood? I took a few pieces from a neighbor who cut down a tree and created this wood stump side table for my family room and I love it!

The first thing you need is a tree! You can use a stump from a fallen or cut down tree or even look on craigslist or Next-door for help finding one. Once you have a tree you need to find a sawmill to slice it.


Did you know that when you slice a tree into round discs they are called cookies? I didn't until I started researching this project.


Once you find a sawmill to cut your stump give them the measurements of how thick you want your slices.

I had mine cut to 1 inch, 2 inch and 5 inch cookies. The 5 inch cookies are used for tables, the 1 inch for chargers in my dining room and I don't know what I will do with the 2 inch pieces yet.

Now you need to use pentacryl and put your cookies in a container that won't leak, I used a round metal basin that your water heater sits on because my cookies were just too wide for anything I already had. You want to pour pentacryl on top and leave a little in the bottom so the wood can soak it in.


The reason for this step is to prevent the wood from cracking too much as it dries. Otherwise your pieces will have big cracks and it will be harder to create cool tables out of them.


Soak for about 24 hours then let dry.


The next step is to sand! Start with 80 grit and sand it down to where you want it. I took all the bark off the sides and sanded through all the borer marks.


The Emerald Ash Borer has killed thousands of Ash trees here in Ohio and our neighbor states. My friend had to chop down 5 large trees, that's where I got these stumps.


Move on to 120 grit and 220 grit and sand until smooth. Then seal with several coats of polyurethane.

Put your legs on the bottom, I used these hairpin legs I got from Etsy, and mark the screw holes.


Pre-drill a small hole then put your leg on and screw them onto the wood stump.

Finish up all the legs and there you go! A great side table that came from recycling nature! If you like this post please check out how I added board and batten box molding to my stairwell!

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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 6 questions
  • Lori Lori on May 04, 2019

    Any good hints on how to get a good flat /level top and bottom??

  • Ketti Obert Ketti Obert on May 04, 2019

    How about cutting the 2 inch pieces in 4 and using them as bookends or making them into trays by adding handles?

  • JD Ferut JD Ferut on Jun 01, 2019

    Haaa!❤️ok! I have 4 large logs from a tree that just missed my landlord's garage behind my home. They've been on my patio for a few months. I'd poured bleach water over them to kill any bugs. Saw it on a site don't know if I should've or not. I want to use them for my plants. How should I go about that process, annnnd will the PA weather ruin them?

Comments
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2 of 12 comments
  • Ivory Ivory on May 20, 2019

    Sounds simple, but looks fabulous. Hoot do this, because I love it

  • Qui10521932 Qui10521932 on Jun 12, 2019


    You can use the 2 inch thick pieces as trivets for your table.... hot pads for dishes... clean them up nice and treat.... they are terrific


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