Ignore the clamps. \u00a0All-in, I spent a total of about 12-16 hours on construction and finishing. \u00a0Again, a decent percentage of that was spent trying to re-engineer this thing. \u00a0If I did it again, I’d go about it a little differently. \u00a0Using those drawers as a base is just a stupid idea. \u00a0I might build actual boxes for legs in which those drawers might fit. \u00a0Or I might build boxes in which storage containers could be stored or hung somehow. \u00a0I would even consider building compartments that those fabric storage boxes would fit in.<\/p>\n

But I would never, ever consider building furniture using plastic storage drawers as a base. \u00a0Ever.<\/p>\n

Because that’s an incredibly dumb idea.<\/p>\n

In retrospect, I realize now that I should have realized then how dumb that idea was before I started. \u00a0In the end, I think I put the best possible polish on this particular turd that could be done, and it really does look pretty nice. \u00a0But it still has a little flex to it.<\/p>\n

Because building furniture using plastic drawers as a base is pretty stupid.<\/p>\n

I alluded to a potential problem with the drawer-legs. \u00a0This table is quite heavy and somewhat awkward to lift and hold. \u00a0Because they’re not boxed in all the way, you really shouldn’t lift it by the legs, so it requires a lot of off-balance hefting to get it off the ground. \u00a0In the process of trying to do that to load it into the van to get it home, I managed to forcefully remove three of the legs.<\/p>\n

Repairing that added another 30 minutes or so to the build. \u00a0Instead of just screws, I put some glue down and then used a screw that was a little bit wider so that it would have a harder time pulling out. \u00a0Time will tell how well that works.<\/p>\n

Another lesson that I learned from the Jethro Gibbs School of Building Boats in Your Basement is that you need to double check the size of your vehicle. \u00a0As it turns out, because I left the drawers sticking out a bit from the top of the table — I think it looks and works better that way — it adds about 6 inches to the overall width and depth of the table: \u00a048.5×48.5, \u00a0That’s a bit too big to fit in my van. \u00a0About 6 inches too big, as it happens. \u00a0So it made the trip home somewhat precariously:<\/p>\n