I’m so excited to share this coffee table with you guys today! I love, love, love factory cart coffee tables but they aren’t exactly budget friendly.

Open Concept Family Room

DIY-Factory-Cart-Coffee-Table

I had a specific design in mind for a special place so I hit-up our friend Jamison, a.k.a Rogue Engineer, to whip some printable plans up so we could share this easy and affordable build with you guys!

You can find the plans HERE  and we’ve got the step-by-step tutorial for you to follow along with as well!

attach-planks-for-top

After I cut the boards for the planked top, I drilled 1 1/2″ pocket holes and attached them with 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws.

attach-sides

Then, I attached the short side pieces with pocket holes screws and wood glue. (I lost several of my tutorial pictures so this is not the exact table top but it is assembled the same way). Short sides first, then I attached the long pieces.

attach-bottom-braces

I flipped it over and attached the first 2×4 braces to each end with 2 1/2″ wood screws. I like to use the Spax multi-material star head screws. They are a bit pricey but oh.so.worth.it. They are self tapping, so you don’t have to predrill and the star head doesn’t strip as easily!

view-from-under-table

Next, I added the second set of 2×4 braces. You attach these with pocket hole screws.

That was IT for building 🙂 Now for the finish!

stain-table

I applied one coat of Varathane Dark Walnut stain. Just wipe it on with a clean cloth, wait about 5 minutes, then wipe it with a new clean cloth. Don’t wipe the stain off, just blend it with the cloth so that the stain is even.

Varathane Triple Thick

After the stain dried (about 1 hour later), I applied one coat of Varathane Triple Thick Polyurethane. Just apply it with a bristle brush. You can put it on thick, it is self leveling and will all spread out evenly. I use a bristle brush – it will look like glue until it dries.

Now for the fun part 🙂

caster

 

I purchased these 8″ casters from Northern Tool. You can see them HERE! These were the closest thing to budget-friendly, factory cart wheels that I could find and I think they are just perfect!

hardware

I also picked up these little hex screws and 6″ Simpson Strong Ties from Home Depot – super inexpensive! You can see the Strong Ties HERE. I spray painted the casters, screws and Strong Ties with Rust-oleum, satin black, spray paint and that was it!

how-to-build-a-factory-cart-coffee-table

I attached the Strong Ties with the little hex screws.

DIY-Coffee-Table-Cart

Factory-Cart-Coffee-Table-DIY

DIY-Factory-Cart-Coffee-Table

Lumber, hardware and casters totaled about $100! Can’t beat that!!! I can’t wait to show you where this cutie is going – but that will have to wait for now 😉 Thanks again to Rogue Engineer for the FREE Printable Plans! Check him out! He has a ton of awesome DIY’s he’s been up to 🙂

Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂

~Ashley

Check out this video to build this DIY Rolling Storage Coffee Table!

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52 Comments

    1. I use the plans at WoodPrix’s plans to build my own DIY projects – I highly recommend you visit that website and check their plans out too. They are detailed and super easy to read and understand unlike several others I found online. The amount of plans there is mind-boggling… there’s like 16,000 plans or something like that for tons of different projects. Definitely enough to keep me busy with projects for many more years to come haha. Get WoodPrix’s instructions if you want some additional plans. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

  1. First off I love these carts and have been wanting to make one for months! So excited!! But have you had any problems with the spray paint on the wheels rubbing off at all. I have a white rug that the cart would be placed on. Worried it might get ruined?!

    1. The spray paint will chip off if you roll it around on a hard surface, like concrete. I have the table on my carpet and it isn’t rubbing off at all. Hope this helps!

  2. Hi I was wondering if you could tell me if you used a “gloss” or “satin” on the poly? Thank you! I love this project! I love a lot of your plans and can’t wait to make more!

  3. Best project I’ve built this year by Shanty 2 Chic! These ladies are awesome, and to think I didn’t own a single tool this time last year!

  4. Will you 2 be traveling to other states to do remodels/your show? We live in Arizona and would LOVE to have you come do our home! Diana

  5. Just finished! Followed the instructions and it turned out great! Little trial and error for some, since I’ve never done something quite like this. Wheels were by far the most expensive part but compared to how much these tables usually cost, it’s totally worth it. Thanks Shanty 2 chic! Can’t wait to build something else!

  6. Im sure there is a way you could make the top of this one continuous piece instead of having the planks… What kind of lumbar would you suggest for that? I currently have a planked top coffee table and its so hard to keep the edges clean! Wanting to build this but with a smooth surface of possible. Thanks!!

    1. Hi Whitney! Yes, that’s easy, you can have a sheet of 3/4 Purebond plywood ripped down to put in its place. You will still need to trim the edges like this table but you won’t have the planks. Hope this helps!

  7. Love the dark stain but would love to transfer a logo/lettering to the sides; any ideal how and have it show?

  8. I just ordered my wheels and am so excited to make this piece!!! I do however, find it hard to believe that it only cost you $100 to make it. As I said, I just ordered my wheels and my total, just for the wheels was $117. That, of course, was with S&H and tax, but, I feel when you tell people how much it cost you to make it, you should count all those things in so it is an actual cost and we are prepared for how much it is ACTUALY going to cost us to make it. Just a little advice. Love all your ideas and am so excited to start my project!!!

    1. Thanks! I did share how much it cost me to make it 🙂 as you said, there are many factors involved and each person has unique factors. It would be impossible to give a different scenario of cost for each individual. I shared the cost of mine, not to deceive anyone but as a way to gauge the cost. Lumber cost also varies by location. I purchased the casters for $19.99 (picked up at the store). The corner pieces were about $6 total and lumber was about $12. Total before tax was $98 and I said “about” $100. Sorry for the confusion and best of luck on your build!

  9. Hello! I just found your blog and have already print out a bunch of your free plans, how AWESOME!! I’m totally stoked.
    So here’s my question for you. My fiancee and I are totally NEW to all this wood work/DIY stuff and have a TON of projects on the list. We have a few projects we need to knock out for our wedding so we just invested in a Kobalt 15amp 10″ table saw. We must have been at the store for an hour and a half trying to decide between the 15amp 10″ Miter and this saw. We settled ont he table because it came WITH a table and it ended up saving us about $100. However, now that we’ve looked into a lot of these projects we’re wondering if we should have gone with the Miter? I was hoping you could shed a little light on what’s best for a newbie as well as which saw would be used more frequently. We wouldnt mind spending more knowing we’d get a better quality cut / more use out of it in the end.

    Thanks for any tips! You’ve got me hooked and totally excited for our home upgrades!

    Sarah

    1. I just wanted to add my 2 cents worth of advice because I do a lot of woodworking myself. I use my miter saw more than any other saw I own, however, I use my table saw, scroll saw, hand saws, and small circular saw as well as a jig saw quite often as well. If you are going to be doing a lot of building just get them when you need them and eventually you will have everything you need. If you are going to be doing any amount of sanding, don’t buy the most expensive sanders. I go through them quickly. I do a lot of repurposing which usually means lots of sanding. Good luck with your projects!

    2. I have a woodshop and the push guide on my Table Saw allows me to cut boards at an angle…and You can rotate to any angle 0 to 90 degrees .. ..also the saw tilts to… Netwen the two ..you should be able to cut what you want ..a miter saw us a lot easier to set up however .. But you should be able to make miter cuts with a table saw

  10. I would love to know how you achieved the dark antique stain on your hardware/wheels…love this and thanks!

  11. Love this, but I have a toddler! How would you make this taller, and I assume HD or Lowes carries locking casters?
    Such easy plans.. Even I could do this one!!

    1. Hi Melanie,
      They do carry locking casters and I agree, I wouldn’t have them not locking with a toddler. The table is very heavy and could roll. It doesn’t roll easily but better safe than sorry. I’m not sure on making it taller. These cadets are 8″ and the hardware stores don’t have wheels that tall. You could use wider boards – the side bards are 2×8. If you go 2×10 or 2×12 it will be even heavier so I do suggest using 1x boards. Hope this helps!