DIY Modern Shim Side Table

Who knew shims could look so good on a side table?

This review is sponsored by the Home Depot as a part of The Home Depot's Pro-Spective Campaign. 

When I first came up with the idea to use shims for this side table I was nervous it wouldn't turn out as I envisioned, but Im so glad I took the risk because I am absolutely in love!

The cedar shims I used look so good together and to my surprise I didn't even need to stain them like I originally had planned. Even better it took less than an hour and under $50 to make. I think I know a deal when I see one and this was a steal!

Materials Used

2x4 1/2 sheet of MDF

3 packs of Cedar Shims

Wood Glue

1 1/4" Pocket Hole Screws

1/4" Oak Plywood

Tools Used

Milwaukee Hex Impact Driver 

Dremel 3- Tool Combo Kit

Milwaukee Pin Nailer

Ridgid 12" Sliding Miter Saw

Kreg Jig

Lets Get into it!

One exciting thing about this project was trying out this Milwaukee Cordless Compact Brushless Hex Impact Driver and kit. This impact driver delivers over 50% more run time than drivers with brushed motors and provides great control, and is perfect for work in tight spaces, which came in handy on this project. I also like that for only $99 you can buy the kit which includes the impact driver, charger and battery. Not a bad deal for a tool I think I will get a lot of use out of.

Step 1: Assemble the Box

I used my Milwaukee Impact driver to assemble the box. I drilled 6 holes on each side using my Kreg jig and then screwed the sides together with 1 1/4" pocket hole screws. I cut the box sides to an even 12" for all four side from the 2"x4" mdf sheet.

Step 2: Add Top and Bottom

Using my brad nailer and wood glue, I attached two 1/4" pieces to the top and bottom. It should cover the whole top of the box. (Measure and cut ass necessary)

I must say this next step was my favorite and most anticipated part. Not only was I anxious to see how the shims would look but I also wanted to try out this Dremel 3-Tool Combo Kit., because whats better than 1 tool? THREE! This combo kit comes with the Multi-Max, Saw-Max and Rotary Tool; everything you'll need to restore, repair, remodel, cut, sand and much more.

What I really love about this kit is that with the assortment of different attachments and accesories you can use them in a variety of jobs around the home, workshop or job site; including your new side table. (wink wink...see what I did there)

Step 3: Adding Shims

First I had to cut the shims down so that two lines of shims could fit on the sides of the assembled box. I measured the height of the box, divided by two and cut the shims down to size using my saw max. Being that the shims are small and delicate this was the perfect tool for the job.

Next I started adding the shims to the box using wood glue and my Makita Pin Nailer. If you don't have a pin nailer and you do a lot of projects with trim and moulding, I would highly recommend one.

The pin nailer leaves much smaller holes and with using the pin nailer I actually didn't feel the need to fill the holes on this project, whereas with a brad nailer I probably would have, because the nail holes are significantly bigger. 

I made sure to add the shims to the opposite sides first ,so that the corners wouldn't have gaps. Once I applied all the shims, I used my Dremel rotary tool to sand out the rough spots. The shims aren't perfect, which in my opinion gives it character but there where a few rough spots I felt needed sanding. These shims are really delicate so using the Dremel rotary made it easy to sand without damaging the shims.

and WAAAAAA-LAAAAAH! I love how it turned out. I think I might have to make a matching coffee table.

 Thanks for reading guys!