Free Plan: Pixelated End Table
No legs to turn, no joints to cut — a side table built entirely from glued blocks.
Free download. No signup required.
- Full block grid and cut list
- Staged glue-up sequence
- Router sled flattening setup
✓ Your plan is downloading.
Got your plan? Good. Here's what usually comes next.
The plan's yours to keep — build it whenever. But if you liked this one, here's the next step most builders take from here.
Download didn't start? Get the plan here.The techniques underneath a build like this
Woodworking Secrets is a printed book covering the fundamentals this project leans on — glue-ups, squaring, surface prep, and finishing — written for people building at home rather than in a production shop. It fits builders who want the reasoning behind the steps, not another set of plans. If you only wanted this table, the plan above is all you need.
See the book →Disclosure: I may earn a commission if you buy through this link. It doesn't cost you extra.
Project and images adapted from ZacBuilds on Instructables, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
This side table has no legs to turn and no joinery to cut. It is built from small hardwood blocks, stacked and glued in a grid, and the stepped pixel pattern appears on its own as the layers come together.
The material is offcuts — roughly 30 board feet of scrap in two contrasting tones. The skill is patience, because the build runs through several glue-up phases and each one needs to cure before the next.
The plan covers the block sizing, the grid layout, the mirrored ends, the router sled used to flatten the finished faces, and the sanding and finishing order.
Project at a Glance
- Difficulty
- Beginner to intermediate (no joinery, many glue-ups)
- Main materials
- About 30 board feet of hardwood scrap in two contrasting tones — 1 x 1 inch blocks, 2 to 9 inches long, a 3 x 3 x 23 inch central column, two 11 x 11 grids
- Build time
- Several sessions across a week (glue curing time, not bench time)
- Tools needed
- Table saw, 10 to 12 clamps, router with a flattening sled, sander, square
- Source
- ZacBuilds on Instructables (CC BY 4.0)
Before the first glue-up:
Clamp a straight batten to your bench and wax it so glue will not stick. Press every layer against that same edge instead of against the block below it. A stack built piece-to-piece drifts a little further with every row; a stack built against one fixed reference does not. And work in small sub-assemblies — three or four blocks at a time — because a tall stack of loose blocks under clamp pressure slides faster than you can push it back.
A build like this rewards technique rather than tooling. There is no machine that saves you here — just squareness, glue discipline, and knowing what a clean surface should feel like before the finish goes on.
That is the part most of us picked up slowly, one mistake at a time. It goes faster when somebody lays it out in order.
Recommended Next Step
The techniques underneath a build like this
Woodworking Secrets is a printed book covering the fundamentals this project leans on — glue-ups, squaring, surface prep, and finishing — written for people building at home rather than in a production shop. It fits builders who want the reasoning behind the steps, not another set of plans. If you only wanted this table, the plan above is all you need.
Woodworking Secrets
A printed reference on glue-ups, squaring, surface prep, and finishing for home shops.
Disclosure: I may earn a commission if you buy through this link. It doesn't cost you extra.
Start with the block grid
Download the pixelated end table plan and build it at your own pace. The plan is yours whether or not the book ends up on your bench.