This table was one of the freebies I was given.  I had no idea at first what to do with it because the top was so damaged, and the end had been cut off. But it was such a good size I wanted to try and make a trough table out of it.

If you are unfamiliar with the trough table, it is a table with a built-in ice trough that can be filled with ice.  When you have large gatherings, the drinks can be stored in the ice trough to keep cool.  No more running to the fridge for a cold one.

How to make a trough table

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Find a table

To hide the damage on the tabletop, I distressed it even further to make all the damage look intentional. I always distress my projects the same way and that is using a drill chuck key. You find a spare drill chuck and cut the end off with a grinder. I use grips to hold the chuck and then randomly hit the table with the chuck. Because the drill chuck has a pattern on it, the dents look more like a pattern than a dent.

The other method I use is a large dowel screw which is randomly placed on the table and hit with a hammer to cause a pattern in the veneer.

Make an ice trough

This is not my first party trough table, the first one I made I used 2 plastic planters for the ice trough. They did work fine but they did not look very pretty.  My Son made this trough out of some aluminium. You will have to find someone to make one or make your own. A company that builds sheds near me will make them too order, I have also seen people making them using guttering. So that is a good place to start. 

To start, mark out the position where you would like your trough. It is a good idea to have a lip on the trough, this help to secure the trough.  You must use the inside measurements of the trough not including the lip. 

Cutting the trough hole

To cut out the centre section of the table you can use a wood router. For my previous table I just a jigsaw, which does work but the router leaves a cleaner hole.   I set up some fences made from scrap wood which I nailed to the table using a nail gun a couple more small holes will not show up with the distressing.  I only did it this way because I did not have scrap wood long enough to be clamped to the table. Using your router and a straight cutting bit do multiple small passes until you have cut all the way through the table.

If you have one of these cheap routers they work perfectly.  The base plate on the router can slide along the fence so you have perfectly straight lines.

Fitting the trough

The trough can be fitted to the top of the table with the lip sitting on the top of the table. I chose the bottom because it has a more finished look. Turn the table upside-down to fit the trough. I drilled pilot holes into the wood first because it was plywood I was afraid it would split. I only used a few screws for now because I felt if I kept taking them in and out, I would make the hole lose. Screws are not enough to support the weight of the trough full of drinks, so I had to add extra support.  I cut 2 pieces of wood the length of the trough which would be screwed into the trough and the table. 

I also used 2×4 pieces of wood to build a bracket around the trough for added support. (see the image below).  I felt this was more than enough support. The bracket was glued to the bottom of the table using wood glue and screws were added for more support.  Make sure your screws do not go through the top of the table.

Lid support

I turned my table back over to fit the lid, but there was nothing to hold the lid in place.  So I had to add a lip on the inside of the trough for the lid to sit on.  The only idea I could come up with was to use 2 L shaped brace plates which I riveted to the trough using rivets.  This did work great but did not look great, so I cut a small piece of wood to sit on top of the plates.

I did try at first to screw the wood in place from the bottom through the hole in the base plate, but it bent in when the lid was added.  So, I drilled a hole and countersunk it so the screw would sit flush. I positioned the block of wood under the top block of wood and screwed it all together.  This made it very sturdy.

And then the next issue came along.  Because the table was 2m long as soon as I put the lid on it bowed in the middle. (As per the image below).  The 20 mm lid was not thick enough.

To stop the bowing and add some extra support, I cut a 4cm square block that I screwed into the lid.  This worked great.

I wanted the table to be tidy when not in use so I bought some flush mounted ring pull handles for the top to lift off the lid.  The hole was chiselled out until the latch sat flush with the tabletop. My veneer kept chipping but I later filled the chips in with wood filler.

Add veneer tape to the sides

To finish off the trough I wanted to add some wood veneer tape to hide the plywood and make my table look like real wood.  I removed all the old veneer from around the sides by heating it up with a heat gun and using a paint scraper to peel it off.  Veneer tape is very simple to use, you just cut it to the length you need first. 

I used a piece of cloth between the iron and the veneer (I have scorched my veneer in the past).  Move the iron slowly over the tape doing small sections at a time. Once the veneer was attached you can use a Stanley knife to trim off the excess. I repeated this process to all the edges including the lid.  

I used a Circular Saw to straighten the end of the table that had been cut away.  It was here that I tried to lift the table and found that the integrity of the table had been weakened drastically by me cutting out the centre and cutting the end off.  It felt like the table would snap in half when I lifted the one side which was also due to the very heavy legs on this table.  To fix this I cut supports out of scrap wood and added them to fill the gap in the wood as per the picture below.   

I also added a support beam to the top and the bottom underneath the table to prevent it from bending when lifted. 

Sanding the table

I sanded down the trough tabletop ready for staining. The legs were solid wood and had a great pattern in the grain. These I stained dark mahogany and added 2 coats of oil-based gloss varnish. I was going to have a two-toned effect table.

Unicorn Spit Stain and glaze

I painted this table using a colour recipe I found on Pinterest using a product called Unicorn Spit Stain And Glaze. Unfortunately, the colour did not turn out how I had hoped it was greener than the blue I was after.

Adding drainage

My drainage system on this table is the most basic.  I had looked all around town to find a suitable plug, but I found nothing.  So, I used a step drill bit to drill a hole to the size of the tapered cork I was able to find, and just shoved a cork in it. 

Finished table

The table did not come with any benches, so I made some to go with the table. Here is the simple bench tutorial.

Below is my first attempt at a party table.

Looking for more ice cooler ideas for your patio, check out this Ned Kelly themed patio cooler made from recycled materials.

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