I have been cleaning my fish on the kitchen table for as long as I can remember. It’s always been a bit of a hassle to have to clean the fish in the kitchen and then have to clean the kitchen afterwards, so I decided to build my own DIY fish-cleaning table.
I started by looking online for some plans, but I couldn’t find anything that fit my needs.
So, I decided to make my own design. I knew that I wanted a table that was long and narrow, so that it would fit in my kitchen without taking up too much space. I also wanted it to be height adjustable, so that I could use it both as a regular table and as a fish-cleaning table.
I sketch out my design and then start construction. It takes me a few weekends, but I finally finish it and am very happy with the results. The table is long and narrow, and it is height adjustable, so it fits perfectly in my kitchen. And it works great as a fish-cleaning table too!
DIY Fish Cleaning & Fileting Tables
Are you into fishing, and you have ever wanted to build your cleaning station, but you don’t know how to start? Or have you considered buying one but you are terrified by the prices? Well, you can own one for less than $100.
In this article, we will outline how to build a DIY fish cleaning table step by step. The process is easy without advanced skills requirements even novice DIY’er can perform.
Sometimes it is not easy to get fish right at your front door or just by stepping into the sea, ocean, or river. It requires one to make long trips to get where you can catch with ease. Taking that trip to and back can be tireless.
To ensure you keep them fresh and simplify your process, it is always good to have a fish-cleaning table right off the boat. Having a cleaning table makes cleaning more fun and less messy.
With a fish cleaning table right off the boat, you have reduced the worry of carrying fish guts in the house.
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Materials required for the DIY fish cleaning station
It is a good idea to prepare first before starting the project because this will help you reduce time wasted when buying things one by one during development. For this project, we will need the following materials:
- Two 4x4x8 pressure-treated posts
- Five 5/4x6x8 pressure treated boards for decking
- Three 2x6x6 pressure-treated boards.
- Four 2x2x2x42 inches pressure-treated mitered baluster boards that are 1-END B1E
- We also need star flat head wood deck screw measured 1-lb. box of #9 x 1-5/8 niche
- Star Flat-Head Wood Deck Screws measuring niche
How to build a fish cleaning station
Once you have identified all the materials and tools you need in this project, the most crucial step here is transforming your ideas into the actual structure. Ensure you have all the materials we have mentioned above.
It should be noted that all measurements are dependent on your preferences and desire. However, you should ensure your measurement are not too small or big because you need to build a table that looks amazing.
Step 1
the measurement given above is our preference; don’t fear coming up with yours, but you can use ours if you want. We wanted a medium table and one that cannot cover a large area. That is why we opted to make a 2×4-1/2 niche.
Step 2: your height plays a crucial role in determining the height of the table. You need a tall table to avoid bending over when cleaning your fish if you are taller. The measurements above are for a medium table because we didn’t want to bend or be tall to avoid shoulder fatigue when cleaning.
Use a tape measure to ensure you develop a structure that is exact your height from the ground up to your elbow.
For this fish cleaning table, the measurement was roughly 43, but it can be reduced to 40 inches height for more comfortability when cleaning and arms can relax. It is evident; height does vary from person to person and due to various personal preferences.
If you intend to build a cleaning fish table as a group, it is recommended that you come up with an average elbow height for all the people who will use the table. Alternatively, you can use the elbow height of the shortest person using the cleaning table.
That way, the table will not be too small or too tall so that any member of that group can use the table with much ease.
After figuring out the height, let us cut the 4×4 post four times per your preferred length. The four posts will be used as corner posts for the table. Use circular saw cutting the posts.
Step 3
the third step is to attach the 4×4 post to the decking on the deck. We will use the four strong Simpson posts at each corner of our table. Ensure your table’s desired width and length and mark these sections on your existing decking.
If you want a large table, you will need to increase the length and width. In this case, we needed something significant that you cannot strain when cleaning. Next is to use four #9 1-5/8″ decking screws to fasten each base post to the decking.
Simpson strong ties come with screws used to attach bases post.
Step 4
We will need to attach the 4×4 posts we had already cut in step 2 to the Simpson tie post bases. Use the six #9 1-5/8″ screws to attach the 4×4 posts.
Step 5
In this step, we will need to cut 2×6 boards and attach a 4×4 post to the outside edge of these posts. Also, your preferred size will do here, but we will go with 2 inch-length ad two boards at 4-1/2 length for this case.
Additionally, cut two boards at 21 inches length to use them in the middle of the cleaning table. Due to the size, use the four #9 2-1/2″ decking screw hold or attach the 2×6 board to the 4×4 posts (up to 16 screws used here).
Step 6
here, we will cut our five 5/4″x6″ pressure-treated decking boards according to our desired length; in our case, we will cut it to 4-1/2 inches. Then attach the boards to the already installed 2×6 boards using the decking screws size #9 1-5/8″. Use many screws to ensure the boards attached are very strong.
Next, we will cut the four 2x2x42 inch pressure-treated mitered 1-End B1E boards to create a perimeter around the top of the table. A Baluster board is used as a barrier to prevent your sharp tools and other things you will use from falling off and causing an accident.
Cut two boards to your desired length but in this case, let us use 2 inches on each side. On the back left of the tabletop, you can use 1 42 inches, baluster board.
To create a gap on the back of the table, cut the baluster board into 4″ pieces and attach it to the right corner of the table back to allow easy washing of water, scales, and anything else that needs washing. Cut the 12″ piece of the baluster and attach it over the gap on the top to give the table a good shape.
Step 7
Now attach the cutting board and use four #9 1-5/8″ decking screws to fasten the cutting board. Until here, we have managed to create a fish cleaning table that can be stationed anywhere you want.
Building the DIY fish cleaning table is easy, but it requires one to follow all the steps closely to get the well-designed table.
Hi, my name’s Elena Coolidge. I’m a DIY enthusiast who loves building fun woodworking plans. These DIY plans are fun hobby projects for enthusiasts or even more advanced builders that want to build things like bunk beds, end tables or even a duck box!
