Walnut coffee table with glass table top

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  • atgcpaul
    Veteran Member
    • Aug 2003
    • 4055
    • Maryland
    • Grizzly 1023SLX

    Walnut coffee table with glass table top

    I've owned these 2 large rectangular glass table tops for almost 10 years but never found a base I liked for them. After some image searching this summer, I found what I was looking for. The challenge for me was to build the table so I could disassemble it and keep it flat for shipping--we are moving overseas and I want to take this with me to remind me of home.

    It's made from walnut milled from a storm tree from my neighbor's yard--same wood I've been making a lot of projects from. It started as 8/4 walnut. Construction was fast and the pieces are held together with domino floating tenons. One of the pieces are also secured with a threaded insert and bolt--no glue.

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    The two halves are identical--I created a plywood template I use to route the final legs to final dimension. As you can see, one of the legs comes apart so the table can be disaasembled.

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    Before glueup I also had to cut angled half-laps. A little nerve racking, but I got it done with my miter gauge and regular saw blade--lots of passes. Something I learned from someone else's mistake is to do the final sanding before cutting the half lap. My friend sanded afterwards and then had gaps at the half laps.


    I'm pleased with the final result and today I submitted it to the county fair for judging.

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    I'm also going to make one for my Uncle who has a new house but a bare living room.

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    Paul
  • capncarl
    Veteran Member
    • Jan 2007
    • 3564
    • Leesburg Georgia USA
    • SawStop CTS

    #2
    Another of your fine looking pieces? Will you be able to carry on with woodworking while overseas?
    I suppose the screw hole in the joints are hidden by the rubber glass stopper? Are there any screws in the half lap joints?

    Comment

    • atgcpaul
      Veteran Member
      • Aug 2003
      • 4055
      • Maryland
      • Grizzly 1023SLX

      #3
      Originally posted by capncarl
      I suppose the screw hole in the joints are hidden by the rubber glass stopper? Are there any screws in the half lap joints?
      No. The bolts only come up from the bottom for that one half of the base assembly. The top part of that base is glued to the legs. The other base assembly is completely glued and does not separate. The rubber feet for the base do not cover the holes on the bottom. The rubber feet are screwed on. However, when the table is fully assembled and with the 70lb glass sheet on top, I think it's impossible to tell that the base disassembles. The dominoes and the bolt draw everything tight and the joint feels flush. Although not pictured, there will be round vinyl discs placed between the glass top and the base.

      There is a single wood screw near the floor that holds the bottom half lap flush. The top half lap is tight enough that a screw isn't needed top keep the two pieces flush to each other.


      Originally posted by capncarl
      Another of your fine looking pieces? Will you be able to carry on with woodworking while overseas?
      Thank you. At least for this first 2 year tour I won't be doing any real woodworking at the level I'm doing now. We've heard the housing at this location will be close quarters, storage space is very limited, and the electricity will be 220V, 50amp. Fortunately my wife's job will pay to store all of our excess household stuff (up to a certain weight) so all of my big tools will be put away. I think I will be bringing all my hand tools and my cordless drills (because the chargers are dual voltage). I know people run their 110 tools off transformers but because they'll be run at 50Hz instead of 60Hz, shorter lifespans have been reported. So that leaves things like my routers, tracksaw, jigsaw, circular saw, and chop saw in limbo. I'll probably store those and buy myself a new all-in-one kit with new drills, cordless circular saw, and cordless jigsaw. Maybe even a cordless palm router. I love my current Makita drills but they are 11 years old now and I'm at the point where I either buy new batteries or start over with a whole new system.

      I've been trying to use up all this walnut lumber and have been doing OK, and I don't know that the storage company will store raw lumber (maybe there's a termite clause, who knows) so I might see if my parents will hold on to the biggest boards.

      This move is a career thing for my wife so who knows where our next tours will be. I will continue to work remotely for my current employer for as long as I can and we'll see where this woodworking thing goes.

      Paul

      Comment

      • gerti
        Veteran Member
        • Dec 2003
        • 2233
        • Minnetonka, MN, USA.
        • BT3100 "Frankensaw"

        #4
        Wow, nice work. Good luck on your move, sounds pretty exciting!

        Comment

        • Slik Geek
          Senior Member
          • Dec 2006
          • 669
          • Lake County, Illinois
          • Ryobi BT-3000

          #5
          BTW, I had to store my equipment for 1-1/2 years, although I didn't expect it to be that long. I had things at two different storage units. Both were "climate controlled", but one didn't really control it very well. Moisture and the resulting corrosion was a problem and the unit that wasn't well-controlled. You'll do much better if you crate up your machines and staple several moisture absorption packs inside before sealing the crate. And protect your steel work surfaces with at least wax or other corrosion preventatives!

          Comment


          • atgcpaul
            atgcpaul commented
            Editing a comment
            For better or for worse, we aren't allowed to pack anything on our own. The movers have to first verify it's working (or not) and then they disassemble and pack. I also need to hover over them to make sure nothing gets messed up. It's killing me.

            For the stuff we are taking with us, I hear I can pack stuff into clear plastic tubs and that is OK.
        • atgcpaul
          Veteran Member
          • Aug 2003
          • 4055
          • Maryland
          • Grizzly 1023SLX

          #6
          This coffee table traveled with us to two posts and I'm glad I was thoughtful about the breakdown design.

          The movers surveyed our stuff and the estimate has us overweight by nearly 2000lbs. My wife thinks they're wrong (I don't) so we've been selling off items as much as we can stomach. We've definitely shed up to 1000lbs at this point--mostly my stuff although I wasn't the one who went on the shopping spree.

          Well, today this table is tentatively sold to another family in our community. He's in my bike group as well as a fellow woodworker so it will be appreciated. More importantly we're 100lbs lighter, and if I feel inspired to build this table again (I've made 3), I have the plywood template in storage.

          Comment

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