Cool Coffee Table
Impress your friends by making this go-anywhere coffee table, complete with casters and a removable centerpiece.
Materials
The finished table measures 45 inches long, 30 inches wide, and 10-1/2 inches tall, not including caster blocks and casters (since that will make the height differ depending on the size you choose).
- 4x8 sheet of 3/4-inch cherry plywood; make sure that the grain of the wood flows lengthwise
- 2-foot-long cherry 2x4
- 4-foot-long cherry 1x4
- Handful of 1-1/4-inch flathead screws
- 32 (or so) finishing nails
- Sixteen 1-1/2-inch panhead screws
- 4 full casters
- #12, 1-inch screws (number of screws needed will depend on size of caster)
- Container for centerpiece: galvanized metal tub, several flowerpots, or large basket
- Cherry stain
- Water-repellent polyurethane
- Jigsaw
- Table saw (or see Step 1)
- Drill
- Corner clamps
- Carpenter's square
- Pencil
- Wood glue
- Rasp or file
- 150-grit sandpaper
- Clean rags
- Paintbrush
If you don't have a table saw, call lumberyards and home improvement centers to find one that will cut the wood to the sizes you request (you will, of course, have to buy the wood there, and they might charge a small, per-cut fee). Ask to take the scraps home to cut corner supports and caster block supports; they can be cut with a handsaw. Or have a store employee cut these support pieces for you and miter the edges of other pieces, as described above.
If you don't have access to a jigsaw, omit the hole for a centerpiece (Step 11) from the plan.
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