coffee tables

 

 Design.

One of my pet hates is to see drink marks on wooden furniture, not only does it spoil the appearance of the piece, they are also very difficult to remove, as a result I decided to make some coffee tables with polished stone tops to match the hearth on the fire place.

We had some Oak bookcases so the choice of timber for the framing was obvious. The design needed to be as simple as possible and I wanted to avoid having shelves under the top as they tend to become dumping grounds.

Size was not a major issue as the room where the tables were going to be was large. I checked suggested dimensions in Collins woodworking manual and got suggested heights and proportions.

A simple square frame with ply insert to carry the stone, mounted on some chunky legs the two outer faces of the legs being faced with over long quarter sawn oak to give a retaining support for the stone.

All screws were to be counter bored and plugged with matching oak dowels and the frame finished in oil, then waxed.

 

 

 

 

Construction.

I obtained the stone before I started on the wooden frame as the dimensions were critical. The supporting frame was made and the ply base installed.

The inner part of the legs was made from straight grained Swiss oak, with a rebate to carry the top frame, the two pieces of quarter sawn oak were attached to the outer edges of the legs, securing the frame and giving an upstand not only to retain the piece of stone but also to protect the corners from damage.

The components were all sanded before final assembly, remembering to counter bore all the screws. All fixings were covered with oak plugs which were sanded flush prior to an oil and wax finish on all the timber.

Note the grain particularly on the leg to the right, displaying characteristic medullary rays seen in quarter sawn oak.

Although not a particularly clear image the lower picture shows one of the original tables after 5 years of continuous use by the family, not a drink mark in sight.