Build a Coffee Table
Make a coffee table at home. Easy tips to recycle a bedroom door into a coffee table with storage - build a coffee table
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Recycle a bedroom door into a coffee table with storage.
Decorate on a budget by turning a door into a coffee table. For an easy painted finish choose a primecote (pre-primed) door. For a natural-finish table, select a door in a timber you like. Doors vary is size so measure the actual thickness of the frame of the door before buying 19 x 27mm timber. If you can’t get 19 x 27mm timber, buy 19 x 42mm and trim it down. The finished table measures 820 x 820 x 500mm (see Diagram 1).
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Decorate on a budget by turning a door into a coffee table. For an easy painted finish choose a primecote (pre-primed) door. For a natural-finish table, select a door in a timber you like. Doors vary is size so measure the actual thickness of the frame of the door before buying 19 x 27mm timber. If you can’t get 19 x 27mm timber, buy 19 x 42mm and trim it down. The finished table measures 820 x 820 x 500mm (see Diagram 1).
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What you'll need
- Circular saw
- Utility knife
- Electric plane
- Combination square
- Measuring tape
- Clamps x 6
- Screwdriver
- Shifters x 2
- Drill and drill bit set
- Chisel 25mm
- Router
- Sawhorses x 2
- Builder’s square
- Sander
STEP 1
Cut the components
Cut the door using a circular saw guided by a straight edge. You will need two pieces 820 x 820mm, one piece 820 x 195mm and two pieces 392 x 195mm (see Diagram 2). Cut the 27 x 19mm pine braces into six pieces 780mm long. Plane one end to a chisel point to make skidding them inside the door easier.
STEP 2
Remove the honeycomb
Cut away the internal honeycomb of the door to a depth of about 25mm. Apply yellow glue to the edges of the braces and slide into the door. Put one piece in the centre and one at either edge to align with the screws of the leg plate. Repeat for the top and bottom of the table.
STEP 3
Fixing the leg plates
Attach leg plates to the base corners, aligning the plate so the mounting hole is 35mm from the edge of the table. Fill the open edges of both the top and bottom of the table by gluing and tapping in a piece of pine. Clamp with G-clamps.
TIP:If the piece is pushed in too far, partially screw in a small screw and use pliers to pull back up to position.
STEP 4
Add support cleats
Mark out the positions of the supporting cleats on the underside of the top and the mirrored position on the upper side of the base. Chisel out a half lap joint at the junctions of the long and short pieces. Glue and screw the pieces in position (see Diagram 3).
STEP 5
Attach the dividers
Glue and clamp the vertical dividers to the base. Cut notches out of the long piece to sit over the supporting piece. Check that it is square and allow time for the glue to dry before removing clamps. Position on the top of the table, glue and clamp in position.
STEP 6
Add the legs
Cut four 235mm long pieces of 70 x 70mm pine for the legs. Drill a 60mm diameter hole in one end of each leg. Use a router to remove the waste to sufficient depth to conceal the leg plate. Screw in the studs using two nuts working against each other. Remove nuts and attach legs to the table. Sand and paint.
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