Coffee table

[Derek Cohen]

It's been a long time since I made a coffee table. This one is for my son, who recently moved to Sydney. New city, new job. He has found a great apartment, and has begun to request furniture, first a coffee table to replace an Ikea piece his girlfriend purchased. I think that he is playing with fire! No, she's great :)


It's a long weekend in a fortnight, and Lynndy and I plan to visit. (We have family in Sydney, and old friends from when we lived there 30 years ago). My idea was to build a coffee table and take it on the plane as a sort of surprise (he knows I am building it, but will not expect it this way). Fun, eh? :)


So, I needed a knock-down design. And a design along the lines of Danish Modern, which would fit in nicely in his home.


I was taken with a piece by a Japanese maker, Ishitani. He has some great builds on YouTube which are worth looking up. Inspiration came from this design of his ...


https://s19.postimg.cc/bd94nzr2b/ISHITANI-1.jpg


The top lifts off ...


https://s19.postimg.cc/wmwqyuf2r/ISHITANI-2.jpg


... and the legs come apart ...


https://s19.postimg.cc/7gvss0lib/ISHITANI-3.jpg


The coffee table required two weekends to complete. That's a nice change from the pieces I've been building. The wood is Hard Maple. I've grown to like this stuff.


I made a few changes to the design. Firstly, it is a little slimmer and larger (I think): 38" long x 28" wide and 16 1/2" high. Plus a few modifications.


Here's the table ...


https://s19.postimg.cc/r4abz8vxv/1a.jpg


To take this shot I had to crawl on the carpet. Much of the underside is unlikely to be seen, even at a distance.


https://s19.postimg.cc/c8bsrnctf/2a.jpg


Here's what it looks like underneath. Where Ishitani left his rails straight, I've added a curve (you know me and curves) ..


https://s19.postimg.cc/ub4vivvtf/4a.jpg


The legs come off for packing flat ...


https://s19.postimg.cc/8opv1vcoj/5a.jpg


Join at the centre ...


https://s19.postimg.cc/ecw5spz0j/6a.jpg


Ishitani connected breadboard ends with a dovetailed spline. I have used a true drawbored breadboard construction. The weather in Sydney changes from dry cold in Winter to high humidity in summer. I did not think that a dovetail would cope with this.


https://s19.postimg.cc/qlz21pnar/11a.jpg

[Derek Cohen]

Gotta show a tool - these were made with a Veritas Jack Rabbet (to balance the recent post of a power router for the mortices) ...


https://s19.postimg.cc/m02xtcemb/5a.jpg


https://s19.postimg.cc/omykrzz6r/9a.jpg


Another change is the legs are connected with hex bolts. I really could not envisage the coffee table living a life with a loose top ..


https://s19.postimg.cc/4fl4zom9v/8a.jpg


https://s19.postimg.cc/pp8raiff7/7a.jpg


This was a very straightforward build. The only slight challenge was the legs - turning them precisely, and then morticing for the rails.


The mortices were first cut in the blanks ..


https://s19.postimg.cc/o6s0q9ggz/22a.jpg


.. and then turned ..


https://s19.postimg.cc/rq3w92dsz/Leg1a.jpg


That's Peter Galpert's caliper on the lathe bed. I really recommend it for sizing spindles.


The tenons were fitted into the mortice ...


https://s19.postimg.cc/r0l3woxtv/Leg2a.jpg


... and marked out:


https://s19.postimg.cc/lp67bzjgz/Leg3a.jpg


.. before being rebated (is that the correct term here?) for the shoulder ...


https://s19.postimg.cc/9ajfbo7eb/leg4-1a.jpg


And that was it. Finish was a coat of Livos Universal Wood Oil to add a little amber to the very light maple. Then 5 coats of General Finishes water based poly was rubbed on for durability. This adds a little shine. Looks great.


Can't wait to see Jamie's face! :)


Regards from Perth


Derek

[Brian Holcombe]

Beautiful work! I like the breadboard ends, dovetailed ends can be a bit delicate.

Your son knows when to call in the big guns and impress his girlfriend, he’s a smart one, I’m sure! And it sure is nice to see a piece of IKEA getting replaced with a handmade item.

[George Bokros]

Beautiful. The knock down is ingenious.

[Tony Wilkins]

Great work and pleasure to come along on the build as always.

[Jim Koepke]

Nice looking coffee table.

Maybe the Ikea table can be set on the curb with a "FREE" sign on top.

jtk

[David Eisenhauer]

Nice work as always Derek and thanks for sharing. For whatever reason, in general, I have always preferred lighter colored wood furniture. Looks like a keeper.

[Mark Rainey]

Very nice table Derek...unique...and great to transport.

[Wojciech Tryc]

beautiful and stylish, definitely a keeper.

[William Fretwell]

I do think Ishitani nailed it. His deeper rails and thicker top both provide far more leg support for all those years of abuse. His loose top would not be a problem. My shaker cherry coffee table has had a loose top for 20+ years!

[Phil Mueller]

Nicely done, Derek. Love the curl in the legs...nice design feature.

[Matthew Hartlin]

Great work, I'm a big fan of Ishitani's work and youtube videos.

Interestingly Richard at The English Woodworker makes a very similar style flat pack design in his video series https://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/new-series-the-side-table-bridle-guides/ which is worth checking out for a 'build-along' series.

[Prashun Patel]

Perfect. I love the design. Clever construction. I love the visual effect of the apron.

[Jeff Ranck]

Great work. Add another to the WWDD (what would Derek do) category!

[Ron Brese]

Ishitani's youthful exuberance is fun to watch. His dog seems to have quite the personality.

Ron

[Brian Holcombe]

I do think Ishitani nailed it. His deeper rails and thicker top both provide far more leg support for all those years of abuse. His loose top would not be a problem. My shaker cherry coffee table has had a loose top for 20+ years!

I like the heft of his version of it as well.

[michael langman]

That's a really nice coffee table Derek. Ishitani's work is of another dimension in his craftsmanship and design. Your son is going to be pleasantly surprised for sure.

[Luke Dupont]

Incredible design.

Being a young person who moves around a lot, I've never made typical furniture because I know that it will be difficult to take with me when I move. But, I love the idea of high quality, hand made furniture that can be knocked down and transported -- this is something I haven't attempted before, but you inspire me to give it a try some time. I absolutely love this design, and the workmanship is incredible -- much cleaner than I think I could manage.

[Bill McDermott]

Luke, I think plywood and milk crates are fantastic furniture for a young man on the move - worked well for me. Glad you are going to up the game a bit. While thinking it over, look at the connectors that Lee Valley is offering under the name "playwood". Those make flat-packing your furniture a very real possibility.

When the kids were small, I made a child sized table and chairs from plywood pieces that fit together with stretchers in sockets pressing out while inflexible cord (spectra) pulls it all together. I used turnbuckles to make it tight. It all packs flat and is in the attic, waiting for the next generation. Worked great.

Chicagoland has an outdoor music venue that encourages lawn parties with panache (summer home of the CSO). Kits are pulled in on wagons. Upscale work like Derek's table (with candles and stemware) would be well appreciated. A secondary use as field furniture might allow you to plan for some longer term application of a piece or two - when your roots get planted.

[John Kananis]

Another beautiful build, thanks for sharing, Derek.

[Steven Mikes]

Fantastic work as usual Derek! For those of us who do not have a lathe and are unlikely to ever acquire one, do you think it would still work without round legs? Perhaps hexagonal or octagonal?

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Steven

Octagonal or rounded/smoothed legs should work fine. These are just preferences in the way we work, and preferences for the eventual aesthetic. The central design feature here was the ability to break down the coffee table for ease of transportation.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Vincent Tai]

Very nice Derek! simple and tasteful. I hope your son's apartment gets some good sunlight, those legs will "ripple" nicely if bathed in sunlight.

[lowell holmes]

Show off:)