Coffee Table

Of course, I'm far from the first person to make their own furniture for a new home, and the internet and social media are full of examples of cool DIY coffee tables made from all kinds of new and upcycled materials and objects - everything from the basic to the downright wacky! Making a basic table is as simple as screwing four posts to some kind of flat board. Source the parts from a local DIY store and you have a cheap table in less than a day. Boring!

Screwing pre-made legs to a board is hardly my idea of fun, nor is it really making your own table at all! I wanted something nice that was built to last - a centrepiece for my living room that I could use for years to come. I'm no stranger to woodwork and I had time on my hands, so I set about designing a proper wooden coffee table in Fusion 360.

I opted for a contemporary design constructed from solid oak, featuring a glass-centred top and slatted shelf below. To make the table easier to transport, I challenged myself to make the whole thing flat-pack so it could be disassembled easily with hand tools.

Since the geometry of the table is quite simple, it was a great opportunity to practise making a fully parametric design, where all the important dimensions can be changed with a couple of clicks and the entire design updates automatically. This wasn't just an exercise though: by incorporating this flexibility, I was able to design the table before buying the materials, then tweak the dimensions afterwards based on what I was actually able to find. Wood isn't necessarily available in the exact thickness required, and I had limited tools to cut it down with, so this saved both time and wasted material. It also meant I could save money by buying an off-the-peg glass shelf rather than getting a bespoke piece cut to size.

A small amount of clearance was left around the glass to account for wood movement - an important consideration, or the wood might expand and compress the glass across its width, potentially shattering it. To further protect the glass and stop it from sliding about, sticky-backed strips cut from a silicone draft excluder were fixed into the rebates on the inside edges of the tabletop.

The knock-down joints were achieved using some M8 threaded inserts that, according to the packet, simply tap into a 10mm hole in the top of each leg with a hammer.* By carefully lining up the aprons (joinery speak for the pieces between the legs under the table top) and fixing a diagonal piece into each corner with a hole for a socket bolt, this allows the legs to be tightened against the ends of the aprons. This arrangement keeps the whole assembly pretty rigid whilst still allowing it to be easily disassembled with an allen key. The shelf simply sits on some 8mm dowels halfway up the legs that interface with corresponding notches underneath the shelf to keep it in place.

* I think the manufacturer should correct that description and replace 'tap' with 'almighty whack'. I did get them in eventually though!

The build process took about 10 days, a lot of which was taken up by planing the various components to size. I was particularly pleased with my makeshift mitre sanding jig (pictured above) which resulted in almost perfect 45-degree mitres (I saved the sawdust to fill in any slight gaps with... shhhh!). The table was sanded smooth and finished with two coats of satin varnish.

Excluding glue and varnish, the materials for the table cost me just shy of £80 in total - not bad considering a hardwood table from a shop can easily set you back a few hundred. Needless to say, I'm incredibly happy with the fruits of my labour. For the price of a fairly ordinary flat-pack table, I was able to make a piece of solid hardwood furniture that looks decidedly out-of-place next to my hand-me-down IKEA bookshelves! I suppose that's a project for another day...