Thursday, May 21, 2020

Making an outdoor coffee table out of pallet wood and an old planter base











Tools and materials I propose:


I made this coffee table out of an old metal planter base, some pallet wood and a piece of 9mm plywood. It's kind of semi rustic and I think it is ideal for having it outdoors on your garden or balcony.

I begun by cutting some excess metal from the planter base using the angle grinder. I then cut four square pieces of steel. These would help me screw the table top on to the base. 

I started removing the paint with a sanding disc. But then I decided to use paint remover. I applied the remover and let it sit for a while. Then I scrapped the paint off with wire brushes. 

At this point I stick welded the four square pieces on the base. I welded two points at first and then I finished the seam. I welded the pieces from both bottom and top sides. 

I cleaned the welds with a sanding disc and then I drilled the holes for the screws. 

Finally I painted the piece black with two coats of oil paint. 

Now for the woodworking part. First I drew a circle on a piece of plywood. I drilled the centre and then drew another circle on it’s back. 

I used the router with a straight bit and circle cutting jig. I cut the plywood circle. 

Then I used the table saw to cut my pallet wood to size. I then glued and nailed the wood on to the plywood. I used the bandsaw and a jigsaw to cut the excess pallet wood off. 

I used the circle cutting jig again to to remove some more pallet wood. Then I trimmed everything flush with a flush trim bit. I did that because my bits were sorter than needed to do the job at once. 

I cut some thin pieces of spruce on the table saw to cover the end grain. Then using glue and flat headed nails I bended the pieces to place.  To avoid splitting the wood, try not to add the nails in a straight line. To the points were two pieces connected I tried to place the nail in the middle. This way the nail’s head forced the wood in place. Just to be sure I clamped the piece with a band clamp and let it sit over night. 

I then used a block plane to plane the edge band flush.

I then sanded the piece. I tried to leave as much pallet look as possible. This wasn’t supposed to be super clean.

Finally I applied four coats of clear water based varnish and then screwed the top on the base. 

I am really happy with the way it came out. I think we are gonna enjoy this table on summer. But that was it. See you soon with a new project video. 


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