Coffee Tables with a Glass Top

These table designs are the outcome from an iterative sketching session.  The construction details are simple and style independent.  I've made 3 different styles of this system with different legs and wood choices that all are put together the same way.  The variations were inspired by a former student's research project. Her hypothesis was that age, gender, socio-economic status, and a few other factors would influence style-based buying choices.

I call this one Chéri.

Cherry Legs. Wax Finish

Simple Construction

Cherry Top.  Oil Finish

The legs of Chéri were also an outcome of their own iterative sketching session. The height of the foot is the same as the gap between the glass top and the wood top. The upper curve (a French curve) if continued down would end at the inside corner of the legs. I've made copies of this design out of hard maple with a birds eye center strip and red oak with a curly oak center strip. Both have found their own homes.  This cherry version was the original prototype.  The finish on the legs was an experiment which I don't care for. Plywood templates of both the front and side curves of the legs make it rather easy to duplicate the legs.  The two that I sold had a nicer glass top with an ogee edge to compliment the French ogee edge profile on the wood top.  Having a transparent top encourages featuring more interesting wood grain on the shelf below. The shelf is also a good place for seasonal or thematic décor. 

This one is Savanna.  Where Zebras roam.

Zebra Legs

Simple Construction

Zebrawood Center

I used a photo of Zebras to help inspire the shape of the legs. Zebra wood is rather busy when used in wide panels, so the top is a center strip of Zebrawood with quarter sawn white oak strips on both sides that the legs appear to run through. 

The third design was simpler with square post legs and made from red oak. "Country" might best describe the style. Red oak with a cherry stain. My parents chose it out of the three designs and it was handed down to my oldest sister. She enjoys it. I don't have a photo of this one but below is a rendered image of what it looks like without a glass top.

All versions normally have silicon pads atop the legs which both keeps the glass from being bumped out of position, and covers the top of the bolts that keep the top and bottom sections of the legs attached to the wood top.  

So which design do you prefer?  I'd love to know and if you don't mind sharing your age and gender that data would add to the data the student collected.  

4D

Comments and questions welcomed and encourage.  

Versatile Coffee Table Design

This design I came up with many years ago.  It is a simple table design composed of two wood leg boards and a wood beam for the base, with a table top board to rest on them.  The identical base boards have an offset 3.0625" wide hole through them that the rectangular beam easily slides through.  The boards (legs) lean on the beam. An example of my pursuit for simplicity in designs. 

What I didn't realize until I first assembled the base was that there were several ways to assemble it. 

Opposing legs

By flipping one leg you get another stance. 

Parallel legs

Flip the base assembly upside down with 2.125" wide and 3" tall beam lower and you have two more looks. Beam high and beam low.

Beam Low

Flip one leg upside down relative to the other leg and with the beam at an angle it changes the height of the table. Tip the legs to the other side and you have another table height.

Beam angled. Table taller.

Beam angled.  Table shorter.

Version 2 changed the hole shape so I could turn the beam sideways.  Doing that you'll end up with 16 unique stances and 6 different table height options.  Image above shows the legs angled to result in the maximum height position. Tip the legs to the right to get the minimum height position with the beam oriented up. Twist the beam 90 degrees for an even lower table height.  

The key is the rectangular beam cross section and the hole that allows it to slide in standing up or laying down. With some drafting iteration the hole and beam size could be tweaked so the different heights of the top were steps between 14.5" and 18".  

The only weakness in this design is that the table top only rests on the base. There is no alignment strategy or interlock between parts that would allow picking up the table by the top alone. The loose top can be flipped over, and one side could have a game board inlaid into it.  Scrabble or Checkers/Chess or Chutes and Ladders maybe?  Make a recess and glue in an actual game board, or use different colors of wood and V-Carve inlay each

square of the board into the top. 

As the stance and table height of this table can be changed easily by re-arranging the 3 base parts it is a great example of 4th dimension design. A design that over time may look different and vary in usefulness. 

4D

Comments and questions encouraged and appreciated!