Parsons Table. A Simple Plywood Table

One of the most frequent inspirations I have for designing and building a project is the presence of scraps of wood left over from a previous project. I use a lot of Baltic birch plywood, and had several roughly 2" wide strips of 12mm plywood left over from a cabinet project.  Those scraps were begging to be made into something useful. 

I appreciate the simple beauty of the classic parson's table. Creating one from wood usually requires careful mitering of pieces and challenging clamping for assembling. There is also an inherent weakness in simple miter jointing.  Strength requires the reinforcement of a splined joint, biscuits , or a locking miter cut done with a special router bit. All of that, to me, is too much work for left over scraps of wood.  A simpler approach was necessary. 

Simple

My plywood table.  Butt-jointed left over plywood scraps, this Parsons table is the end result of my simple approach. 

The strength of this table lies in the interlocking of pieces at each corner of the table.  The beauty lies in how beveling the corners balances each face and eliminates the distraction of the plywood's joint line.  It celebrates the plywood's edge. 

Beveled Outside Corners

This table is 18" square and 20" tall.  The 20" square glass top finishes it off. The green tint of the glass compliments the green color of the base. Four small silicon buttons keep the glass from sliding around. 

Sixteen strips of 12mm plywood were required to make this table.   Eight were 1.53" (38.8mm) wide.  The other eight were 2" (50.8mm) wide.   Glued together the legs and top frame are 2" x 2".  

Top Plane

Top Frame

Legs

I cut a 1/8" deep recess in the top for a piece of 1/8" thick glass to sit flush with the frame top. Before getting a piece cut to fit I realized I had a 20" x 20" piece of glass on hand. The table looked better with that glass sitting atop the base so it won that job. 

This table ended up being a great use for some plywood strips. The top corners have a void and the light colored filler is a 3D printed piece of wood filled PLA, Once I find (or buy some more of) the paint I used for the base I'll touch up the corners to match.   

Questions and comments are encouraged.

4D 

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.