Thursday, November 13, 2008

Episcopalian Coffee Table

This project was a housewarming gift for my sister who needed a slim table for her living room. Its made out of two mahogany single pane office windows reclaimed from a former Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh and four old mahogany bed posts. I used two windows to create a space to store books and magazines. All the materials for this project were acquired for under $40 at Construction Junction in Pittsburgh, one of the most innovative material re-use organizations in the country. Fortunately, I had use of the Civil Engineering wood shop at school which allowed me to get a little more creative with this table. First, I had to clean up the windows by removing the old hinges and locks. I also needed to reinforce the molding holding the panes to the window frame with finish brads and wood glue. I used a dado blade on the table saw to cut slots in the bed posts for the window frames to sit in and a miter saw to cut down the legs and to crown the posts. I used a finish brad gun and wood glue to connect the windows to the legs and stainable wood filler to fill the joints and dark stain on the joints. For the most part, I left the table unfinished because the wear on the bedposts and windows gave it great character.

TOTAL COST: $45

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