How To: Red Cedar Steam Punk Coffee Table

Hey everyone! Hope you're all having an outstanding week/day! Sorry I've taken so long to post this How-To but I've been very busy this last week. But anyways, I'm selling my current coffee table to a good friend so I decided rather than buying another coffee table I'll just build my own! I've seen similar ideas online and decided I'd try to make one with my own design preferences in mind. Unlike my other projects this one wasn't cheap, ended up spending over $200 on piping, wood, tools, and other supplies. BUT I'm okay with that because it's way more satisfying to own a table I made myself. This project changed about 5 different times during the process of making it but after a lot of brainstorming and at least 10 trips to 4 different home improvement stores I can say I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Here's how I did it.
Supplies listed below.

Supplies/Tools Needed
Circular Saw
Belt Sander (80 and 120 grit sandpaper)
Orbital Sander (150 grit sandpaper)
Impact Drill (optional but recommended)
Screwdriver
Hand Plane
T-Clamps x 2
Bar Clamps x 2 (optional but recommended)
Tape Measure
Wood Glue
Red Cedar Board 2 ft x 4 ft (you'll want three of these)
1 inch Black Iron Pipes and Fittings (see step five for specifications)
Danish Oil
Disposable Foam Brush
Lubricant
NIOSH approved respirator


READ ALL DIRECTIONS BEFORE STARTING EACH STEP

Step One

Most coffee tables are usually around 4 ft long by 2 ft wide so that's what I decided I'd go with. I had Home Depot cut down an 8 ft by 2 ft board of red cedar for me into two 4 ft long boards. Then later I had to go back and have them cut down another one for the bottom board. I glued the first two boards together using T-Clamps and let it cure for a few hours.

Step Two
I love Home Depot and all but they don't always get their cuts right. The boards weren't cut exactly in half so I had to cut the excess off using a circular saw.

Yeahhhh...That's not gonna work.

Not the best way to use purple-heart but whatever gets the job done.

Step Three
The surface came out uneven so I had to go back to Home Depot and buy a hand plane to plane it down. After I finally got it somewhat more level I finished the job using a belt sander with 80 and 120 grit sandpaper, then used my orbital sander to make it even more smooth using 150 grit.

Never used one of these before so I had to figure it out how on the spot. 

I used bar clamps and teak blocks to hold the top in place.
There are definitely better ways to do this..

Could have done a better job planing but the orbital sander
 definitely helped with damage control.

Step Four
I used five coats of Danish Oil to stain the table top and the bottom board. I gave it 30 minutes in between coats.

Note: Make sure you're working in a well ventilated area for this step. A NIOSH approved respirator is also recommended.

Table top stained and sealed.

Bottom board stained and sealed.

Step Five
Alright so after a lot of "visits" to the return department of Home Depot I finally found an arrangement I liked. I used all the following for my piping and fittings:

1. 8 - 1 inch Black Iron Flanges
2. 8 - 1 inch Black Iron Tees
3. 4 - 1 x 3 inch Black Iron Nipples
4. 4 - 1 x 3.5 inch Black Iron Nipples
5. 4 - 1 inch Black Iron Couplers
6. 4 - 1 x 8 inch Black Iron Pipes
7. 8 - 1 x 12 inch Black Iron Pipes (accidentally bought nine :/...)
8. 8 - 3/4 inch Screws
9. Lubricant

Follow the captions for assembly instructions.

Note: The foot pads are optional, but if your coffee table isn't going to be on a rug or carpet I would highly recommend it unless your like black scratched up floors.

Note 2: I also highly recommend you use lubricant otherwise your pipes and fittings may get stuck and if that happens it can be really hard to unscrew them. Can confirm, happened to me.

Here's the layout.

Top >>> Bottom:
Tee, 3.5 inch nipple, flange.
This is the foot.

Top >>> Bottom:
Flange, 3 inch nipple, tee, 8 inch pipe.
Fastened this to the tee of my foot and repeated it for the rest of my legs. 

Fastened my 12 inch pipes together using the four couplers.
These are the trusses.

Added the remaining two 12 inch pipes between the legs on each end,
 and fastened the trusses to the legs as pictured. 

Xena the snooty piping specialist isn't impressed by my work. 

Step Six

Now that the top and legs are done all that's left to do is secure them together. I did this using 3/4 inch wood screws (I can't remember if this is correct and I lost the bags but it was somewhere in this ballpark area).

Note: I didn't screw in the bottom because I don't plan on moving my coffee table around too much so I don't really need to but if you want to you can easily do it by using U-Brackets on the 12 in pipes.

Step Seven
And here's the finished product with the table centerpiece I made in my last post!

Hope you enjoyed my "How To" on how to make this cool coffee table! Feel free to share this link with any of your other friends you think may be interested! Also don't forget to like, share, and follow me on social media! And don't be afraid to share what you made either! I like to see what kind of cool stuff other people come up with! And if you have any questions, concerns, or remarks you're more than welcome to leave a comment in the comment tab or my email if you want to do so more personally!

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