Craft Your Own Artisanal Wood Table
Fulfill an upper tier Maslow Need — Be able to say “Yes, I built this beautiful coffee table.” Your knack for solving problems and crafting functionality extends beyond software. You are multi-faceted.
Step 1: Get Piece of Wood
Get a nice-looking piece of wood to use as your main surface. There are a few places to get artisanal wood in the bay area. A bench-sized piece should cost $100-$200. Dining table size can go way up. If the live edge options (that neat organic tree look) are too pricey, get an old table, remove the legs, and rework the wood.
Building Resources — Between Dogpatch and Hunters Point, SF
Building Resources is a not for profit organization dedicated to providing our community with low cost high quality…www.buildingresources.org
Urban Ore — Berkeley
Want to know about Urban Ore's connection to AT&T Park's famed baseball glove sculpture? There are a few origin stories…urbanore.com
Artisan Burlwood — Berkeley
Designers and builders of fine redwood burl furniture including tables, beds, & sofas. Also, burl art carvings, slabs…www.artisanburlwood.com
Firewood Farms — Half-Moon Bay
Suppling the Bay Area with large slabs and reclaimed lumber. Our large slabs make great for bartop, giant tables…www.firewoodfarms.com
Heritage Salvage — Petaluma, if you fancy a drive to wine country
Reclaimed building materials, wood and flooring for use in commercial and residential projects. Custom design and build…heritagesalvage.com
Online Wood Slab Sellers — Don’t even leave the house. Can filter by price.
https://www.thelumbershack.com/
Optional Step: Make Wood Better
This step is as long or short as you want.
You may have to get rid of bark (use a chisel).
You may sand it. Use a power hand sanders, starting with 40, 80, 120, 320 grit sandpaper. The wood will be pretty smooth after 320, but you can go for ultra smooth with 500 and then 1000 grit.
You may finish the wood surface with a sealant (this will darken the wood), wax, oil, etc. There are many techniques on when to apply and how long to wait between coats.
http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/understanding-oil-wax-finishes/
2. Get Some Table Legs
This part is surprisingly easy. There are many hipster-looking DIY table leg kits. You literally just get a set of clamps, clamp your wood, and the table is complete. #wow
The Floyd Table Leg
See? Literally clamps. But look how stylish!
The bench designed for city living. The Floyd Bench ships to your door for free, it's simple to assemble and will last…floyddetroit.com
SNAP Assembly System
These sort of look like giant paper clips. They are more flexible and work for smaller items, and you can buy them in 2s and 3s.
SNAP is an assembly system that will enable you to design your space and change it whenever you want. You can transform…www.be-elastic.com
TipToe
Exactly like Floyd, but for our European friends.
Welcome to the TIPTOE online design shop. Dining tables, desks, coffee tables. They are all yours. Psst... we have…tiptoe.fr
Legs That Require Drilling
Slightly more complicated. Requires a power drill and screws, but are much cheaper than the pre-made clamp legs.
Hairpin Legs
These thin metal legs are ones that will look hip with your wood slab. They are also super cheap at $6-$12 each leg.
Custom metal fabrication shop hand-crafting furniture & architectural products in the USA. Shop for a variety of DIY…www.hairpinlegs.com
UX4 Brackets
Once a Kickstarter, these are custom built for 2x4s. And angles.
Each bracket measures 6 in x 3.75 in x 2.75 in -Includes 4 steel, powder coated (or raw steel) brackets, the hardware…swenyo.com
3. Put Legs on Wood
Follow whatever directions your legs came with.
YOU NOW HAVE A MASLOW-FULFILLING HAND-CRAFTED TABLE.
Pro-tips: Use coasters. Re-oil once in a while.
Extreme Challenge Variant!
And if you’re *really* sick, you BYO chrome hatchets and turn them into table legs for the silver woodsman look.
