# How did they make this Coffee Table??



## SMG (Jun 8, 2021)

Went furniture shopping with my wife yesterday and saw this coffee table. I was attracted to it and thought it was fairly simple to construct. It looked like bunch of plywood squares joined together. From the top you can see the lines where the squares touch and they're clearly separate pieces. 

Then I looked underneath and its one continuous surface without any joining lines. The 3rd photo is of the underside. There is no frame and each leg is attached with large screws. 

I couldn't figure out how exactly the top is made. Interesting to hear your opinion 😀

Thanks.


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## Rick Christopherson (Jun 27, 2016)

veneer


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

Rick Christopherson said:


> veneer


CNC machined the flat surface, veneer for the wood grain.

They might have laid the veneer before the machining.


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

I agree, veneer. Looks like they laid out the squares and then cut from the bottom with a V-bit.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

It's just an illusion of being separate pieces. It's like you took a sheet of plywood, cut holes in the middle and then applied squares of veneer to the face side. I would even wager the veneer was made up in whole sheets with that pattern before it was applied to the top.


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## Dave McCann (Jun 21, 2020)

I don't know, sure looks like some poor fitting joints in places. With some chipping along the end grain edges.


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## Rick Christopherson (Jun 27, 2016)

I need to modify that a little bit. After looking closer at the underside picture, it isn't just a veneer like we normally think off, but a fairly thick 2-part veneer. The veneer and its sub-substrate is thick enough to be unsupported for a small amount around the holes.

The main substrate was CNC routed from below, and then the upper veneer was applied. The upper veneer may have been laid down as a single sheet, but at one point it was individual squares. Hmmm, the top wood could have been laid down as squares, and then a die was used to punch out the star shapes in the corners. But that is a guess.

*Edit:* Never mind that last part. They were not die cut.


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## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

Just out of curiosity what's the asking price of such a monstrosity? ..err..I mean such a fine piece of post modern furniture?
Not exactly my cup of tea, but then again I'm a coffee drinker.. It's gotta be a tea table. No self respecting coffee drinker would call it a coffee table.. lol


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## SMG (Jun 8, 2021)

allpurpose said:


> Just out of curiosity what's the asking price of such a monstrosity? ..err..I mean such a fine piece of post modern furniture?
> Not exactly my cup of tea, but then again I'm a coffee drinker.. It's gotta be a tea table. No self respecting coffee drinker would call it a coffee table.. lol


LOL - it was around $700, at least I was sitting down when I saw the tag. My wife kinda liked it so I started thinking about giving it a shot myself. I'm a tea drinker too


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## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

I like what Steve said: a sheet of plywood (or laminated hardwood) be the "one piece base"; and maybe CNC cut the holes ?
then, the veneer pieces were individually cut and carefully glued to the plywood to accentuate the alternating grain patterns and make it "appear" to be individual solid pieces glued together ??


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## Bob Bengal (Jan 2, 2021)

Instead of trying to use the same methods to make an exact copy, decide what about the table do you like and figure out a design that will work with the methods available to you.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Wouldn't surprise me if it was pressed out of plastic...


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

Rebelwork said:


> Wouldn't surprise me if it was pressed out of plastic...


From the pic he posted, the base material looks like Baltic Birch.

Mass manufactured, no way they applied the veneer after, all of the machining would have been done after the veneer was on.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Are you 100% sure? Because I see a lot guessing here...

If a manufacturer wants you to think it's wood, they tend to take a few steps to make it look like wood...


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

Rebelwork said:


> Are you 100% sure? Because I see a lot guessing here...
> 
> If a manufacturer wants you to think it's wood, they tend to take a few steps to make it look like wood...


What do you think? If it's not BB they went to a lot of effort to make it look like BB.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

I'm simply guessing like you are, but I wouldn't put it past maufactures. So unless somebody wants to tear it apart its all just guesses.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

With the closer picture in post 6 I'm leaning toward 1/4" oak plywood pieces being applied to a sheet of birch plywood. The quality of the veneer isn't what it should be for a table top. If it was done that way I think over the long term the top is destine to bow. The top should have had some kind of support anyway and with a different material laminated to one side I don't think it will last long. Good way for a shop to get rid of small scraps of plywood though. That is if they don't come back.


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## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

Steve - I'm a thinking that the individual pieces are purposely manipulated to "draw the eye" to them and the mind will focus on the top and not how it "could have" been made.
like a bank robber having a bandaid on his face - the victims will only know about the bandaid and not if the robber had a mustache, beard, or color of the hair or eyes - they can only remember the bandaid because it is out place. (or so the story goes). any way you want to color, I think it is a work of art - and that's how I see it.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> With the closer picture in post 6 I'm leaning toward 1/4" oak plywood pieces being applied to a sheet of birch plywood. The quality of the veneer isn't what it should be for a table top. If it was done that way I think over the long term the top is destine to bow. The top should have had some kind of support anyway and with a different material laminated to one side I don't think it will last long. Good way for a shop to get rid of small scraps of plywood though. That is if they don't come back.


"The quality of the veneer isn't what it should be for a table top".

That could be done on purpose...

This is not the first time a manufactured product has been put on a woodworking forum only to pick it apart with manufacturing flaws. Sometimes it's by design...


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Rebelwork said:


> "The quality of the veneer isn't what it should be for a table top".
> 
> That could be done on purpose...
> 
> This is not the first time a manufactured product has been put on a woodworking forum only to pick it apart with manufacturing flaws. Sometimes it's by design...


What I mean is toward the middle to the right there is a lump running across one section. Then at the bottom left there is an indentation running across another section. The style doesn't warrant being distressed but there is a couple pretty distinct scratches in it. When I look at the table I see a retro look to it and in that time period a new table top would have had to be almost perfect.


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## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

Rebelwork said:


> Wouldn't surprise me if it was pressed out of plastic...


One thing would be a good guess..if it's mass produced I wouldn't be too shocked if it were done with an embossing roller much in the same way a lot of mass produced wood items are done . A few tons pressing down? An embosser would make just about anything look like whatever pattern is on the rollers..
Idk.. Seems like a lot of upfront expense for the embossing roller though. The die making process ain't cheap for that..


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

We are all just doing our best to describe the materials used on the table.. it's like many things that have come across woodworking forums. Take a best guess and move on. To have a lil discussion is great, to be told it's "not" isn't kool...


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

The problem I have been having with the photos are trying to explain the sharp points in the holes on the top, as well as the seams between the different top "panels." I know that CNC machines can cut very fine details, but I wonder whether it is possible to achieve those fine points and ultra-thin seams with a fine point CNC bit. I imagine that you would be changing a lot of CNC bits from wear. 

My guess is that the top panels are separate pieces. Viewed from the top, the corner points of the holes are very sharp and the seams between panels lead me to believe that they are separately glued to an underlying plywood base. It would be simple to make the top panels with rounded corners. 

The holes in the underlying base are probably made with a CNC. My hunch is that individual panels are glued onto the CNC'd base, using some kind of jig to align them with the holes in the base. 

That's a guess.


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## losduarte (Nov 17, 2019)

SMG said:


> Went furniture shopping with my wife yesterday and saw this coffee table. I was attracted to it and thought it was fairly simple to construct. It looked like bunch of plywood squares joined together. From the top you can see the lines where the squares touch and they're clearly separate pieces.
> 
> Then I looked underneath and its one continuous surface without any joining lines. The 3rd photo is of the underside. There is no frame and each leg is attached with large screws.
> 
> ...


This looks like a challenging and enjoyable project to make with dowels, mortise, or biscuits. This table design is the only appropriate time my limited mind can see for using the hand held biscuit jointer. 




I can hear the ghost of Christmas past in Norm Abrams' voice cursing me for mocking Norm's nails and biscuit jointer.




SMG said:


> Went furniture shopping with my wife yesterday and saw this coffee table. I was attracted to it and thought it was fairly simple to construct. It looked like bunch of plywood squares joined together. From the top you can see the lines where the squares touch and they're clearly separate pieces.
> 
> Then I looked underneath and its one continuous surface without any joining lines. The 3rd photo is of the underside. There is no frame and each leg is attached with large screws.
> 
> ...


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