# My Hillbilly coffee table plan.



## emmajeanwalker (Jul 17, 2012)

Please give me any ideas about making this. It's going to be rough, cracked board ends, nail holes, bent nails pounded flush on the surface of the table, skidloader fork marks... but at the same time it's going to be very square, flush joints, sturdy and very well stained and urethaned.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

I'm always getting a connection error with your pics. So can't see the pics clear enough. 
So what is it that you want?


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Lately I have been reclaiming some of the lumber from a few pallets. First thing I did was buy a metal detector. I run into a lot of boards where the nails have been sawed off and new boards nailed on. Sometimes the nails are hard to see but the metal detector works pretty good. I got mine from Harbor Freight.


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## emmajeanwalker (Jul 17, 2012)

Dominick said:


> I'm always getting a connection error with your pics. So can't see the pics clear enough.
> So what is it that you want?


I want helpful tips, suggestions and ideas... I also want a huge bandsaw to use as my own little logging mill.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

emmajeanwalker said:


> I want helpful tips, suggestions and ideas... I also want a huge bandsaw to use as my own little logging mill.


Do you like rustic, modern or contemporary?
Probably not contemporary lol. But you never know.
Can't help with the band saw.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Dominik,

The original post had a photobucket jpg link, which it seems would not open in your browser. One of the reasons the moderators like to have the files attached and not linked.









Sounds like Emma wants this "rough" as in nail marks, etc. I am not sure when "rough" become rustic.

This is just a coffee table. I think nailing the posts to the rails would fit in with the "rough" design. I am not sure what else Emma needs to complete this, other than the pallets, then start cutting and nailing.


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## emmajeanwalker (Jul 17, 2012)

Dominick said:


> Do you like rustic, modern or contemporary?
> Probably not contemporary lol. But you never know.
> Can't help with the band saw.


Rustic


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## wh666 (Jun 15, 2012)

emmajeanwalker said:


> Please give me any ideas about making this. It's going to be rough, cracked board ends, nail holes, bent nails pounded flush on the surface of the table, skidloader fork marks... but at the same time it's going to be very square, flush joints, sturdy and very well stained and urethaned.


First off, think of your measurements. If you don't have a similar coffee table, look at shops online, gauge a rough height, get your tape measure out and figure out the exact length, height, width, etc.

When you come to cutting, if you do have a power saw, I find it easier to cut all matching lengths at once, so all for legs at once, etc. Then you get the exact same lengths making it easier to keep square when you clamp and glue together.

There is a difference between dog eared and rustic. Remove all nails, plane, sand and make it smooth. You can always leave grains showing that you might otherwise hide to make it look more rustic. A good stain will really help the old feel of the piece.

Consider your joints beforehand. The beams between your four legs, do you have any idea of what join you might use? Here if I was doing a contemporary job, I would go for mortise and tenon joints halfway through the depth or mitre joints. 

However it might help add to the rustic-ness if on some of your joints you did mortise and tenon all the way through. If it were me, I would do wedged mortise and tenon where the top of the legs meet the table-top. At the end, planed smooth and sanded flush with the table top. This picture isnn't too great, but you can see the leg joints on the table surface, imagine this a little bigger/rusticy, amongst knotted wood:









Where the longest widths/lengths (as you look at your pic, left to right) go through the leg, I would vary this with a mortise and tenon tusk joint. Here is another example I found, they are common on rustic benches and look great! Very easy to do as well, easier then your normal mortise and tenon joint:
















From front to back if you did the above joints (four of them) on the small lengths between the table lengths, you could dowel it, which would give a little strength, straddle the tenon going through and no-one would know it was there.







emmajeanwalker said:


>


Hahaha good to know about your "taste". Rough in the middle, what does that mean?  :blink:







MT Stringer said:


> Lately I have been reclaiming some of the lumber from a few pallets. First thing I did was buy a metal detector. I run into a lot of boards where the nails have been sawed off and new boards nailed on. Sometimes the nails are hard to see but the metal detector works pretty good. I got mine from Harbor Freight.


Good advice here! Metal detectors are a great idea for locating buried nails.


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## ftk (May 9, 2012)

wh666 said:


> Hahaha good to know about your "taste". Rough in the middle, what does that mean?  :blink:


beer gut?


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

If it were me I would work off of pictures and make it to your liking. No need for plans. 
Remember we're the woodworkers. 
The plans have to start by someone.....so why not you. 
I don't build with plans. It's to confusing. 
Also the things I build aren't square or strait.


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## ccrow (Jan 14, 2010)

"Rough in the middle"... I'm both intrigued and scared to find out what that means.

My bubble's in the middle, but that just means I'm level!


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## emmajeanwalker (Jul 17, 2012)

wh666 said:


> do you have any idea of what join you might use?


I'm just going to reuse the old pallet nails that I pulled out. The true craft work in this piece is going to be the lack of craft work.



wh666 said:


> Hahaha good to know about your "taste". Rough in the middle, what does that mean?


I'm going to run cupped pallet boards through a planner and leave smooth edges on one side with a rough middle and vie versa on the other side.


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## MissionIsMyMission (Apr 3, 2012)

I seen no reason your plan won't work. Make it the way YOU want it! Just like a Man, If it doesn't work out, you can THROW IT OUT and get another one!!!!!!


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## wh666 (Jun 15, 2012)

MissionIsMyMission said:


> Just like a Man, If it doesn't work out, you can THROW IT OUT and get another one!!!!!!


Nice rampant sexism


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