Dave M. of Kellogg, Idaho, built a dining table and chairs almost entirely out of wood that had already had one life. The darker boards in the top are refurbished red fir flooring, the lighter fill is pallet wood planed to 1/2 inch and glued to a repurposed plywood substrate, and the tapered legs came from 3×4 oak stickers he’d been holding onto for years.
The radiating pattern on the top got his wife thinking of a spider web, so Dave inlaid a small spider-shaped piece of wood at the center as a conversation starter. The chairs are mortise and tenon, the top is poured epoxy, and the rest is finished natural with Minwax Varathane. Total spend on finish materials: $75, over about 30 days of work.
In Dave’s words
This project was my own design. With the cost of lumber now, I repurpose a lot of my materials, cut to needs, plane, sand and glue ups. I use a lot of pallet wood, but people have discovered it and it isn’t so much free as it was in the past. The pallet makers are not using the hardwood products like they did and there is a lot of unusable product.
The tabletop was repurposed 1/2" plywood and the overlay was pallet wood planed to 1/2" thickness and glued to top. The legs were 3×4 red oak stickers for hauling pipe that I have had for many years. They were made with a tapering jig on the table saw. Epoxy was poured on the top and the rest was left natural color and Minwax Varathane was used on the rest of the project.
The chairs were made using mortise and tenon. My wife commented the top design looked like a spider web so I inlayed a spider shaped piece of wood in the middle for conversation. The most difficult part was getting the design just right on the top.
I’m 79 years old and the eyes and hands don’t work quite like they used to so this project took one month.
The build
- Project type: Furniture — dining table and chairs
- Skill level: Intermediate
- Wood: Refurbished red fir flooring (the darker boards), plus pine and oak; tabletop overlay from pallet wood over 1/2" plywood
- Finish: Poured epoxy on the top; Minwax Varathane in natural on the rest
- Tools: Table saw (with a shop-made tapering jig), planer, miter saw, mortiser
- Time: About 30 days
- Cost: $75 in finish materials — the wood was all repurposed
- Plans: His own design
Biggest challenge
The most difficult part was getting all the angles of the boards for the top pattern just right. I’m 79 years old and the eyes and hands aren’t what they used to be so the project took 30 days.
Photos
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