Carbon Fiber Table Build!

For years I have been obsessed with carbon fiber. It is stronger than steel and lighter weight, while also looking incredible.Carbon fiber twill weave has a special glimmer in direct light that gives anything it is made of it a premium look. It is my favorite material by far...especially with how accessible it is for hobbyists to experiment with!

[See this build in action in my first Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/DxMSFD32Ezc ]

I designed the table this size because I needed something to put my 3d printer on. I wanted something with the rugged/utility look of pine combined with the premium look of carbon fiber. I also wanted to test out how carbon brackets would work in a project, as well as doing a wet layup table top to match.

Aside from the wet layup which took some patience, this was an easy and fun project that anyone can do. Follow along and get ready to make one of your own!

Wood:

• (1) 2x4x8
• (3) 2x2x8
• (1) 2ftx4ft 3/4" MDF

Carbon:

• Carbon fiber cloth at least 2ft x 3ft (I bought this 36" x 50" on eBay)
• (8) Carbon fiber L brackets (Carbonhardware, comes with screws)
• (8 Carbon fiber T brackets (Carbonhardware, comes with screws)

Epoxy Resin

• Total Boat Epoxy kit (I used the medium 510822 kit from Amazon)

Screws:

• 3" deck screws (amazon, 1lb box)
• 1 5/8" screws (amazon, 1lb box)

Tools used:

• Sandpaper (amazon, 80 grit and assorted)
• Milwaukee drill/driver (amazon, combo kit)
• disposable Brushes (amazon assorted)

This is an unusual way to build a table from what I've seen, but I had my reasoning behind it.

When the table was done I wanted the seams to look neat. I wanted a clean look around the brackets, and didn't want to see any ugly end grain. That is why I decided to make a frame with 45 degree angles on all corners.

The size of the upper frame was roughly 18" x 22"

I added the legs with a 3" deck screw on each corner just to hold it in place. I had to pre-drill because of the 4 screws being in such an awkward spot (see pic). This isn't a strong way to build, but the idea was for the legs to be held perfectly in place so I could get the brackets aligned easier. The carbon fiber brackets are what will be adding the necessary strength.

In this entire build, you could do without adding any of deck screws seen, it would just be a little harder to align things.

For the lower shelf I cut a few 2x2s to fit in between the legs, and secured them with deck screws.

Important tip: I would recommend making sure you off-center the deck screws unlike I did. This way when you add the T bracket, the screws for that make their own hole, and not be in the same spot as the deck screws. (once again, you could go without any deck screws at all)

Cut the piece of MDF to size. I ended up gluing the corner scrap 1.5" x 1.5" MDF pieces to the bottom of the legs to make the bottom less likely to chip off and easier to slide on floors.

This was the first time I laminated a table surface with carbon, and it took some work to get it right.

Tip: It may be a good idea to paint the MDF black before doing the wet layup to prevent any of the brown showing through when complete. I do recommend this, because there was one area on a corner where the MDF showed through a little.

1st I cut the MDF and rounded off the corners with a router.

Next, I mixed up a batch of epoxy. I used the total boat medium epoxy which I was very pleased with. It is thin enough to flow through the carbon, super clear, and gives around 25 mins of working time.

The hardest part was getting the corners tight. I used duct tape to help hold the underside of the fabric in place.

After a single coat, it was clear more work was needed. Some spots weren't fully covered in epoxy while others had a little too much. I carefully sanded back the high spots with 80 grit sandpaper. Important: don't sand too much. Sand the epoxy only. If you sand any of the carbon fiber, it will show when finished.

After 3 coats total, I was happy with how it looked. There a few imperfections on the front left corner that may have benefited with a 4th coat, but 3 coats got it close to perfect for me.

This is the part of the project I was most excited about.

I designed a few L and T brackets of various different sizes and finishes. I ultimately came up with 5 inch x 5 inch brackets you see pictured, paired with some nicely matched black screws. I CNC cut these on a router under a water bath out of 1.5mm carbon.

If you don't have access to a CNC, you could make them out of a carbon sheet with a tool like a dremel and cutoff wheel.

Or, you can buy these on my website: carbonhardware.com (These will be slightly thicker/stronger: 2mm thick, black screws included) (Thanks for supporting this project!)

Screw the table top on using 1 5/8" screws and you're done!

I decided to leave the bottom shelf raw MDF because I thought it looked good and gives the table some contrast. I think it would also look great to cover it with carbon as shown in the rendering photo.

This table was designed to have a slightly rugged/utility look and to be quick and easy to build. It came out even better than expected! Its nice enough to put in your bedroom, but rugged enough it could go in a garage.

I enjoyed building this and can't wait to build something like this again. Hopefully this write up provided some helpful insight for your future projects.

-The Carbon Craftsman