Geometric Dining Table Build “Concrete”

Sooooo my wife found a table at a furniture store and just had to have it. Unfortunately for me, whenever I see something I know I can build, I HAVE TO BUILD IT!!! When we were at the store I noticed the table had a few chips in it and I got to see how it was made… and the tag actually said the legs were made from reclaimed pine wood… so I got to researching.

I had always wanted a large dining table at my home and be able to seat 10 people comfortably, I so decided to make this thing 9 feet long by 42 inches wide.

This project can be scaled up or down depending on your needs. You can do a coffee table this way. A side table. You name it.

You will need:

4”x4” x 8’ pine beams
5 x 2”x2”x8’ sticks
2 x 15/32” plywood (4’x10’)
2 x 1” x 3” x 10’ pine board
1 x 1” x 3” x 8’ pine board
1/2” dowel
Wood glue (get the gallon size)
Plastic spreader (for the glue)
Concrete Sealer
Fiber mesh crack patch 36” x 75’ roll (what I ordered)
Feather Finish (I ordered Ardex)
GRK fasteners 6”
Drywall screws
Decking screws
L brackets

Tools:

Miter Saw
Stapler
Forstner bit (1/2”)
Drill
Impact Hammer
Trowel
Palm Sander

So this is actually a project that has been done by a few different makers, I got my plans from @JenWoodhouse for the measurements for the base of the table. If you sign up for her subscription you get her plans for free. I’m only posting one photo from her website that is available without the subscription but if you sign up, you’ll get the full plans emailed to you for free like I did.

Referring to the plans from @JenWoodhouse I made all of my miter cuts on my miter saw before assembling everything. First I made the center and assembled it. Once I had that assembled I made the sides. It is very important to make the sides in two steps. Make a U shape and add on the top while the middle is running through the sides. This will make assembling your pieces much easier and the GRK fasteners will snitch down the pieces together.

When assembling your parts, drill about an inch through one piece with your forstner bit before adding glue to the joint and your GRK fastener. The predrilled hole will be for a plug you will make from your 1/2” dowel.

So I didn’t get very much in the way of photo documentation here but here’s how it went.

I took my 2 sheets of plywood and sandwiched them together. They way I did this was, I took one sheet and drew a 6” x 6” grid on it. Then I took the sheet without the grid and covered it in a thick layer of wood glue. Every intersection in the grid, starting in the middle and working my way to the edges, I drove in a 3/4” drywall screw. Doing this I was able to join the two sheets of wood together and eventually get glue squeezing out of the edges. The last screws were added 1” in from 2 edges (the ones I’ll be keeping)

Once I had 2 of the edges clamped down with screws, I cut off 1’ from the far edge and 7’ off of the long side.

Once cut, screws were added 1” in from the two free edges.

VERY IMPORTANT:

While the glue is still wet, attach 1”x3” skirt around the table top. I started with the two ends. The boards were cut to the exact width of the table top. Once the two ends were attached, I added the side boards attaching them with screws into the end skirts on either end of the table top.

It is important to do it in this order because the plywood will not be perfectly flat.

Once all the wood skirts are attached, using clamps and offset wood blocks, you can bend the plywood to meet with the skirt boards. Once level, attach skirt to top using screws every 6”. This will force your plywood to be straight on all of the edges.

Once you skirt is on, you can flip over your table and add 2”x2” pine wood to the underside. I did the perimeter and 4 across. Then flip over and screw through the top and into your braces.

Once your top is assembled, cover it with your fiberglass mesh and staple down the edges and along the top to keep it flat.

To cover the top you have to get yourself some feather finish. Ardex brand is what I used but I assume other brands would work just as well.

I mixed it up per instructions and got it to a peanut butter like consistency.

This has to be put on in multiple thin layers and allowed to dry in between coats.

PRO TIP: do not leave the mixed feather finish in your mixing cup/bucket. You want to get it mixed and dumped out as quickly as possible. Leaving it in your mixing cup/ bucket will cause it to start setting and be clumpy.

The first coat is very important for this process as it has to be pressed in past the mesh. Leave the mesh exposed while it dries.

Apply 3 more thin layers.

You can wet sand in between layers to get your desired level of finish / smoothness.

Because the feather finish is water soluble, I used concrete sealer (same stuff you’d use on your driveway) and concrete counter top wax. I did this because I wanted it to still look like rough poured concrete and not super smooth like it might be if you were to seal it with polyurethane, which is still a valid option.

The base was sanded with 120 and 220 sandpaper on my palm sander and then stained 3 times for my desired color. Then it was sealed with a brush on polyurethane.

I opted to set the top onto the base and attach them with L brackets from the hardware store.

These were first attached to the base with decking screws, the top was set down and attached through the brace beams from underneath with the same decking screws.

I got this just in time for my Birthday. It was a nice way to celebrate. I had my family over to eat dinner for my birthday, in my new home, at my new table that I built. No better feeling.