Upside-Down Coffee Table

Not for sale; this was a commissioned job. Dimensions: Top is 21 inches square; Base is 18 inches square, Height is 19.5 inches; Weight 43 pounds. After making the Pennsylvania-Themed Display Shelf with Hooks from the top of Tobias Gindlesperger’s old table, I pondered how to upcycle the distinctive four-legged base. I wanted to keep it intact, to the extent possible. For example, could I somehow attach a tall vertical post and make it into a hat/coat rack? I knew putting a solid new tabletop on it would unfortunately hide the interesting legs; instability would also be an issue. Credit goes to my wife Stephanie for suggesting I look at the base upside down. When I flipped it over, the full image clicked in my mind: adding a new base and a glass top across what were originally the feet of the piece would create an interesting new coffee table that really shows off the original table support structure.

The Story

To fulfill that vision, I started with some chemical stripper, then did many hours of hand-sanding, because the structure mostly would not allow me to use my belt-sander. The four legs were the hardest wood I have ever encountered, probably owing to both their age and the dense, swirling grain—I can’t figure out what part of a tree would yield those crazy but beautiful patterns! Where I was able to use my belt-sander just a bit, on the eight flat sides of the four legs, the belts gummed up badly, repeatedly, from whatever substances were originally applied or had accumulated over time, and/or possibly from resin residue in the wood. The legs smelled strongly like pine when sanded. I showed the base to Alex Grabenstein, the proprietor of Vintage Lumber, in Woodsboro, Maryland, and he confirmed the legs and probably the center post are made of heart pine. He also thought the chunky little square top (now on the bottom) is made of hickory. I finished those surfaces with clear Watco Danish Oil to bring out the natural, original beauty of the wood. I had to add a wood screw to better attach the original little square top to the center post, to eliminate some wobble.

For a new base that would prevent the top-heavy table from tipping over, I used a piece of laminated pine lumber I had salvaged several months earlier from the bulk trash area of an apartment complex near my house in the Glover Park neighborhood of D.C.—the top of an Ikea “Hemnes” dresser. I chemically stripped and then sanded away the finishes to reveal the natural wood. I cut out a square and a circle, and white-washed and black-washed them to evoke the symbol of the Windber coal company, whose significance to this project is explained in the description of the Pennsylvania display shelf. A key reason for that design decision was that I knew no natural would compare or even complement the old table legs. That beautiful heart pine had to be the star. I had to add shims under the original top square to level out the glass top; after achieving level, I used glue and four screws up from below to firmly attached the original table to the new base. To hide those shims and the small gaps around the base, I set it within, rather than on top of, the black circle. For just a little sheen and to protect the painted surfaces of the base from dust and shoe scuffs, I applied three coats of Minwax water-based clear satin Polycrylic, with a light sanding before the final coat. The half-inch-thick glass top cost $105, from Columbia Mirror & Glass of Georgetown, Inc. To my considerable surprise, it touches perfectly balanced on all four leg; I didn’t have to sand down any of the original feet. I hope the final piece will be treasured by my friend, her father, and other descendants of Tobias for many more generations.

Related Items: Pennsylvania-Themed Display Shelf with Hooks; Four Picture Frames.