Cardboard Coffee Table

Cardboard Coffee Table
This is my take on cardboard furniture. I made a coffee table previously, but it did have problems. I hope I've fixed those problems in this version. It's a monopod  - it has just one foot. This has a big flat base so that when it's in use it can be pushed out of the way. Hopefully this has got rid of any weakness where the legs join on to the top. My table is decorated with discarded chocolate bar wrappers - but you can choose your own decoration.
 
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Step 1Gather your materials and tools

Gather your materials and tools
Cardboard is the main thing you need. Before I started this build, we got a new cooker delivered. Luckily for me it came with two big bits of cardboard, top and bottom, both built like shallow boxes. The top was polystyrene reinforced with lovely bits of wood. Added to this pile of scrap, I added some stout boxes I was hoarding in the garage.

My original fascination for working with cardboard was the way the corrugations could be reinforced by gluing two layers together at right angles. I've since learned (the hard way) that the weakest point is the folds where the box flaps are. You can see here that I've reinforced them.

The only tools I used were a tenon saw, a hammer and  chisel, a file, a box-cutter knife, some big scissors and some wood glue.

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12 comments
Aug 15, 2011. 8:07 PMBox_Full_Of_Sharp_Objects says:
Very nice n_n
But it's not a coffee table unless it can pass the knee test and bruise an unsuspecting knee. Is it strong enough to handle clumsy people like me?
Aug 28, 2010. 4:25 PMmary candy says:
I like very much such furniture
Aug 15, 2010. 9:47 PMIcalasari says:
I'm going to make one of these when I move out As for the top, it seems like one could merely cut off the tip of the pyramid and put another sheet of cardboard on
Aug 15, 2010. 12:01 PMspark master says:
rather spiffy actually. if you glued a thin piece of wood down each corner fold and a block of wood in each crner you could put recyled chair wheels in the 4 corners, and then it is a mobile occasional table. This beats the pants off my friends idea of filling various old boxes with her hubbies old text books and mags and using them for end tables by a couch. She took really nice fabric cut a circle, hemmed it, and draped it over the boxes. They were very strong and totally tossable when move time came. sparkie
Aug 15, 2010. 11:54 AMReplay says:
this is great! im definitely making this one seeing that my current coffee table is literally just a box lol
Aug 15, 2010. 9:35 AMSushiFish says:
So the table is not 100% cardboard? CHEATER. Just kidding I gonna try to make this. You explained everything perfectly. GREAT UPLOAD!
Aug 11, 2010. 6:40 PMLindie says:
Very cool! Great job!
Aug 11, 2010. 1:09 PMJosePablo says:
Great Project!!! I will try to do it!
Aug 11, 2010. 8:53 AMkelseymh says:
What a great project! Thank you for the level of detail, enough for someone else to (hopefully!) reproduce it.

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Author:Grahamwithimps