Flagman Table

This dining table was made from an orange road sign with black flagman logo on it.

I got the sign from a junkyard I used to know, north of Phoenix. It was free. I highly recommend "free", in general, as it will keep the cost of this project down, as well as (hopefully) recycle something someone else thought was trash. All the wood I used was free too, cheap plywood cut in strips, old two-by-fours, and other assorted, mangled, painted, varnished, and peeling scraps from around the shop I worked in. The only new materials are fasteners. Most of my work is with "trash", and in the spirit of freegans and readymakers everywhere, I try to spend as little money as possible. In addition to saving me some trouble, saving money is often a simple way to save the environment -- use less crap. The peeling paint and dings in the sign become an integral part of the aesthetic.

I didn't measure anything except to hold the wood up to the sign or wherever I was trying to attach it, so all directions in here are going to exclude dimensions. I assume the sign you find won't be the same exact size, or the use for your table might be different, etc., so consider these instructions more of a schematic to work out your own design on top of.

All photos by my collaborator, Alfonso Elia.

Step 1 Table Acquisition

Go to a junkyard and ask if they have any signs. Most decent-sized ones will have at least a few. Do not get one that is bent, even slightly, because they are usually made from pretty thick aluminum that is too resilient to bang dents out of. You can also find new and used signs on the internet and eBay.

(Please don't steal signs -- )

Comments

[awesomefo]

I called a few junk yards, and it is really hard to find a sign. What do you suggest? is there a specific type of junkyard?

[jtb103]

im going to put my table legs inside construction cones

[tristantech]

nice idea...

[static]

Free or not it would be a good idea to get a receipt, taping it to the back side of the sign with clear packing tape. No officer I didn't swipe it, honest, here's the receipt.

[andrew13]

this is awesome. i have a 15 mph sign and mite try this

[Dorkfish92]

Sweet, i'll be making one of these as soon as I find a sign. I know someone that has a stop sign, that could be challenging.

[Dorkfish92]

I got the STOP sign, i'll let you know how it goes and then post pictures.

[Matt4_16]

Thats Awesome because i did the same sort of thing too

http://www.instructables.com/id/Sweet-Coffee-Table/

[adidame]

I like it. I have a road sign hanging around waiting to be turned into a sofa table. Where in Ph-town did you pick yours up? I'd love to find a new place to scavenge.

[Foxtrot70]

I agree an excellent job of carpentry. It bothers me that the sign really was not damaged in any way yet ends up in the salvage yard. With equipment like this even though it is small after awhile it really adds up to thousands and yes even millions of "Gas Taxes" wasted. If you haven't realized it folks the taxes paid on the fuel we buy for our cars and trucks paid for that sign and for the road repairs you see on going, even if our politicians locally or in Washington can't administrate them properly.

[Ashtro1969]

Awesome table. When I finally get an area to build my playroom/bar, I am definitly build something like this. Nice instructable. Funny, either you are really small, or that sign is pretty big. I suspect the latter even though they do not look that big driving down the highway....

[wholman]

babair it ain't so hard, man. basic currency with a table saw, a chop saw, and a drill. you could make this with a circular saw and a drill at home if you don't have access to a shop. the whole idea of instructables, i think, is to encourage people that think 'they're not skilled enough' to do stuff. do what you can, with what you have.

[Bitsi]

Cool concept. And a nice project if you are skilled at carpentry. (I'm not) You could also buy an cheap table at the thrift store and mount the sign on top.

[ll.13]

Nice!

[domesticatedman]

That, sir, is very cool indeed. The way you put it together sets the road sign off perfectly, great design. Have to get one, and there's a construction crew busy just down the road from me...

[uglymike]

Great Idea. Now you just need a few speed limit signs for chairs.

[Weissensteinburg]

I like that...a lot. I would have one as my coffee table, if I could

[wholman]

thanks for the feedback -- you can check out some of my other work here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=72337. etsy is a great site in general if you're interested in this kind of stuff.

[Brennn10]

This is great! I have a truck sign that is fairly large and would be perfect for a table. Thanks for the idea, I will definitely have to make this a summer project!

[LinuxH4x0r]

Nice! Good ideal, but I'd do the legs differently

[killerjackalope]

Hrmm, I have had notions like this, at the moment I've been considering a feature made of a cycle path sign, the problem is it's cast iron, 3/4inch thick at the thinner parts... I have had some notions about making a sign table before, this is great to see, except my idea was to have a simpler set of legs, with a second perimeter at the bottom, boxing them together for strength...