Introduction: Garden Side Table With Hard Stone Top (all Re-used Materials)

About: I am an arts and crafts teacher in a secondary school in the Netherlands. (www.taborcollege.nl). I love making things. Especially out of nothing, worthless materials, garbage and cheap stuff. Besides that I'm…

A while ago I found a disposed hard stone polished kitchensink top. I carried this treasure home, although it was HEAVY and I didn't know what to do with it yet, but a creative person doesn't have junk lying around, only new ideas.
The purpose came to me later when I changed my front door to a new one and combined these two thing with some hardwood I got from a neighbor (He had it lying behind his house for years, used to be the base of his garden shet) and the legs of our old pine dinner table: These had to be transformed to a very sturdy garden side table.
Here is how I did that (although I might have missed some steps because I didn't took pictures of every step.)

Step 1: The Materials

Well, as I said. I used a very nice 180x40 cm's polished kitchen counter-top out of hard stone. I found it in the garbage. Every month or so I like to dumpster-dive in my street when my neighbors dispose there treasures. Usually it's quite a goldmine (I even found some original screen-prints of some famous artists. Being an artist and art teacher myself I knew what they were. I've sold them for a few hundred euro's!).
Another day I got these big and heavy hardwood beams from a neighbor. They had a routed notch/angle (?) in them, in which the stone plate perfectly fitted.
My old merbau wood front door provided me the rest of the frame and last I used metal angles and the legs of our old diner table made out of pine. This table has been used in the garden for a few years on the place where this new table is standing now but it was to big for this small roofed space. The table top itself I used for another interesting project about which I will make another Ible later.

Step 2: Measurement and Sawing

Well I really was lucky with the meassurements of the materials. The stone plate fitted in the notch in the hardwood beams and these added 5 cms at each sides resulting in a table of 190x50 cm's. Perfect for a sidetable in that place.
I had to measure the angles in the corners and used a handsaw to cut them of because I was a pain to use the circle saw with this hardwood. I don't know what kind of wood it is but I think concrete fruits grew from it  when it was still a tree!
For the rest I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Step 3: Assembling

It was quite easy to put it all together apart from the fact every part was so heavy! Furthermore at first I made the mistake to fit the angles in the wrong direction. I had to remeasure the frame so the legs fitted in the corners and reversed the angles so I could fix the legs easily.

Step 4: Finishing and the End-result

After the frame was together I oiled it all. The old white color on the door-made parts I kept. It's for outside use so I wasn't to picky on the finish. As long it is protected enough.

I hope you like it as much as I do. If you do don't hesitate to take a look at my other Instructables and follow me.

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