Light-Up Bar Table!

Using scrap wood, plexiglass, and other small pieces, make tables which glow!

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Step 1: Design

The table top perimeter itself is 7 inches thick. The inside is hollow to allow room for a light fixture and then some for light dispersion. The table top perimeter consists of two 2x4's sandwiching a strip of 1/4" plexiglass. They are just glued together with a some kind of clear industrial glue. The plexiglass strip surfaces are sanded to let the glue better adhere to it.

The actual top consists of two layers of 1/4" plexiglass with a piece of white cloth sandwiched between them. This is done to make the tops opaque and scatter the light better, this way it looks like the top is glowing.

The legs are simple lengths of 2x6's

The triangle sections between the 2x6's and the underside of the table top are just 45 degree cuts out of pieces of 2x6's.

Below is the general design.

21bose says: Nov 2, 2009. 7:50 AM

thanks for the instructable, led me to make my own blacklight shot bar, which, for cost, was around 85 dollars,
Great idea

grahmaustin (author) in reply to 21boseNov 3, 2009. 3:15 AM

A black-light table you say? What a great idea! Wow, I never thought about switching those fluorescents for blacklight bulbs. Great work. Do you have photos? I would love to see what that looks like. Speaking of tables, I have spent the last 8 months learning electronics and programming to take this project one step further and make a table which lights up in the area that a hand might get close to it, a sort of interactive table. I have posted a couple of youtube videos of development progress, here is a link if you are interested. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfnylfnTT-s

SirBrittanicvs says: Sep 2, 2009. 7:07 PM

Also, how much did this cost to make? (not including tools)

grahmaustin (author) in reply to SirBrittanicvsSep 4, 2009. 1:41 PM

Good question. The majority of the raw materials (wood, plexiglass, even screws) were salvaged from another project. I don't even think I can give you an estimate as I did this almost 2 years ago. Although the most costly aspects would be the lighting circuitry and the plexiglass. So it would probably be safe to take the averaged cost of the lighting stuff plus the plexiglass then multiplied by 2 for the total. Just a note: The hardest part of construction is, by far, the strip of plexiglass between the 2x4's.

SirBrittanicvs says: Sep 2, 2009. 7:07 PM

Pretty cool. I'd love to try making this some time.

cryophile says: Jul 24, 2009. 1:09 PM

Could you add a wiring schematic, please?

nickfarnell says: Dec 23, 2008. 5:26 PM

awesome! i built a very similar bar when i was in college... i used an old string of christmas lights under frosted plastic. it was cheap and if you hit the switch, the lights would flash!

snarfnugget says: Dec 13, 2008. 9:50 PM

AWESOME!!. I've had a 2' x 8' piece of 1/2 thick glass I've wanted to turn into a "floating" lighted bar top. Now I just need to plan out the "how-to's" Yours is a masterpiece though. Great Job!

nevlis says: Aug 30, 2008. 7:43 PM

breadmaker!

ninjapants says: May 4, 2008. 8:03 PM

Re: cutting plexi/acrylic - what one generally wants is a balance between chip removal and melting. I feel that blades with higher tooth counts make a better cut. I think instead of "slow" the emphasis should be on a smooth, consistent motion through the material. I like the use of a florescent fixture. Definitely more cost effective than ropelight or leds.

grahmaustin (author) in reply to ninjapantsMay 5, 2008. 6:35 AM

its just that I cut thicker plexiglass with a jigsaw and the blade was the fine tooth for cutting metal, and the friction between the blade and plastic caused it to melt and rejoin behind the blade as I advanced. We had to dial down the cutting speed of the jigsaw to minimize the heat generated, then it worked. Maybe if our blade made wider cuts, like if it was a wood cutting blade attachment, (like the teeth of the blade longer and are bent out a little more) and that would have minimized the amount of plastic actually touching the sides of the blade, preventing it from melting.

shooby in reply to grahmaustinMay 5, 2008. 2:25 PM

Mask off the region close to the edge, and use oil to reduce friction while sawing. Vaseline works well, and also fills the irregularities, giving you a cleaner looking edge.