Ten Green is a shelving and table system, constructed simply from local recyclates. This range started with shelving/table modules and continued into small shelving units, big shelving units and now coffee tables.
This document will tell you how to construct a Ten Green coffee table. You can use any four bottles of similar height and any found timber, adapting the dimensions to suit the wood you are working with.
I will happily make up kits to order for UK customers.
If you have bought a kit go straight to step 2.
Design is released under a share alike/attribution CC license by Zero-waste Design.
This document will tell you how to construct a Ten Green coffee table. You can use any four bottles of similar height and any found timber, adapting the dimensions to suit the wood you are working with.
I will happily make up kits to order for UK customers.
If you have bought a kit go straight to step 2.
Design is released under a share alike/attribution CC license by Zero-waste Design.
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Signing UpStep 1: Get the hardware
For one table you will need:
Four hook and eye strainers / turnbuckles as they are sometimes called. I used the smallest I could find, which are 14mm OD at the buckle and 5mm OD at the threads. Such as these from Screwfix .
Four screw eyes and four screw hooks, of a gauge to match the turnbuckles.
Depending on the height of your bottles, you may need some ess hooks too to help the strainer reach between the upper and lower hooks.
Two pieces of reclaimed wood at least 25mm thick. Here I used some small pallets provided by the customer. Ensure the timber is rot free. Trim the boards square and to the dimensions required and sand to a smooth finish. If the board is constructed out of many pieces joined together, as in the example, ensure all joints are well secured as the board will be subjected to bending and shear forces.
Drill four holes and attach the hardware as described in the layout image (also in .pdf and sketchup format). I can not emphasise enough how great Forstner bits are for this job! (pictured).
NOTE: Andrea Biffi rightly points out that for stability is better that tensioners/turnbuckles are oblique (meaning, not vertical, they are meant to sit at an angle), as you can see in the attached drawings.
UPDATE 28/01/11: I have added some proper engineering drawings in .pdf format below. Also the source file packs in Solidworks 2004 and .stl formats.
Ensure that the screw eyes and screw hooks are securely held into the timber as they may be subjected to anticlockwise twisting - you may require pliers or a similar tool to fully screw in the hardware. If the timber does not allow a secure fixing, consider gluing in the fixings using a two part resin or using bolt through fixings.
Four hook and eye strainers / turnbuckles as they are sometimes called. I used the smallest I could find, which are 14mm OD at the buckle and 5mm OD at the threads. Such as these from Screwfix .
Four screw eyes and four screw hooks, of a gauge to match the turnbuckles.
Depending on the height of your bottles, you may need some ess hooks too to help the strainer reach between the upper and lower hooks.
Two pieces of reclaimed wood at least 25mm thick. Here I used some small pallets provided by the customer. Ensure the timber is rot free. Trim the boards square and to the dimensions required and sand to a smooth finish. If the board is constructed out of many pieces joined together, as in the example, ensure all joints are well secured as the board will be subjected to bending and shear forces.
Drill four holes and attach the hardware as described in the layout image (also in .pdf and sketchup format). I can not emphasise enough how great Forstner bits are for this job! (pictured).
NOTE: Andrea Biffi rightly points out that for stability is better that tensioners/turnbuckles are oblique (meaning, not vertical, they are meant to sit at an angle), as you can see in the attached drawings.
UPDATE 28/01/11: I have added some proper engineering drawings in .pdf format below. Also the source file packs in Solidworks 2004 and .stl formats.
Ensure that the screw eyes and screw hooks are securely held into the timber as they may be subjected to anticlockwise twisting - you may require pliers or a similar tool to fully screw in the hardware. If the timber does not allow a secure fixing, consider gluing in the fixings using a two part resin or using bolt through fixings.
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I used 4" and 6" wide boards from Menards, cut to 4' lengths to make the top and bottom and then stained them with a dark polystain (satin finish). I think it really made the boards look more vintage/reclaimed.
This is my first time making any sort of furniture, and now I want to make more!
-Danielle
What a brilliant project. It inspired me to make my own rustic coffee table. The wood is from an old door which I cut down.
My next step will be to add a glass top.
Make a small loop at one end of the rope, then around outside of one or both cable sides, then pass the other end of the rope thru the loop and pull back using the loop like a pulley. Rubbing the rope with ordinary wax will let it slide tight easily without breaking on you. With a strong cord you could likely get enough tension on the cables to pluck them for a note or too.
The beauty of using this idea is you cut the cost in half or more for the parts needed, as large turnbuckles are your most expensive part in that build. to stop the cables from cutting the rope place a small piece of strong fabric or rounded piece of scrap metal sheet etc. under the rope where it passed over the cable. These scraps can be removed later. small copper elbows would work well and might look nice too.
Cheers, Phil aka zipperboy
It would give the table a more "industrial" look, also.
Mine looks like this :)
And also i used smaller ones of these metal things to tighten the 2 plates and some ropes. the big ones were much too expensive...
Is it my imagination, or do your projects show that you have a lot of bottles of booze that need recycling? ;-)