Modern Coasters and Coaster Holder

After building a couple table pieces, I needed something to protect the furniture. So, I decided to make some black walnut coasters with a coaster holder.

These modern coasters are great not only for saving your furniture but they look fun too. I wanted to build a coaster set that drew from modern design and complemented some of my other work. These coasters are made from figured walnut hardwood, which gives them a beautiful finish. Speaking of finishes, I used Rubio Monocoat to finish the coasters to ensure they will hold up under wet conditions.

Check out the attached plans for the coaster and holder for all dimensions and angles too!

Supplies

• Your favorite wood (I used figured walnut)
• Table Saw
• Wood Glue
• Blue Tape
• Clamps
• Sandpaper
• Scotchbrite Pad (if using Rubio Monocoat)
• Buffer Pad (if using Rubio Monocoat)
• Finish of your choice (I used Rubio Monocoat)

Step 1: Milling the Lumber

For the Coaster Holder

1. Start by jointing one face and one edge of the boards at the drum sander or planer.
2. Then mill them down to their final thickness of 1/4 inch.

For the Coasters

1. Mill the boards for the coasters down to 3/4 inch thick.
2. At a table saw, place the jointed edge against the fence and clean up the other side.

Step 2: Cutting Out the Coasters

1. Set up a crosscut sled with a stop block to 4 inches.
2. Square off the edge of the board
3. Then cut out four 4"x4" squares

Step 3: Cutting Out the Coaster Holder

1. Cut the holder sides board down to 3 1/4 inch height.
2. At the crosscut sled, cut the board down to 4 1/2 inches wide sections. You should have 5 pieces.
3. With the saw blade tilted to 45 degrees, cut the miters for three of the four corners.
4. Tilt the blade to 67.5 degrees and cut the final piece to one inch.
5. Mark out the angles for the miters, leaving a 1/4 inch at the base.Set the miter gauge to 41 degrees and carefully make the cuts. It is important to make sure those pieces are mirrored.
6. Then set the miter gauge to 45 degrees and cut the end of the base.

Step 4: Assembling the Coaster Holder

1. Using the blue tape method, glue and clamp the six pieces together.

Step 5: Adding Chamfered Edges to the Coasters

1. Using some CA glue, glue in a stop block to make sure all the coasters stay in the same place when making the cuts.
2. Set the table saw blade to 45 degrees.
3. Cut a miter into one corner of each coaster.
4. Then put a 45 degree chamfer around all four sides of the coaster.
5. Set up a new stop and cut a chamfer into the mitered corner.

Step 6: Finishing Your Coasters and Holder

1. Sand everything down with 120 grit sandpaper and work your way up to 180 (220 if not using Rubio Monocoat).
2. Water pop the grain and lightly sand everything down one more time with 180 grit sandpaper
3. Vacuum the pieces down before applying mineral spirits
4. I chose to finish this piece in Rubio Monocoat. So I mixed together two parts pure with one part accelerator and applied the finish with a scotchbrite pad and wiped off the excess finish with a buffing pad.

With that these coasters are ready to save some furniture!