Tutorials

Round, modern wood dining table

You need:

·      basswood, thinner one for the legs, thicker (4-3mm) for the top

·      balsa for the centerpiece of the legs

·      sanding paper and patience

I started off by making a prototype in cardboard because I wanted to make sure that the legs look proportionally right.

Once happy with the look, I cut a tabletop and sanded it on the disc sander to a perfect 12 circle.

Then I sanded the edges to become thinner so that the tabletop looks light and elegant.

I used the cardboard prototype leg as a template.

Best to wrap the basswood with masking tape because it easily chips when cutting.

I cut mine with a standard cutting knife because basswood is not very hard.

Next step: made square balsa piece into a ‘cross’. This is about 1.2cm long.

Glued the legs one by one onto that piece using a Lego guide so that the legs all touched.

Painted the center part and the table top with ‘walnut’ glaze (German: Lasur), and then hoped that the top was dead straight...

Alas, the level did detect a flaw!

The easiest way was to add a piece of cardboard/paper right under the table top.

Sanding to get it level is much more difficult – and usually results in shambles!

Now the table was ready to be shown off!