I found what I originally thought was a hospital gurney but it turned out to be a casket mover and decided to reinvent it into a coffee table. I had a couple of small challenges in the design process, how to attach the top to the base without messing up the integrity of the original base and how to protect people from tripping over the very large wheels when they walked by the table. To fix the tripping issue I made the top wider than when the wheels would be turned out their furthest. I added wood bumpers to the underside of the table top that fit the inside width of the base so that I didn't have to physically attach the top to the base, which prevented me from having to make holes in the steel base. I made sure that the table top fit snug inside the base so that there would be no tipping hazard. Having a removable top also helps to get the table through doorways. The 48 hour completed time frame is an approximate and includes the drying time for glue, stain, and top coat. This was one of my favorite projects I've done to date and I especially love the reactions of people as they are trying figure out what the original base was used for.
I found what I originally thought was a hospital gurney but it turned out to be a casket mover and decided to reinvent it into a coffee table. I had a couple of small challenges in the design process, how to attach the top to the base without messing up the integrity of the original base and how to protect people from tripping over the very large wheels when they walked by the table. To fix the tripping issue I made the top wider than when the wheels would be turned out their furthest. I added wood bumpers to the underside of the table top that fit the inside width of the base so that I didn't have to physically attach the top to the base, which prevented me from having to make holes in the steel base. I made sure that the table top fit snug inside the base so that there would be no tipping hazard. Having a removable top also helps to get the table through doorways. The 48 hour completed time frame is an approximate and includes the drying time for glue, stain, and top coat. This was one of my favorite projects I've done to date and I especially love the reactions of people as they are trying figure out what the original base was used for.
