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Monday, December 19, 2011

Cable Reel Table

A couple of weeks ago I picked up these cable reels from an old building site and thought they'd make great coffee tables. We have an oddly shaped room which has been waiting for a coffee table for months but I just haven't found anything suitable in the stores.

We went to the hardware store and bought ourselves an orbital sander - now my favorite tool! It's amazing what this little thing does and I can't wait for more council pickups to get my hands on some more old furniture that I can now sand and restore or repurpose!


We needed quite a lot of tools for the job.



Sanding all over the reel was easy with this orbital sander by Ozito - $30 from the hardware store.




We measured 70mm from the outside edge of the reel and drilled 25mm holes through the top with a spade bit.


We pushed 25mm dowel through the holes and then notched out another hole in the bottom of the reel for the dowel to fit into straight and tight.





The finished table is really cool - still may get some castors, but for now we love it!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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17 comments:

  1. LucyDecember 19, 2011 at 10:35 AM

    Looks FABULOUS Debbi! Who would have thought that such a banal object, could become a 'thing of beauty'!
    Hugs Lucy

    ReplyDelete
  2. BarbDecember 19, 2011 at 10:16 PM

    Fantastic table Deb..I have looked at them often and thought they'd make good tables but never got hold of any.
    You could sell them and make heaps...vbg.

    ReplyDelete
  3. KamiDecember 29, 2011 at 5:07 AM

    I have one of these, but it looks bigger than the one you have. Can you tell me the measurement of yours? Mine has a diameter of 31 1/2 inches and 27 inches high. It would maybe work better for an outside table instead of an end table which is what I'm wanting to do with it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Alaina Frederick of Dinker and GigglesJanuary 2, 2012 at 1:50 AM

    I absolutely love this idea! I love books and am running out of book shelves and this is for sure a fun way to add more space for the books and we've been without a coffee table for years!

    Thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. DebbiJanuary 10, 2012 at 11:19 AM

    Kami, the table measures 29 x 18" (or 750mmx460mm). Yours is a fair bit bigger - so not so suitable for a centre coffee table. Could work as a lamp table at the side of a couch - depending how much room you have.

    ReplyDelete
  6. msubetsJanuary 12, 2012 at 7:13 PM

    Did you use a sealant of some kind? Where did you find the reel? At a lumber yard? I'm not a crafty person, but I want to try this! It is awesome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DebbiFebruary 2, 2012 at 11:06 AM

      I haven't sealed it yet. We kind of like it raw and I'm scared I might ruin it. I am going to stain the dowel sticks though - as a friend pointed out they look a bit 'new' (which they are). I got the reel from a building site...put on a big smile and asked the foreman if I could have it. I'm also not a hugely experienced woodworker- but I enjoyed the challenge and you really don't need too much skill. You can email me if you need more advice.

      Delete
  7. MeganFebruary 27, 2012 at 4:02 AM

    My cable reel has a bunch of staples in the top. Did yours? If so, you must have removed them since I don't see them in the pictures. Looks great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DebbiMarch 18, 2012 at 8:09 AM

      We took out all the staples and a few old nails before we sanded it.

      Delete
  8. JimMarch 29, 2012 at 3:35 AM

    how did you keep the dowel rods in place? I see that you flipped it over which makes sense but did you just put a screw in them and leave it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DebbiMarch 31, 2012 at 5:13 PM

      hi Jim, We used the spade bit on the drill to make a notch for the dowel to fit into (but not go all the way through). So on the top of the cable reel (which is the 'table top'), the spade bit drill all the way through so we could push the dowel through the hole, and into the bottom notch. You need to line up the dowel first, before you drill the notch in the bottom of the cable reel, by pushing the dowel through the top hole, check that it's straight, draw a line around it on the bottom of the cable reel, push the dowel out of the way, drill the notch, then put the dowel into place. You don't really even need glue. Good luck.

      Delete
  9. pmaynesAugust 18, 2012 at 12:20 AM

    I'm doing this for my daughters room. I want to put a lazy susan base on the bottom of it so it can go in a corner and she can be turn it to find the books she wants. Hope it works :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. alanJanuary 29, 2013 at 4:42 AM

    Hi, I'm about to start a spool project, but my spool is pretty wobbly. Did you have this problem, how would you suggest to stabilize the base?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DebbiJanuary 29, 2013 at 11:30 AM

      I would try castors (wheels). It really depends on how wobbly, and what you want your finished item to look like.

      Delete
  11. TNTDus2August 31, 2013 at 2:36 AM

    Hi Debbi,
    I got the part about the rods but you must have had to fill the holes on the top with something? I don;t even see a discoloration. it looks like no holes were drilled out?

    ReplyDelete
  12. TNTDus2August 31, 2013 at 2:39 AM

    Hi Debbi,
    What did you use to fill the holes on the top of the table with after you drilled all the way through for the rods? I don;t see any marks at all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DebbiAugust 31, 2013 at 7:34 AM

      We didn't plug holes. The dowel sticks are flush with the top surface so they are visible. Just not in the photo.

      Delete

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