COOPERED Café Table

An intimate outdoor setting loaded with lessons

- Ken Burton

Ah, Paris in the spring. A stroll along the Seine followed by a warm baguette and a cup of coffee at a sidewalk café. While it won't get you to France, this delightful, counter-height café table will help you simulate that experience in your own home. Its 30" diameter top is just right for breakfast for four without taking up too much of your outdoor space. The tapered cylinder that makes up the base provides a solid anchor against windy days and presents an excellent opportunity for you to try your hand at coopering as you bevel the staves from which it is made. After gluing the staves together, rout the base round using a fixture that serves as a large lathe. Then use the same fixture for routing a series of V-grooves to add a certain je ne sais quoi. While I made my table from black locust, a tough wood that lasts practically forever outside, other weather-resistant species such as white oak would also be appropriate. (See page 54 for more information about black locust.)

Order of Work

• Make the staves

• Glue up the base Shape the base

• Make the cross braces

• Make the top

• Finish and assemble .

online EXTRA

• Router Trammel free project download

• Full-size indexing wheel layout

• Plan for a shop-made edge guide

A table with a tapered coopered base

The table's base is a truncated cone sitting on leveling feet and is made of eight tapered staves cut from 8/4 black locust and edge-glued together. A series of tapered V-grooves adds visual interest and texture. Deep notches in the top end of the base hold a pair of half-lapped cross braces that screw into the edge-glued top.

Bevel and taper the staves