November 2013

The beer crate table was a project undertaken pretty randomly, influenced largely by my love of Samuel Smith's beer.

One Sunday afternoon in the Central, I noticed a couple of neglected beer crates, both from the Samuel Smith's brewery. Strangely enough, I was drinking Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout at the time.



I inquired at the bar about the future of crates when they're past their prime and the bar manager asked if I'd like to have one. Feeling guilty, since I'd planned to steal one anyway, I offered to buy a crate. We settled on a very cheap drink for the bar manager (a diet coke) and I made my choice. I probably could have had the two, but I didn't want to push my luck.

And, so, the base for our new coffee table came home with us.

There was some discussion about a table top. I favoured glass or perspex, but I was persuaded that wood would fit in better. And, I suppose, I'd been wondering whether to try to make something from the battered pallet that'd arrived with a cement delivery from Wickes a few months earlier.

A few pictures during construction ...







The cut-out was intended to be on the underside of the table top, but we quite liked it, so the underside became the top.



Being pallet wood, it'd had a hard life, but it cleaned up pretty well. I opted for clear furniture wax rather than varnish or oil.







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