DIY Coffee Table Dupe

I built a $2000 table out of scraps and here’s how I did it.

After making the daybed, I wanted to add an oval shaped coffee table. But then I thought, when the daybed is folded out into a bed, the coffee table will be way too big. So what if I could transform the coffee table into a night stand? And away we go!

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Supply List

3/4″ plywood
8″ Concrete tube
Pole Wrap
Spackle
Wood glue
Liquid Nails
1 1/4″ brad nails
1 1’4″ screws
Kreg jig 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws
Paste Finishing Wax
Microcement (primer, mesh, base coat, microcement, sealer, polyurethane)
Marble round
40 grit sandpaper
120 grit sandpaper

Tool List

Cut List

2- 3/4″ plywood half circles 20″ diameter (large for table top)
4- 3/4″ plywood half circles 8″ diameter (small for base)
1- 3/4″ plywood 18×20″ (center leaf)
2- 2x2x20″ for dovetail slides
2- 2x3x24″ for kerf bending strips
2- 4×10″ (base frames)
6- 10″ (supports)

I started out with the half circle pieces of plywood that I had cut out for the arched bookcases. Yes, I saved them, along with all my other scraps because you never know when you will need that exact piece, right?

I also had a tiny bit of pole wrap left over and I’ve seen these really trendy coffee tables that have round fluted bases and I went with that. The only thing I purchased was a concrete cardboard tube to form the base and it cost $11.

I started by cutting the concrete form down to length and then cut it in half with a utility knife.

I cut down the half circles a little bit so the table wouldn’t be too big and I could make nice clean cuts with the jigsaw. I then made small half circles to fit the 8″ tube that I bought. I would have liked a bigger base, but I didn’t have enough pole wrap for a 10″ or 12″ tube which would have been ideal. But I’ll get to how I solved that problem later.

Next, I took a couple more scraps of 3/4″ plywood and spliced them together with pocket holes. I didn’t have a scrap piece big enough, but I was planning on covering it up completely, so having that seam wouldn’t matter.

So now I had an oval shape coffee table with a removable leaf to turn it into a round nightstand. Next, I had to make slides so the table to expand to fit the leaf and close together to make the circle. We have an antique dining table that has dovetail sliding joints so I figured I could make those too, even though I’ve never made a dovetail joint before. I did look online to buy metal expandable slides, but they were expensive and out of stock in the size I needed. So I proceeded to attempt to learn how to make them. I used this great YouTube tutorial to make them on the table saw. I did make a couple practice attempts before cutting the real thing. They’re not perfect, but they actually work!

I used wood chisels to clean up the edges and then applied finishing wax to make them slide better.

After attaching the dovetail slides, I realized that the table top was too thin and they were clearly visible and it didn’t look attractive at all. So I decided to make the table top thicker. At first, I thought I would add some flexible moulding but that stuff is EXPENSIVE! So I went back to my scrap pile and YouTube and found out how to bend wood with a technique called “kerf bending”. It was easy to do and very satisfying! I made all the kerf cuts on a long strip of scrap wood and then ripped it down to size. I attached it to the tabletop with wood glue and the brad nailer.

Next, I filled all the visible kerf cuts on the table top as well as the nail holes. Not sure if this was totally necessary considering what I was going to do next, but it couldn’t hurt so I did it anyway.

To build the base, I attached 3 supports to the half rounds and then cut another piece of plywood to fill the frame. After attaching the frames to the tabletop, I glued and nailed the concrete form to the frame and then used liquid nails to attach the pole wrap along with a few brad nails to hold it in place.

It was at this point I realized that the base was not big enough and it was very top heavy and not super stable. At first I thought I would fill the base with sand, but then had a better idea. I had a round, marble cutting board that was the perfect size! I cut it in half with the wet saw and glued it to the base. It added at least an extra inch in diameter to the base along with several pounds which made it way more stable. Plus, I think it added to the look of the table as well! It was a win-win.

I used a doweling jig to drill holes and insert dowels to keep the pieces together.

Another problem that arose was that there was nothing to keep the two halves from completely coming apart, so I had to figure out how to fix that. I ended up attaching two L brackets to the slides so that they would stop before coming apart completely.

The last step was adding a microcement finish. Microcement is a specialty product that is a complete system. I went to a training and got certified so I could use this specific product. Unfortunately, the general public can not buy the particular brand that I used, but there are similar products that you can obtain at Home Depot or Lowe’s like this Feather Finish Concrete.

The Microcement application is a series of steps. First, it has to be primed and a very thin mesh is applied. Once dry, a thin layer of base coat is applied. This has a sandy texture and makes the surface rough but gives it incredible strength. A second base coat is applied and then sanded with 50 grit sandpaper.

Next, the Microcement can be applied in two very thin layers then sanded with 120 grit sandpaper. Then the surface can be sealed and lastly two coats of polyurethane are applied. This series of layers takes multiple days but the end result is so worth it! I think its an absolutely beautiful finish and comes in lots of different colors and finishes.

I’m very happy with the end result and love the way it looks! I also learned some new skills and feel confident I could make it even better if I made another one. Let me know what you think!