Tuesday, 18 January 2011

Vacation Inspired Coffee Table


Materials: (2) x Billsta table tops, 1 pack of (4) 6" Capita, 1 pack of (4) 8" Capita
NON-IKEA - (4) 2"x 1/4" sunken machine screws, nuts, and washers

Description:
On a vacation to Sweden (yes, the motherland of IKEA) I ran across a coffee table that I'd been looking for. Unfortunately, the price, not to mention shipping back to the US, was way more then I would ever spend.
Once back home, fruitless internet searches failed to find what I was looking for. So, I started looking online for parts. I ended up on the IKEA site and found several parts that would work.

Here's what I did:




1. For the first table top, I flipped over and drew cross lines at 90� (dividing the table into 4 quarters).
**Tip: You can use the pre-drilled holes as a guide for the cross lines

2. At the outer end of each line, I measured in 2.5 cm from the edge of the table top and marked a line in pencil

3. I placed the plate of the capita leg (group of four holes towards the inside), the outer edge of the plate centered on the 2.5 cm mark and the inner edge centered on the cross line. Mark the holes.
**Tip: There are six (6) holes in the capita plate, use the inner four

4. Pre-drill the holes with an 1/8" bit, making sure not to go through the table. (You are only wanting to make sure you don't move off center when screwing in the screws)

5. Screw in the plate.
**Tip: Screw in the screws halfway and remove. Use the tip of the screwdriver to clean the hole as the material tends to rise and may make the level of the plate uneven.

6. Screw in 6" legs, making sure to twist all the way down.

7. Repeat Steps 3 - 6 for the remaining three (3) legs

8. Place the second table top right side up. Set the first table top with legs on top.

***Measuring is IMPORTANT for the following steps****

9. Align the two tops. DON'T eyeball this, it will not come out right.
**Tip: We used a right angle for this.. and checked and double checked several times.

10. Once the tops are aligned, use a pencil to trace the base of the 6" legs. Remove the first table and flip over with the legs on top.

11. Remove the flat base on the four legs. You can just pull them off. You will want the four plastic black pieces.

12. Pre-drill hole for 1/4" machine screws in the center of the plastic pieces.

13. Place the black plastic bases on the traced circles on the second table.

14. Making sure the black plastic piece is centered, drill 1/4" hole through the plastic piece and all the way through the table. Do this for all four bases.
**TIP: Use a large phillips head to enlarge the whole on the bottom side of the table. This will allow the machine screws to be flush with the top.

15. Place the screw through the base of the table, through the black plastic piece. Place washer and screw on nut.
**Tip: If you didn't drill the hole completely center, use the traced circle to align the black plastic piece. You may also need to use a metal file to shave the washer on one side if it's to big to fit in the plastic piece.

16. Place the first table onto the second aligning the legs into the plastic bases. If you measured and drilled right, they should go right in.

17. Repeat steps 1 - 7 for the remaining legs.
**Tip: I set the 8" legs on opposite sides and made sure that the legs were aligned with the 6" legs before drilling.


That's basically it. It's a little tricky with the measuring as it's a circle so there is no corner or base to measure from. Just don't get rushed on lazy on the measuring or it won't align right.

~ Gennine, Houston, TX

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