Three big and beautiful industrial gears from Mike at Funk and Swagger Antiques in Huntington, NY got my wheels turning.
I knew the largest one, 17.5 inches in diameter, would become the top of a coffee table. Geared up for this big idea, I commandeered the base from an old industrial stool …
… and spray painted what would become the coffee table legs.
It looked a little boring so I broke out the Rub ‘n Buff wax, rubbing on patches of bronze and black.
The next problem was finding a way to secure the gear to the base. For this, I anxiously awaited the next meet-up of the Long Island Makerspace. It’s a group of people who, well, like to make stuff. We meet in a small industrial plant with access to, among other goodies, a 130 watt CO2 Laser Cutter.
Oh, I was itching for my turn with that baby! As a novice, circles seemed like a good start.
With a little help, I programed the laser to cut a few perfectly perfect circles from a melamine panel.
The result:
No, I wouldn’t be rounding up all of these disks for my gear table. I just needed the six “doughnuts” I’d cut. I frosted them with wood glue and stacked them up like a layer cake.
When dry, the glued layers received the same paint and wax treatment as the base.
Four existing holes in the base made an easy job of screwing the base to the melamine from underneath.
Not only would this laser-cut-layer-cake pull the base and the gear together, it would add a few needed inches to the height of the table.
The rough feet of the base needed rubber tips. I had to cut them with a utility knife to make them fit. Not beautiful, but they did the job.
Four screws with washers, camouflaged with a repeat application of paint and wax, secured the gear to the top.
In anticipation of the final step, I pressed eight self-adhesive plastic “buttons” around the rim.
There wasn’t a structural purpose for a center-hole design, but I liked how it looked.
For a little more bling, I iced the gear tips with Rub ‘n Buff bronze.
The final step is a 24″ inches in diameter, 3/8″ tempered glass top I purchased from Noel at Awesome Glass in Huntington Station, NY.
All in all, a piece of cake!
