Project Information
Thanks to Lenny for posting his project, which is where I got the idea.
My grandfather and I hammered it out in 3 days (not finished). Just in time for the extended family 4th of July BBQ. We literally were cutting out the shape of the table top, sanding, routing, and screwing it in as the first of the family started to arrive. Everyone wanted us to build them one. People thought we had got a kit, but nope, you can get the plans at the following link. 77 pieces all together. http://www.woodstore.net/fupita.html
We really like it and it can seat 8 adults very easily. We even fit kids between adults and it works nicely. Because it is square it allows everyone to partake in the conversation. A nice social table. Plenty of room to play a big board game. We have not tried playing two board games at one time, but we will try that eventually.
A couple of things I did differently was to plane the seats and table top down to about 1.15 inches. We also did not screw the seats into the frame. You can remove the bolts and the seats come off. Not sure we'll ever have to do that but it will make moving a lot easier. The top frame can detach from the bottom frame too. The table is light enough now that two adult guys can move it.
In all, the table probably cost around $400-500 to do. The table top and seats are at least $200 in cedar. We used an redwood color outdoor waterproof stain for the frame which is used for fencing and decks. It is easy maintenance. Once the frame fades in a few years a new coat can be applied without sanding it. No polyurethane was applied to the frame. The seats and table top are coated with three coats of waterproof outdoor latex polyurethane.
I had a lot of fun making it. Of course, I had to make a table for the kids next:
My grandfather and I hammered it out in 3 days (not finished). Just in time for the extended family 4th of July BBQ. We literally were cutting out the shape of the table top, sanding, routing, and screwing it in as the first of the family started to arrive. Everyone wanted us to build them one. People thought we had got a kit, but nope, you can get the plans at the following link. 77 pieces all together. http://www.woodstore.net/fupita.html
We really like it and it can seat 8 adults very easily. We even fit kids between adults and it works nicely. Because it is square it allows everyone to partake in the conversation. A nice social table. Plenty of room to play a big board game. We have not tried playing two board games at one time, but we will try that eventually.
A couple of things I did differently was to plane the seats and table top down to about 1.15 inches. We also did not screw the seats into the frame. You can remove the bolts and the seats come off. Not sure we'll ever have to do that but it will make moving a lot easier. The top frame can detach from the bottom frame too. The table is light enough now that two adult guys can move it.
In all, the table probably cost around $400-500 to do. The table top and seats are at least $200 in cedar. We used an redwood color outdoor waterproof stain for the frame which is used for fencing and decks. It is easy maintenance. Once the frame fades in a few years a new coat can be applied without sanding it. No polyurethane was applied to the frame. The seats and table top are coated with three coats of waterproof outdoor latex polyurethane.
I had a lot of fun making it. Of course, I had to make a table for the kids next:
