Coffee Table

This past summer I moved into a new place and found myself in serious need of a coffee table. With some spare time on my hands I decided to enlist the help of a friend to design and build my own instead of just buying one. Unfortunately we neglected to take process pictures during the fabrication! I'll keep searching for some of the initial sketches, but for now here are a few pictures of the final piece.

The entire table is made from one full sheet of plywood (plus some scrap pieces we had in the shop). All edges utilize myter joints to hide the unfinished edges of the material. The result is that each platform appears to be made of solid wood.

Each staggered square platform is 3" thick with a central cube that everything is mounted to out of sight. 

Cut into the top of the central cube is a fire pit covered by rocks. Hidden beneath the rocks are two small dishes which get filled with standard gelled fuel typically used for fondue sets or chaffing dishes. The flames only rise about 2" above the rock bed but the effect is pretty cool.