We needed a tallish table to go between a treadmill and a bike on a wind trainer. Most tables are too short or an inconvenient shape, so I decided to make one that would be just what we needed. I used Birch "shorts" about an inch thick which were on sale from the local Windsor Plywood. I had recently bought a planer, so I figured I could clean the boards up, laminate them, etc. to form the various required pieces for the table. This worked fine, although I prefer the look of legs made from a single piece rather than laminated. Since this table was to go in our '60s era decorated basement, laminated legs were hardly a design "faux pas". When the finish was applied, the wood looked pretty good, with a nice deep-looking grain.
I made the design of the table vaguely Asian, with slightly flared legs and arched webs between them, although the slatted shelf is maybe more Western looking. I used corner clamps to hold the legs and webs together under the top, as well as mortising the webs into the legs. The top is attached with clamps allowing for expansion of the wood. The shelf was made as a single assembly to fit between the legs, and then mounted on four leg supports. So now the table holds the various paraphernalia required for exercising like the ghetto blaster, fan, water, CDs etc.
| Material: | Birch |
| Finish: | 3 coats Varathane Prof. 1000 Clear Semi-Gloss |
| Size: | 44" h x 20" d x 17" w |
| Done: | November 12, 2003 |
