Brueg Art & Design

I had the idea to build a side table in Seattle in the summer when I was in college. I wanted to lay many 1×2’s next to each other to give it a tropical tiki-ish feel, but with a classic mahogany finish. I had the idea to cut a space in the middle to fit a 4×6 photograph inset into the table. To cover it, I had a thick (3/4 inch) piece of beveled glass cut to fit the space by Perkins Glass on Capitol Hill. To meet the minimum order I had to order two pieces, but it was well worth the added price; it fit perfectly in the space, flush with the surface of the area.

After trying several prints out, I found this a picture of The Grand Canyon from a road trip I took there in summer 2002. The colors complement the stain of the table so well that I haven’t been able to bring myself to change it.

Originally designed in 1958, the Nelson Swag Leg Desk is still a highlight at furniture stores like Hive Modern and Design Within Reach. The modern version even includes a cable management system so you can use it with your laptop. Most retailers sell it for $1849, but deals can be had if you look long enough.

My poor Ikea coffee table had run its course. For the replacement, I decided to make a butcher block style table with contrasting legs.

Here in Manhattan, I went to a Midtown East lumber yard. By slipping the lumber guy thirty bucks and avoiding the front office (his idea, not mine) I was able to get out of there with about a hundred dollars worth of mahogany 1×2’s in two distinct tones. I bought a new Ryobi power mitre saw and an ultra fine finishing blade to aid with the cutting. For the legs, I got a few 1×2’s of white oak from Home Depot.

With a pattern for the block already decided upon, I started to cut 250 pieces of mahogany into 2,3,4, and 5 inch sections. Even with the 1200 watt power saw, the cutting took about 10 hours over 2 days. Then, I laid the cut pieces on top of a glass table and put them into the pattern. The hardest part was getting the rows to be exactly the same length, which ended up being a losing battle; with many cut pieces abutting each other in a row, small differences in length are greatly magnified.

The pieces were glued to each other individually, row by row, and then the three butcher block sections were stained individually. The variation in colors you see across the butcher block is because of the differences in tone of the original mahogany lumber, not the stain, which was consistent in color.

Cutting the legs was easy, and then I stained them before they were attached, as they would be difficult to stain differently from the rest of the top when already connected. Solidifying them to the three butcher block sections proved tricky. Metal brackets and wood glue were not enough to hold the butcher block to the legs, and putting force on the sides of the table acted like a lever for pulling those pieces apart from the legs. The final solution was to drill two very long holes (12-15 inches) on each side into the table. I inserted cut-to-length sections of steel threaded rods  into each hole, wrapped in glue to maximize contact with the surrounding wood, and giving the whole table significantly more strength.

To finish the table, I covered the entire thing in two coats of satin polyurethane for stain resistance and a nice sheen. The end product came out great, but I’d love to try this project again, skipping the complicated connection between the legs and the butcher block, and instead using one large butcher block.