Coopered Cafe Table

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Coopered cafe table with two stools, showcasing curved wood joinery and a warm finish.

An intimate outdoor setting loaded with lessons

Ah, Paris in the spring. A stroll along the Seine followed by a warm baguette and a cup of coffee at a sidewalk café. While it won’t get you to France, this delightful, counter-height café table will help you simulate that experience in your own home. Its 30" diameter top is just right for breakfast for four without taking up too much of your outdoor space. The tapered cylinder that makes up the base provides a solid anchor against windy days and presents an excellent opportunity for you to try your hand at coopering as you bevel the staves from which it is made. After gluing the staves together, rout the base round using a fixture that serves as a large lathe. Then use the same fixture for routing a series of V-grooves to add a certain je ne sais quoi. While I made my table from black locust, a tough wood that lasts practically forever outside, other weather-resistant species such as white oak would also be appropriate. (See Woodsense for more information about black locust.)

Woodworker assembling glass-topped coffee table frame with clamps in workshopOrder of Work

  • Make the staves
  • Glue up the base
  • Shape the base
  • Make the cross braces
  • Make the top
  • Finish and assemble

    A table with a tapered coopered base

    The table’s base is a truncated cone sitting on leveling feet and is made of eight tapered staves cut from 8/4 black locust and edge-glued together. A series of tapered V-grooves adds visual interest and texture. Deep notches in the top end of the base hold a pair of half-lapped cross braces that screw into the edge-glued top.

    Exploded diagram of coopered cafe table showing round top, cross braces, tapered staves with notches, base, and hardware

    Bevel and taper the staves

    Mill stock for the staves so that all the pieces are consistent in size, as shown in the Stave Detail on page 33. Mill the stock for the tabletop, too (you’ll need enough material to make a 30" diameter circle). Set that aside for now. Make the tapering sled, positioning the fence and stop block as shown in Configuration A below. Tilt the blade on your table saw to approximately 67.1° and load the staves onto the tapering sled with their bottom end against the stop. Clamp them in place with two toggle clamps attached to the fence and cut the first side of each piece. Reposition the stop and fence as shown in Configuration B and taper the second side of each piece with the blade at the same angle. A number of variables are at play here, and your bevel angles and tapers may not match mine exactly.

    Hands guiding a wood piece through a planer, with clamps securing the workpiece.

    Bevel and taper. After ripping the first edge of each stave with the jig in Configuration A, set up the jig for Configuration B. Rip each stave as before, only this time with the top end against the stop as shown here.

    Tapering jig configurations with measurements for woodworking projects.

    Glue up the cylindrical base

    Once the staves are cut and tapered, dry-fit them to check the bevel angles. Glue three clamp blocks along the face of each stave to help keep the band clamps from slipping. I used superglue to expedite the process, but regular wood glue will suffice. After dry clamping, tweak the bevels on the jointer to fine-tune the fit. As you’ll be cutting all sixteen bevels, any adjustments you make will likely be half a degree or less. Here, a digital T-bevel (or angle gauge) can help make fractional degree adjustments easier. When you are satisfied with the fit, glue the staves together. Be sure to use waterproof glue such as Titebond 3 for all the glue joints throughout the build.
    Woodworker assembling a coopered table base using clamps and a mallet.
    A dry run. Dry-fit to check the angles. Tighten band clamps around the staves to draw the joints closed. Thump them with a soft-faced mallet to bring the corners into alignment, if necessary.
    Woodworker using jointer to flatten and square a piece of hardwood with push block and digital angle gauge on fence
    Tweak the bevels. If the joints don’t close, finesse the fit by running the pieces over the jointer. Have the machine set for a light (<1⁄16") pass, as one of the two cuts you’ll be making on each piece (the one with the top end leading) will be against the grain.

    Make the fixture to shape the cylinder

    To make the base round and then to rout the decorative V-grooves, you’ll need to hold it so that it pivots around its central axis as you cut it. While you could turn it, the base is too big for all but the largest lathes. So instead, I devised the fixture shown here to make these cuts with a router. Build the fixture leaving the tall end off for now. Add mounting blocks to the ends of the base as shown. Slide the axle through the fixture’s short end and the upper and lower mounting blocks. Then slide on one of the collars and screw it to the lower mounting block and the axle to lock the pieces together. Slide the tall end on the axle and screw it in place to the sides and bottom. Then add the indexing wheel and the remaining two collars to the axle to lock the base in place laterally. Attach the rails to the top of the fixture and rout the base round. Add a spacer under the rails at their low ends and swap bits to rout the tapered V-grooves. Space them with help from the indexing wheel—I used every other division. Remove the rails and sand the base smooth. Level the router and true the top and bottom of the base with a long straight bit.

    Router fixture diagram detailing components and assembly instructions for woodworking projects.
    Diagram of an indexing wheel with marked angles for woodworking precision.
    Three woodworking router bits including a round-over bit, a chamfer bit, and a straight bit on a wooden surface.

    Bits for the base

    You’ll need these three bits to round, groove, and trim the base: a 1-1⁄4" tray bit, a 1" Vee bit, and a long 1⁄2" straight bit. See the Buyer’s Guide on page 60 for more information.
    Hands using cordless drill to attach plywood base inside octagonal coopered wood table frame with wooden keys in workshop
     
     
     
     
    Mounting support. Bevel the ends of 3⁄4"-thick mounting blocks to match the taper of the sides, and drill 11⁄2" holes in their centers before pocket screwing them inside the base. Mount them 1⁄2" in from the rim of the top and bottom.
    Woodworker using a router with a custom jig to shape a large curved wood piece in a workshop

    Rout the round. Mount your router to an auxiliary base that spans both rails. Attach a fence to the auxiliary base to guide the router along the rails. Rout the table base round using a tray bit. Rotate the base slightly after each pass and steady it with your hand as you cut.

    Router mounted on jig shaping curved staves for coopered cafe table with reference mark and spacer visible
    Tapered groove. Switch to a V-bit to rout the grooves. Add a 5⁄8"-thick spacer under the rails at the short end of the fixture to taper the grooves’ width toward the top of the base. Use the indexing wheel to space the grooves and a clamp to lock the base in position for each cut.
    Woodworker using a router with leveling shims on a cafe table project.

    True the cylinder. Shim the router’s auxiliary base level with your bench and clamp it to the rails with the bit positioned to trim the bottom of the table base. Rotate the base to trim the bottom in six to eight shallow passes. Repeat the process to trim the top end of the base.

    Make and notch the cross braces

    Size the cross braces and radius their ends. Cut the centered half-lap notches at the table saw. Drill the mounting holes and countersinks near the ends of both pieces. Also, drill 5/8" diameter, 1-1/2" deep counterbores from the topside to allow room for the screws to shift as the top expands and contracts. Round over the bottom edges, sand the pieces and glue them together. Position the cross brace assembly on the base to mark its notches. Screw two 16" lengths of plywood to the top of the base to create a platform for your router. Guide your router along the plywood to cut the notches.

    Adjusting a wooden board on a table saw with shims in a workshop setting.
    Saw half-laps. Set up a 3⁄4" wide dado on your table saw. Lay out the notch on one of the cross braces. Set a stop on the miter gauge fence to cut the left side of the notch. Spin the brace end-for-end to widen the notch using shims as needed.
    Measuring and marking joints for a coopered cafe table in a workshop setting.
    Measure and mark. Measure in along all four arms to center the cross braces on the top of the base. Pencil the base on each side of the braces to mark where to cut the notches.
    Router in use for aligning plywood edges with layout lines in a workshop setting.

    Rout the notch. Align one piece of plywood along one edge of the first notch. Set up an edge guide for the bit to follow right along the plywood’s edge. Rout to the full depth in several shallow passes. Adjust the edge guide to remove the center of the notch and repeat. Reset the guide to align the bit with the opposing line and finish the notch.

    Make the top, finish, and assemble braces

    Arrange the pieces for a harmonious grain match, then edge-glue them to form the panel. Make the circular cut with a jigsaw, following up with a router at the end of a trammel (see onlineExtras on page 32, for a free plan). Profile the edges before sanding. I used a 1/4" roundover bit on the top edge and a 45° chamfer bit on the underside. Finish the parts with a suitable outdoor finish (I used Osmo’s UV Protection Oil). Then screw the cross braces to the base. Invert the assembly and rest it on the top, centered. Drive screws through the holes in the cross braces into the top and add the leveling feet to the base. Place the table base-side down on your patio and serve up a nice café au lait et croissant. C’est magnifique!

    A woodworker uses a router to shape the edge of a round tabletop.

    Router follow-up. Cut the top roughly to shape with a jigsaw, then trim it to its final size with a router attached to a trammel in a few passes.

    A woodworker uses a router to shape the edge of a cafe table.
    Profile the edges. Switch to a trim router to round over the top edge, then chamfer the underside
    Measuring coopered table base with tape measure, showing screws, pencil, and dividers on wood surface.
    Center the base. Draw a circle on the underside of the top slightly larger than the diameter of the base’s top to help center the base. Then measure to double-check before screwing everything together. 
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