TENSEGRITY TABLE

three16ths
Jul 5, 2020
3 min read

Updated: Dec 19, 2020

The first time I saw one of these types of tables, I knew I was up for the challenge.

I had a plan to display it out in the front yard, for neighbors to ponder it, just as I did when I first saw one. So I picked out some cedar that would last outdoors, and would look pretty. These two logs look as pretty as can be.

After a few passes through the bandsaw, things were looking good.

I made a pattern of how I wanted the supports to look, and found some sections that would look nice.

For the thick table top, I had to glue several pieces together. Then I cut out a mortise for the support to set in. I cut most of the waste out with a forstner bit first.

Then I made a pattern for guiding a router pattern bit. This is a fast way of making a clean, deep mortise.

As long as I was making an eye catching table, I wanted to do something different to make the top stand out. I cut some slots that would increase in width by 7/64” at the end of each slot.

Making the spacers for the slots, is harder than it looks. Each spacer has a different angle on both sides. It takes some trial and error with a disc sander to get them made.

My last three slots were too close to a big knot, which caused the wood to crack, so I had to eliminate them.

After piecing the top together, it still looked nice because of all the brilliant colors.

With this project, I had to spend a lot of time assembling the parts before I could even tell if it was going to work. I had to try it out to make me feel good.

An oscillating spindle sander is sure handy in times like this.

The drum sander was also a nice tool for finishing this too. I eventually sanded it down to 400 grit for a real smooth finish. I put four coats of boiled linseed oil on it.

The base for this table was intended to be hidden under landscaping rocks, so I used some plain brown cedar for that. Since it was going to be subject to sitting in water, I filled all the voids with epoxy.

I used 1/16” stainless steel cable for the center support.

For the four corners, which are just for balancing the top, I used some 80# fishing line. I drilled small holes in ¼” dowels to accept the fishing line. Then just pushed the dowels in the ¼” hole, and cut the dowels off flush.

After a few days of hot sun on the table, I noticed the fishing lines had some slack in them. Thinking that they may have stretched out, I went ahead and replaced them with 1/16” stainless steel cable.

I’m not sure if the fishing lines were actually stretching or if they were just cutting into the soft cedar. I noticed after putting a lot of tension on the steel cables, that they are cutting into the cedar. Time will tell if that is the problem.

After several months, I am glad to say that the steel cables are the way to go. They may have cut into the soft cedar slightly, but even if the cables do have a little extra slack in them, it's not noticeable since the cable is so stiff.

I drilled and tapped ¼-20 threads in the base for some stainless screws. Whenever tapping soft wood, you want to use the drill bit that is two sizes smaller than the normal bit that would be used when tapping steel. I also coat the threaded hole with liquid super glue.