I'm looking for a CHEAP out of box way to make some standing bar height table and stools
Table needs to be at least 36" tall and taller is better.... say 40"
I could use fiber barrels I supposes. Spray paint them white. see link
Milk crates? :)
There's a sort of a paper/printing factory here in Yonkers, NY, that gets rolls of paper shipped on pallets. The inner cardboard tubes can be
*immense*--nearly 1" thick walls, and possibly over a foot in diameter, enormously strong. If you can locate such a factory in your area, these tubes may prove useful.
You want it cheap? Virtually anything can be found in the right dumpster.
That would depend upon what you consider "cheap"...
Depending upon the size, those were around $40-50... That just gives you the base for the table... You still need the table top...
Maybe make the pedestals out of CMUs filled with concrete? Two CMUs across will give you a column 16"x16" and 5 rows up will give you 40 inches in height... 10 CMUs per pedestal at around $1.20 each -- $12... One 80-lb bag of concrete will fill 3 CMUs and at around $3 per bag, you're looking at an additional $10... Another $3 for rebar and you're looking at a total of around $25 per pedestal... You're looking at a pedestal that will weigh around 300 lbs, so it's not going to walk off by itself that easily... The table tops can be made round or square and put on a single pedestal, or rectangular and put on two pedestals... If you want to make the pedestals a bit more fancy, cover them with tile, slate, or something else... The major advantage of concrete would be that you wouldn't have to worry about it disintergrating after getting wet like what might happen with some of the fiber and particle board solutions...
The same type of thing could be used for seating surfaces... Shorter pedestals with a short bench top across them... If you're going to be moving them around though, you'll definitely want one of the 2-wheeled hand trucks...
I bought this one from Home Depot... It's rated for 800 lbs and I used it for moving varios things, including my dog's 300 lb water 'dish'...
Nothing against dumspter diving- I do it myself whenever I get the chance (not often these days). But a better source may be garage/moving sales, and the high season for those is almost upon us. If there is a college in or near your town, find out when their term ends, and arrange to be there that weekend. College kids are notorius for selling for pennies, or throwing out, some amazing things. They usually didn't pay for it, so don't consider it worth anything, or it simply isn't worth shipping home. Even now, 25 years later, I still have a few items I obtained that way.
aem sends....
I used one of those, with a round of plywood and a home made tablecloth when ... that was back when I was young. Used for storage and table space. The "all fiber" drums are tres chic :o)
Concrete blocks and a prefinished shelf from the box store? Two unfinished bookcases, facing each other at ends, shelf fastened for top? Laminate a bunch of corrugated cardboard, cut to size and braced with one by. Put on clear finish. Cruise wealthy neighborhood evening before trash day. Dumpster dive at furniture or kitchen fabricating shops. Masonry supply foam trims, put on stucco, paint, glass top. Restaurant supply shops often sell used stuff.
What size/shape top? Do you want a round top, or long bar that has a serving and an "order" side?
Concrete tube forms (Is "sonotube" a generic or brand name?) Could work. We've used them in theatre for very large columns. You could weight the bottom with sandbags (inside the tube) if you don't want these for long term or extra rough use.
Use Plywood for the base and top... screwed to blocking on the inside of the tube.
of course, your "out of the box" phrase isn't exactly clear. Spray painting fiber drums isn't "out of the box" to me.
See if you can find some discarded cable spools. We've used a large spool for a porch table for several years now. Covered with a tablecloth, it looks fine... but i don't think it meets the 40" requirement.
in any case, good luck.
My son goes "foraging" the night before "heavy trash day" (once a month in my city). Here's the result of what he "scored" last month.
Log-roller. Turns newspaper into fireplace logs: Sold on Ebay for $22. Apple II Computer, external drive, no monitor: Sold on Ebay for $27. Atari computer box. Just the empty cardboard box, no computer: Sold on Ebay for $7. Funky light fixture: Installed in bath to replace even funkier original. About 150 teeny bowls, each holding about 1/4 cup: Sold the lot for $10 to candle-maker hobbiest.
12" Darkroom timer: Sold on Ebay for $17.50.Next Friday is heavy-trash day again. I'm going with him!
Round.... smallish diameter maybe 24" diameter?
Where could a person buy these things?
Lowe's? Home Depot?
that works... google sonotube to find other places. probably any concrete/construction company.
looks like they make even numbers from 6-36" You could get a 24" one, and a 6 inch one, use chicken wire/rebar to tie the top, base, and column together... and pour a monolith.
2" top@24" = .1164yard^3 * 2"/12" = 0.0194 yard^3 4" base@24" =.1164yard^3 * 4"/12" = 0.0388 yard^3 34" column@6" = .0073yard^3 * 34"/12" = 0.0207 yard^3 total: 0.0789 yard^3 * .7646yard^3/m^3 = 0.0603m^3concrete has a avg density of ~2400KG/m^3
.0603m^3 * 2400kg/m^3 = 144.72kg = ~319 lbs.
That's a heavy table! (assuming i didn't mess up the calculations) Perhaps something lighter for the top and column. ;)
I wont be filling the tubes with concrete
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