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WhenPigsFry — Coffee Table
Published: 2005-02-27 19:05:19 +0000 UTC; Views: 1500; Favourites: 14; Downloads: 31
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Here is a coffee table that my roommate and I created in 2004. It is comprised of pop cans, held together by liquid nail. To finish it off, we made a plexi glass top and shelf. Under the top we placed the sides of the pop boxes just for decoration. At one time we put Christmas lights in it to light up the shelf better.Related content
Comments: 31
Wow, this is so creative. Did you consider sending it to the soda people as a suggestion for and ad or seeing if there is a contest out for something like that. I think it is so cool.
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I love stuff like that. It shows lots of creativity.
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this is the ultimate college dorm furniture accessory!
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It was! Wonder if my roommate still has it? I may have to ask him.
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Now that is awesome. Just... wow.
What a neat way to reuse stuff~
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I wish I had a picture of the chair we made out of cans. It was even more epic! Bored college students
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Pure Awesome. I want to build a smaller one for a bedside table.
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Dude, this has just become my quest. My roommate and I so have to try this
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So do you have a picture of the can chair? Because in one of my classes, I'm going to be making one. I have a general idea sketched, but I was wondering how you guys did it and if it was strong/sturdy enough to hold up..?
My partner and I are planning on having the center be a wood frame, and then building up the arms and back out of cans, then backing it with plywood, or at least the equivolent...
Feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
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Unfortunately, I can't find a picture of the completed chair, but it was neat! I don't think the guy I was living with has either the chair or the table any more. I was able to find a picture of the chair while it was being constructed. [link]
What you are looking at is the base of the chair. As you can see, it was 3 cans tall, 10 cans wide, and 8 cans deep.
The little thing coming off the top right of the base was the start of the arms.
Then we created the back of the chair by making a 2 can thick by 10 can wide 9 can tall back. We attached that to the back side of the base making the base 10 cans deep when it was done.
We were going to leave it like that, but it wasn't comfortable to sit in, so we got 2 pieces of plywood (one for the seat and one for the back), a 2x4, an old beach towel, and 4 inch thick foam padding. Out of this, we made an L-shaped seat (the back of it leaned a little for comfort) used the foam as padding and the beach towel to cover it all. This seat had nothing to do with the structure of the chair, it just made it more comfortable.
When we started to put it all together, we thought about filling the cans with expanding foam to make them more ridged and so it could support more weight. Unfortunatley, the expanding foam doesn't work because it won't set-up inside the cans. So we left them empty. To attach them together we used liquid nail (it's an industrial adhesive). When it was all said and done, it was very strong. We could jump up and down on the base without breaking it. We also had a 300+ pound friend who sat in it a lot and it held his weight. The only problems we ever had was the arms would fall off every now and then, but we'd just glue them back on. This could be solved by making the cans go all the way to the floor on the arms instead of over-hanging the edge like we did.
Also, one last thing to note is that the chair was quite heavy when finished. It's amazing how much those light cans can weigh when it's all put together.
I'd like to see some pictures when you're all done. Let me know how it goes and if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
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The sketch of what we have planned calls for an 8 can wide base, but I'm not sure how well that will work for a seat width... After said initial base width, we plan on a 2 can extention on each side for the arm to be supported from the ground up. Our guess is that 4 cans would make it a good seating height, but how did sitting at the 3 can height feel?
Our arms, as we planned, are probably going to come up 2 cans from the base and go 5 cans out, while still supported by the base.
Due to time being limited, this particular project will have to have a hollow frame, braced up by plywood, which may, in turn, make the chair lighter...
The main point that we (my partner & I) have to/are trying to demonstrate is that things that many folks consider 'junk' can be reused in cost and energy saving ways, as often times recycling uses a lot of energy.
We were also planning on some sort of padding for ours, and if not, at least plexi-glass, because sitting directly on the cans, as I've found, is a tad uncomfortable. lol
Also, we had considered the foam, as one does not expect a can to hold up in the amazing way for which it can...thank you for the warning on trying that. We've an industrial adhesive as well, I believe it's call 'Better Than Nails', or something of the like.
Thank you very much for the warning about the weight of the chair! (Who'd think something so light could get so incredibly heavy..?)
((Eventually, I will be making a similar chair to that of yours, outside of school when I can collect enough Mountain Dew cans.
Due to our 2.5 to 3 week time limit, collecting 716 cans to make a solid model of the chair would be a very hard project to take on, thus I am reserving that for over different breaks in fall and winter... It will have to be built in my room so that I may have it in there, because it would be utterly impossible to fit the whole thing through my narrow doorframe, for more reasons than one.))
Thank you very much for all the help you've provided! 
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8 can wide seat should be good, that's how wide ours was once we put the arms on.
3 cans was good for us since we added padding to the seat, another can row would probably be good if you don't add the padding.
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[link]
Thanks for the inspiration. Sorry this reply took so darn long...
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Nice, looks like everything worked out OK for you. I'll get a new link added to mine shortly so people who visit mine will check yours out too.
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Coolbeans. I was a bit worried about the width.
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Thanks for the inspiration. Sorry this reply took so darn long...
[link]
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thats very original, and good use of trash...
we all should learn a lesson in recycling...
regards,
ncs
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Directions to build...
1.) Drink lots of pop... or beer (make sure it is cans.)
2.) If you drank pop in step one, drink beer (you need to be drunk for step 3)
3.) Go to Wal-Mart and buy 3-5 tubes of liquid nail and a caulk gun. Also, 3 bags of chips and a CD.
4.) Drink more and pass out, you can't build while you are drunk.
5.) Start with the top of the table first, gluing each can together with the liquid nail bought the night before.
6.) Drink a few while it dries. (don't over-do it) If possible let it dry for 24 hours, if you are impatient, then a few hours will work.
7.) Flip the top upside down so you will be looking at the bottom of the top (a little confusing, that is why I said not to over-do it)
8.) Build legs onto table (4 columns on each corner)
9.) Let dry for 24 hours.
10.) Flip over and enjoy.
NOTE: If done properly, table will hold a 200 lb person.
Additional accessories: Plexiglas top and shelf (seen in picture) and Christmas Lights woven throughout the top to light shelf (not pictured)
Other items made from cans: We have also created a chair (no picture available yet)
HINT: It helps to have friends to drink all the beverages that will be used in the creating of the table.
Any questions just ask!
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Thank you, I must give my roommate credit for the idea, but it was a group effort to get it built, lots of soda to drink and we had to figure out how to stick them together. I think liquid nail works the best. We made a chair too, but our fat friend sat in it and broke it. I think they built a new and improved one this year while I've been gone, so I look forward to seeing it. I'll have to see if they can get some pictures of it for me.
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