A coffee table made from hickory and hard maple with removable knitting needle shelving. An demonstration of the natural and aesthetically timeless possibilities in utilizing discarded objects to design higher-end products.
@ CMU School of Design
7 Weeks. Fall 2025.
The table is heavy and the wood demands sensitive handling. In order to avoid a rushed, photographic process, I delayed photographing until January when I return to Pittsburgh.
MATERIAL RE-USE:
KNITTING NEEDLES
Choosing to integrate second-hand knitting needles into my table design was not only to serve a functional purpose as a storage rack. The visual association between textiles and knitting needles segues nicely to the living room context and blanket-supporting form of the table. It also means that people can easily replace the needles, and customize the colors and number of ‘rungs’ to their desire.
Storage Rack
Knitting needle rack with interchangeable rungs.
Can be used as a shelf or as a magazine/literature rack.
Blanket Storage
A gap created by the form to store throw blankets when they are not being used.
The Table
Made from hickory and hard maple, with a center stripe feature on the table-top. Joinery and assembly that supports a long life.
Drawing and brainstorming the use-cases for the knitting needles, the form it takes place, and the context for the table they fit into.
Some early drawings: needle integration and general ideas.
CAD Modeling: for 3D visualization and refining ideal measurements.
Board plans: to help figure out how much wood to buy.
Shop drawings/Fabrication Solving: made before for approval to begin machining and during machining to guide myself through the fabrication and assembly process.
Creating the table. Working with hickory and hard maple was a fun challenge. The thin, splintery hickory and thick, heavy hard maple made for a vicious yet beautiful combination.
The pieces: machining the wood into the final pieces.
Matching grain from different parts of the board^
Edge Joining: using dominoes to edge join the table and side surfaces.
Needle Rack: drill press and tablesaw to machine the needle rack.
Assembly: putting all the pieces together.
Finishing: with danish oil (soon), surface sanding and cleanup, plugs, etc..
SKILLS
Drawing
Prototyping
Machine & Hand Fabrication
Woodworking
TOOLS
SolidWorks CAD
Wood Machining
Chopsaw, Jointer, Planar,
Table Saw, Drill Press, Domino Cutters, Etc.
Hand and Power Tools