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DIY Coffee Table made with an upcycle washing machine drum

You can imagine my delight when a friend kindly gave me a washing machine drum she had spent time removing from an unrepairable washing machine. After a couple of years contemplating various projects, my husband kindly created a washing machine drum coffee table from the washing machine drum. Let me show you how to make your own.

Firstly you will need a washing machine drum – here in the UK I would ask at metal scrap merchants. Here is a video showing you how to remove a drum from a redundant washing machine. You will also need to remove the washing machine drum paddles.

The rest of the coffee table was made using resources to hand, including the side of an old shed for the top of the coffee table. Check out our other old shed DIY upcycled projects:

DIY Planter

DIY Garden Table

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Washing Machine Drum Coffee Table

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RECOMMENDED SUPPLIES:
  • Washing Machine Drum
  • 3 pieces of timber 1 1/4″ square by 22 3/4″.
  • Lnuts and bolts
  • Timber for the lid (we used the side of an old shed)
  • Wood paint or stain

Start with deciding the size of your coffee tabletop. Our washing machine drum is 19″ diameter, the finished coffee table top is 21″. This allows for 1 1/4″ square legs to be mounted on the outside of the drum to support the tabletop.

To mark out the tabletop you will need a string, a pen, and a nail. Tie the string onto a nail carefully hammered in just enough in the center of the area you want to cut.  Tie the other end of the string onto the pen. You need to decide how large you want your top, and measure the string half the diameter you want,  in our case 10 1/2″. Carefully draw your circle.

Drill a hole just to the outer edge of your marked circle.

This hole allows you to insert a jigsaw to easily cut out your coffee tabletop.

Turn your tabletop over and add any support required underneath – as this is made from slated wood we added two pieces of supporting wood to stop the slats spreading apart.

Measure the height you would like your finished table, this will be the length of your three legs minus the depth of the wood top. Our finished table measures 23″.

Cut your wood legs to size, using nuts and bolts to attach them through the metal washing machine drum. The bolts should slide through the drum where the washing machine drum paddles were attached.

Place your wood coffee table top onto the top of the washing machine drum coffee table, screw into place.

Paint or stain your wood to add protection. 

I used two tester pots from Cuprinol, charcoal color.

I am delighted with the finished result – it’s the perfect height to be placed next to my husbands garden rocking chair, or as a side table. 

The coffee table is the perfect addition to our upcycle garden projects. Check out our bathtub chair and cable reel display stand for succulents.

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D

Friday 6th of September 2019

A flip top table could hold a few beers!

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