Upcycle Inspiration – Mobius Cube Side Table

For my upcycle project, I am creating a side table that fits the industrial-modern aesthetic. The table will be made from square steel tubing for the structure; the top will be made of varnished pine wood. The aesthetic that I am trying to emulate with this project can best be shown by the following image:

The furniture and architecture of this house incorporates a lot of natural components (like the plants on the left and the wood shown in many areas of the house) with urban and industrial aspects (a lot of exposed brick, concrete, and steel). I decided to make my table out of steel tube and varnished wood to match this. A good example of what a table made of these two materials looks like is shown below.

I didn’t like, however, that the steel formed a basic cube. I felt that I could take a more unique, artistic route. I found examples of cube-like shapes that are formed from one continuous line made out of either square or round tubing, like the picture shown below.

This particular shape is commonly called an “infinity cube”. After doing some experimenting in CAD, I settled on something similar. This shape is made of one continuous path, passing through itself three times. I am calling it the “Mobius Cube” (title credit to Jamie Frankel). The square tube for the structure will come from my retired component design drill-powered vehicle. I will cut it out of the frame and remove the paint to salvage as much of the material as possible. The table top will be made of pine wood which will come from the cutoffs of 2×4 wood that I saved from other home projects.

Works Cited:

[1] [2] [3]
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2 Comments. Leave new

  • Hey Ryan,
    I love the idea for your project! It’s an amazing idea that is pretty “out of the box”. I was wondering if you did any calculations or considered where the center of gravity would be for your design. Will it be as sturdy as a regular cubical table? Other than that, I’m super excited to see this project come to life!

    Reply
  • Hey Ryan!
    This looks awesome! I love the idea you are shooting for and think this is an awesome idea and project to pursue. Not only are you upcycling, but you are trying to re-define what a “coffee” table is supposed to look like and act like. I am personally very excited to see how this turns out! One question that I had was how will the table balance and is that something that you have considered? From the images you provided it looks like there is a part of the solid beam that holds up the varnished wood is precariously structured. Either way I am very excited to see this!

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