Upcycle Progress: 1970s Record Side Table

This past week, I attempted to acquire the materials for my project. The main components are a side table/stool base and a used record.

After using sources such as Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist in the past, I thought that they would be good places to start for finding the base of my table. There were a lot of options when I checked but most were upwards of $20. This was far too expensive for a struggling college student like me. Additionally, many of the stools or side tables were not in the style I would prefer and seemed like they would be hard to modify to fit the record on top. I was able to find a couple of good side tables for sale but they were quickly sold before I could make an offer or abruptly taken off the market.

Due to these struggles with the online marketplaces, I turned to local thrift stores. Initially, I tried the Goodwill in Boulder but their side table stock was limited. Next, I went to an art thrift store called Art Parts in the hopes that they would have some upcycled table legs/stands or even wood to make legs out of. While they did have some wood, it was not in the best stock size for cutting or either too small. My last location was a thrift store called Pig + Pearl, also in Boulder. It was there that I was able to find a very suitable base for my side table. For about $8, the base of the chair pictured below fit my desired aesthetic and provided ample room for my potential record storage idea.

The chair purchased from Pig + Pearl

The other important aspect of this chair was that the seat was easily detachable from the base. While at the store, I noted that only four hex screws did this task. Once home, I was able to remove the seat from the base.

Chair with the seat removed

The other interesting aspect of this attachment point is that it rotates. I think that this will add a more dynamic aspect to my project, with the record top surface being able to mimic the rotation in an actual record player. In terms of attaching the record to this feature, I plan to laser cut or 3D print an adapter piece (in the ITLL) that mates with the four slots. My original plan was to use epoxy or glue to attach the record but I developed a more elegant solution. Since the record already has a hole in its center, I plan to incorporate some sort of threading or pin feature into my custom adapter piece so that the record can simply be affixed. This way, the record is also removable and guaranteed to be properly centered.

In terms of the next steps, I plan on finding a used record this week from a thrift store or record store. Additionally, I am in the process of CAD modeling the adapter piece for the base. If I do end up going the laser-cutting route, I plan on purchasing acrylic from a vendor such as Colorado Plastics or trying to find scrap in the ITLL.