instructables

Tensegrity Coffee Table

by g.grimmjow81

A year ago I made a living room furniture for a friend of friend of mine saw this rst job and he was amazed and
mine with an industrial style; since I am an engineer I asked for one for himself; I also o ered him some
wanted to add structural concepts to the design and nishing variations but he was in love with what I had
therefore I made it by inserting tensegrity elements. already done and he wanted it identical.
The top was made with the "shou sugi ban" technique
which is very nice together with the steel frame. Another

Step 1: SAFETY FIRST

Safety must come rst! For this project I mainly used these power tools:
Welding machine
Angle grinder
Drill, better a drill press
Circular saw

Each of them needs a speci c safety equipment that must be worn correctly according to what is written in the user
manuals.

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Step 2: BOM

To make this 80x50xh.60cm table I used:

about 7m of 30x2mm square box

about 2.6m of 30x3mm plate
4 feet
4 cables of 65cm each
4 cables clamps (not needed if you use brake cables with already mounted end caps)
4 M10x40 bolts with washer and nut
wood screw
4 L to x the tabletop
tabletop

I have spent about 40 €. For the tabletop I used leftover strips from my pitch pine parquet as it has a really beautiful grain;
other wood species or a laminated glass sheet can also be used as desired.

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Step 3: WHAT IS TENSEGRITY

The word tensegrity derives from "tensional integrity" and refers to structures whose stability is guaranteed by the
coupling:
- tense elements, generally composed of cables;
- compressed elements, more squat, with adequate exural sti ness.

Tensegrity structures are based on the combination of a few simple design patterns:

members loaded in either pure compression or pure tension, which means that the structure will only fail
if the cables yield or the rods buckle. This enables the material properties and cross-sectional geometry of
each member to be optimized to the particular load it carries.
preload or tensional prestress allows cables to always be in tension, to maintain structural integrity.
mechanical stability, which allows the members to remain in tension/compression as stress on the
structure increases. The structure also becomes sti er as cable tension increases.

see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensegrity

Step 4: CONCEPT

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The concept behind this piece of furniture is simple: the
upper frame is hung from the lower one through a chain
and the 4 lateral cables have the purpose of stabilizing
the structure, which otherwise would be in a situation of
incipient motion.
The two frames are perfectly identical in shape and size,
the only variations are represented: by the feet present
in the lower frame only and by the tensioning devices in
the upper frame only, in which they will be hardly visible
as they are hidden by the wooden top. The frames are
made up of a square box of 30mm and 2mm thickness,
shaped as per the attached sketch.
The 4 side tie rods are ø1.5mm bicycle brake cables,
guaranteed for a load of 40kg each and will need to be
pretensioned for about 20kg. To make sure that all cables
Step 5: SHOU SUGI BAN
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have the same voltage just pinch the cable and listen to
the note produced, you can also help yourself with an
app on your mobile phone, which indicates the
frequency (Hz) of vibration. For your curiosity you can
also evaluate the traction on the cable:
https://www.spaceagecontrol.com/calcfunm.htm?
MA%5...
The central chain, when the cabinet is unloaded, will
therefore be subjected to a traction of 80kg (20kg x4
cables) and therefore cannot be identical to the side tie
rods. When the piece of furniture is loaded, the traction
on the central chain remains unchanged while that on
the tie rods decreases.
The Shou Sugi Ban technique consists in carbonizing the
surface of the wood with a ame. Carbonization
decreases the moisture contained between the bers
and closes the pores of the wood, making the surface
compact and hard. At this point the boards are much
better than normal resistant to sources of heat, water
and humidity, parasites and insects and UV rays.
This technique was born in Japan and has been
widespread on the island since ancient times but has
been supplanted by the use of chemical coatings, dyes,
paints. Recently this technique has begun to spread
worldwide, also thanks to design choices that involve
giving color to the tables and at the same time
maintaining the contrast with the burnt veins, which
remain black.
The procedure I followed consists of charring the upper
oor using a simple barbecue, if you have a ame torch
it is easier; then I removed the coarser part of the
charred wood with a scraper. In this way it is possible to
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remove only the softer part of the wood as the
latewood, reacting to the heat, has become very hard
and will keep its black color. Continuing with an orbital
sander, I took up the grooves of the earlywoods in order
to enhance the contrast between the dark rings and the
non-charred light part that I gradually reached.
The wooden boards will also take on a three-
dimensional trend, due to the di erent smoothing of the
rings, which is really pleasant to the touch. At this point
the board must be nished and you can proceed with a
protective oil or varnish for wood, necessary as the
carbonization has been partially removed, which can
also be preceded by a coloring if desired. I took pictures
of some color proofs. The top was then nished with a
steel border that re ects the style of the frame and
allows you to mask the edges that I did not heat-treated
as they would have rounded and I don't like the e ect.
Step 6: FRAME ASSEMBLY

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The assembly is not particularly complex, it took me
about 6 hours to cut, drill, weld and sand the steel frame.
To weld perfectly in the square I used a kit of magnets
and I always checked the diagonals with a tape measure.
An interesting solution that I adopted concerns the wire
tensioners: the cables are xed to the base frame with a
clamp while at the top I inserted the tensioners with
M10 bolts. I previously made 2 through holes on the
bolts (about 2cm from the head), arranged
perpendicularly to each other; in the rst hole ø3 we will
insert the other head of the cable while in the second
hole ø2.5 threaded M3 we will screw a M3x8 bolt that
will serve to lock the cable. To tension the wire, simply
rotate the bolt counterclockwise and once the right
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tension is reached, the nut must be tightened inside. The
force on the cable, which will tend to turn the bolt
clockwise, acts in the same direction as the tightening
and therefore the bolt will not loosen. I made the hole
for the tensioner in the upper face of the frame which
will be covered by the wooden top.
After a rst assembly test, in which I also sat on it
without problems, I disassembled everything and
painted the steel frame with a ferromicaceous paint that
gives it a nice anthracite color.
Finally I mounted the top and xed it with 4 small
brackets and self-tapping screws to the steel frame.
Step 7: PHOTOS

I am very satis ed with the result, I hope you like it too!

I also add two photographs of the co ee table I made earlier, with a di erent shape of the central upright.

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Thanks for sharing your table! You should consider entering the Furniture Contest :)

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