I remember college being one of the most fun times of my life. Granted, I wasn’t the best student while I was there. Class definitely came second to me having a good time, and that much I do regret. I had a TON of fun in college though. Living the college lifestyle definitely comes with certain stereotypes. I remember taking hand me down furniture, plates and silverware to try to make it look like I was some semblance of an adult. I definitely was not however. Some college students take it upon themselves to build their own furniture to fill their apartments. I’ve seen quite a few attempts, and most are really bad. This DIY a couple of roommates posted on imgur is definitely better than most I’ve seen. You have to check this thing out for yourself!
Here are the supplies they started with, and the planning board they had sketched on.
They found this door mirror at a local store. It had beveled edges though so they cut slits into the board to support the mirror. The holes drilled into it will later house the LED lights.
They clamped the long boards in place while they made measurements to the end boards. They also made sure the beveled edge of the mirror wasn’t showing.
Once the beveled edge was properly hidden, the boards were screwed together.
They set up the boards into position for the next step.
The massive holes on the end of the boards are for the cables to fit through.
They added these corner pieces to support the leg flanges.
Next up was finding a spot for the power strip. The lights, raspberry pi, and outlets will all be powered from it.
A piece of wood was added to the middle for support. It also helps solve some of the warping issues they were having, as well as adds a place for the power strip to sit.
This homemade power outlet will be used to power the power strip.
They added a wooden frame to make it match the table.
For convenience, they added a power outlet at each end of the table.
Now it was time to outline how they wanted to build the top.
Using wood biscuits and wood glue allowed them to make a simple, yet nice looking joint.
They clamped the pieces together and let them dry overnight. The two-way mirror that will create the infinity effect will be set on top of all this, so making sure everything was level was key.
The creators dubbed this piece the “top shell”. This piece is what you see from the outside, but it does not actually attach to the rest of the table. It simply sits on top of the section that houses the lights.
This is the basic concept of how the “top shell” works. Instead of long strips of wood along the side, they simply put wood biscuits in every foot or so.
The table is complete, all that’s needed now are the lights and the two-way mirror.
This is the raspberry pi that will allow the lights to be programmed.
The lights came in as well. They said it took forever to get them to work with the raspberry pi.
Each one of those lights is fitted into one of the pre-drilled holes they made.
Only half the light would work at first unfortunately.
They adjusted the code on the raspberry pi and eventually got them working though.
One of the roommates uses his tablet to adjust the settings on the first trial run.
This thing doesn’t have a bottom!
This DIY infinity table is incredible.
This would be such a cool project to do with your buddies. I have half a mind to try to make a beer pong table that looks like this! This is definitely not a table you would find in an adult home, but for a couple of college roommates, this will definitely be a talking point. I also really love the fact that they decided to make something for themselves, instead of going to good will and picking up a table with three legs for $5. These guys should be extremely proud of this.