Materials: 2xMelltorp Dining Table, 1xSet Capita Brackets, 1xLack Shelf, 200xVintage comic postcards, 1xSmall tub of varnish, 1xSmall tub of PVC glue, 1xPainbrush,
Description: 1. Assemble your Melltrop tables. In this case I got 2 white tables as they are cheaper than the other finishes.
2. Join the 2 tables together. Flip the tables upside down and put the 2 ends of the table together. It's now time to join your tables together. I used about 12 flat braces all the way along the seam underneath the table to hold it together. I'm not very handy so I didn't do the best job but it's surprisingly solid.
3. Move the centre legs. I unscrewed the 2 legs at the front centre of the table to avoid banging my knees on them and so I can actually sit with my legs under the table. All I did was detach them from the front and move them about 18 inches back under the table and drilled a screw from the top of the desk down into the legs. They are pretty wobbly but as long as you stand them up the hold just fine. Don't worry about the unsightly screws on top of they will be covered by your postcards. I also put one of the flat braces across the front of table where the legs were to strengthen the table.
4. Fun time! Time to paste your comic book covers to the desk! I got 1 pack of 100 Vintage Marvel and 1 pack of 100 Vintage DC comic book covers
for about £10 each from Amazon but you could use any postcards. Take a paint brush and a pot of PVC glue and apply a postcard wide strip of glue at one end of the table and start sticking down your postcards. I would leave 1 or 2 mm around each side of the postcard as they tend to expand slightly with the wetness of the glue. Cover the whole of your table and the top of your Lack shelf. 5. Varnish. Give the PVC at least 4 hours to dry. Overnight if possible. Now get a good heavy hardwearing clear varnish and apply a few coats. This takes quite a while to dry between coats. I would say about 12 hours.
6. Attach the Capita Brackets to the Lack shelf. I put one at either side of the shelf but this has turned out to be a problem. The shelf is hollow in parts. The screws I used did not take and the shelf is now coming away from the screws slightly. I may be a good idea to screw a solid flat peice of wood securely onto the bottom side of the shelf and then attach your brackets to that.
7. Attach the Capita brackets. Drill a hole the correct size in the top of the desk and fit your capita brackets as instructed.
8. Done! Enjoy your new comic book table! Be warned. It is quite distracting when you have work to do ;)
Bonus tips!
- Use a good quality varnish and give it as many coats as you can and this will last for ages! I've used this for 9 months and it still looks fresh.
- This table is HUGE! Make sure you measure up before buying the bits.
- Get the white tables if your are on a budget. They are cheaper and look quite cool with the artwork on them. This whole build cost me only £80!
~ Niraj Gohel, Liverpool, UK
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