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When the family's analog eight-track tape deck died, our son begged us to keep the corpse, hoping that techies of the future might one day resurrect it. Meanwhile, we needed a coffee table and thought the piece might be a suitable base. And it was.
TAPE-DECK TABLE
- Square steel tubing (for the legs)
- Outdated gear with a sturdy chassis
- 8 10-24 hex-head cap screws with lock washer and nut
- Paint or clear Krylon (optional)
- Glass or Plexiglas table top
- 4 rubber cane tips
- 4 hard rubber casters
- 8 square nuts
- Hacksaw
- Fine metal file
- Power drill and bits
- Allen wrench set
- Crescent wrench
- Phillips screwdriver
- Bench vise
- Pencil
- Hammer
- Measuring tape
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1. Using the hacksaw, we cut the legs from ¾" square steel tubing, and filed the edges smooth and even.
2. It was necessary to temporarily remove the back panel of the deck so we could get in there to attach the legs. Then we drilled through-holes in the tubing and in the chassis and secured them with hex-head cap screws (because they look cool). We connected it all together with a lock washer and nut on the other end.
3. Some might say that the legs look rusted. We prefer to call it a "carefully acquired patina," but in any case, a coat of clear Krylon would prevent any tarnishing.
4. Since you can't put the glass (or Plexi) right on the legs, we started experimenting and discovered that rubber cane tips fit nicely over the leg tops. They also had the perfect tackiness to keep the glass in place.
5. Did I mention the deck is heavy? Hard rubber casters with a threaded shaft make it easier (i.e., possible) to move. We affixed them to the legs with two standard square nuts per caster. Perfectionists will want to drill and tap the legs and attach a set screw to one (or both) of the nuts, but that struck us as overkill. Our eight-track table has survived three moves, and like vinyl, it’s just sitting pretty, waiting for the revival.
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