(diaryland) January 14, 2013 - 3:51 p.m.

This is the coffee table I kinda made but mostly watched my Dad make when he let me:

I made an insanely anal measured drawing. I got the plywood from some guy in Camberwell who had been using it to block a gate. It's pretty warped and discoloured, but my Dad cuts out the shape I want. I don't hold out much hope at this point.

Here is my Dad sanding. He lets me have one or two goes. The yellowish plywood we all know and love (?) is starting to reveal itself under all the mouldy scunge.

I found these legs in a bargain bin at IKEA for four bucks each. They're desk legs, but my Dad is instructed by me to cut them down to coffee table length. That's when we find out one of the legs has to be 2cm longer than the others. The top is mad warped. Won't be able to keep loose marbles on this bad boy.

After spraying a bunch of polyurethane on the table in my backyard, and getting a coating of the stuff on the back of my throat, I'm feeling good about this table. It works! And the angle is mostly because I had the camera skewiff.