Custom-Built Coffee Table Boasts Working Star System, is a Clockwork Cosmos You Can Rest Your Feet On

Star-themed coffee tables have long been a staple of design catalogs. But just a few of them have attempted to fit a whole planetary arrangement within, replete with a sun that simply erupts into view on demand. This one goes all out, transforming an ordinary piece of furniture into a small cosmic drama with stellar implosions and endless orbits.

The table, created by The 5439 Workshop on YouTube, is inspired by those old sci-fi shows from the 1960s and 1970s, with their gritty special effects set amongst flashing lights in the blackness of space. The end effect resembles something you would find on a long-abandoned space colony, strong enough for meals while still full of movement beneath the surface.

The core of this design is cherry wood, which was chosen for its warm texture and ability to catch light in all the right places. The builder begins with large wide boards and planes them down on a thickness sander until they are square and dead level. He glues thin pieces of the same wood together with simple white panels to form a thick top measuring about three feet across. Before he begins creating the device, he makes a hole in the middle with a jigsaw and then smoothes the rough edges with a router to produce a neat viewing port.

This opening frames the inner workings, which are then covered with a sheet of glass that simply fits into a recessed slot around the edge. The legs, which are four robust pillars attached to a foundation frame, come next. (Well, the first batch was a little short, so he basically fudged it and suspended the top on some angled supports to give it a floating appearance that lends a modest lift to the whole look.) Once that’s done, a little sanding evens things out, and a few bevels on the edges soften the profile slightly. Tung oil soaks in over numerous coats, coloring the wood to a rich, warm amber with a faint aroma of nuts and time.

Below that glass lies the real showstopper: a mechanical model of planets dancing around a fiery star. The whole shebang runs on tiny motors tucked into the frame, their faint hum just a murmur as they drive a chain of gears along. Its individual planets sit on their own rings, a circle of anodized aluminum that spins on three spot-sized pinions. Those pinions just click securely in place with bearings that allow the entire device to turn without friction, and they pivot on cardan joints of varying height. Because of this design, the rings can tilt up at unexpected angles, causing the planets to swoop up and down rather than remain on a single plane.

Right at the center of the whole setup is a sun, a fist-sized sphere of nylon built up layer by layer using a selective laser sintering printer. As the beam zaps the powder, it just fuses into place – without needing any supports! A blast of glass beads flicks away the excess, revealing a lovely smooth finish. The panels on its face slide across in a row of eight thin blades that split apart like flower petals when the big moment arrives.

As the motor winds an inner disc up step by step, one ratchet clicks forward while another keeps it stable. When the end of the track is reached, the second ratchet lets go, and the disc unwinds in a swift glide. Cams on the disc push the blades out in a rush to mimic a flare, then guide them back shut again as it unwinds at a slower pace. Some extra springs have been added for extra reliability – a couple of pairs were glued in after some early trouble. To be honest, though, the whole unit was a bit heavier than planned, so a fifth leg had to be added to keep it steady from underneath, hidden away in the shadows. But when it does get triggered, the whole thing just flares out in a silent bloom, resets with no jolt, and is ready to do it all again.
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