Make an indestructible pouffe from an old tyre

A woman is sitting on a sofa. Her feet are resting on a stool made from rope and a car tyre. — This pouffe is a great example of how you can upcycle used materials.

Difficulty

medium
Cost

60 - 120 €
Duration

3 - 8 h

Does your car need new tyres? Why not make something cool from your old ones? For example, you can make a nearly indestructible pouffe or coffee table. This pouffe can certainly take a knock or too, and it's easy to move from room to room when you need to or have guests. It's upcycling at its best.

Make sure you carry out all the steps carefully and take precautions to keep yourself safe. You can find the proper protective clothing for any situation in our overview.

You need

Tools

Utilities

pencil
box knife
work gloves
tape measure
safety glasses

Materials

Wood drill: thickness dependent on the rope
MDF board 50 x 50 cm
MDF board 60 x 60 cm
(Car) tyre (235 – 17 inch in this example)
Sisal rope Ø 10 mm, 90 metres
Screws 16 x 4 x 50 partial thread
Glue cartridges 35
Black paint
Screw-in felt pads 4 x 28 mm (feet)
Rod to aid drawing circle
Screws: 16 x 4 x 50 partially threaded

L: Length, W: Width, H: Height, D: Diameter

Step 1 8

View the technical drawing

A sketch shows the dimensions for a DIY project. — Here you can already see all the required parts and dimensions for the project.

You can download and print the overview for the DIY here.

Download technical drawing

Step 2 8

Making the MDF top and base: Measuring is key!

Measure the tyre — Measure the hole in the centre of the tyre.

Measure the wooden rod. — Mark the correct measurement on the plank.

Drilling a hole in the wood and screwing in the screw. — Drill the hole and ensure that the screw sits loosely in the middle.

You need: Cordless drill/driver, pencil, tape measure, MDF board 50 x 50 cm, MDF board 60 x 60 cm, Screw-in felt pads 4 x 28 mm (feet), Rod to aid drawing circle

You need to make a top support so that you don't just sink straight through the pouffe (or to give it some rigidity if it's a coffee table). The key is making this sturdy and stable.

Tyres vary in size, so carefully measure the gap in the centre of the tyre. Saw a rod to the length of the radius of the gap. Then, use a screw at one end of the rod to screw it into the centre of the MDF board.

Step 3 8

Now, you can use the rod to draw a circle with a smooth edge

Drawing the pouffe. — Sawing a clean edge.

You need: Jigsaws, protective gloves, pencil, Rod, MDF board

After the previous step, you can turn the rod and use it as a sort of large compass to correctly draw a neat circle. Then, saw the circle with a jigsaw. The important thing for sawing is to make sure that you fix the guide of the jigsaw at an angle of 45 degrees. This allows you to saw the circle with a smooth, angled edge, rather than a straight one. This is important to allow the upper support to slot nicely inside the tyre.

Once you've finished your top support circle, repeat the steps above to make an identical one for the base. If you want to have the pouffe on feet, you can simply saw the bottom circle straight, with the saw in the straight position. In this example, we used a straight-cut base plate.

Step 4 8

Sanding the base and top support.

You need: Bosch planslipar, Black paint

Make the circles smooth and even using a sander. You can also paint the base if you like.

Step 5 8

Mounting the top MDF plate

Drill a hole in the centre of the upper circle, tie a knot at one end of the rope and pull it through.

You need: Cordless drill/driver, Sisal rope, Screws, Wood drill: Thickness dependent on the rope

Drill a hole wide enough for the rope to fit through in the centre of the upper MDF board. Pull the rope through and secure with a knot. Then, place the board on top of the tyre and screw it in.

Step 6 8

Fixing the sisal rope

You need: Bosch limpennor och limpistoler, Sisal rope, Glue cartridges

This step is super simple, but it might take a while. Place the rope in an ever-growing spiral and glue the rope onto the board. Use (approximately) one blob of hot glue for every 10 cm of rope, winding it round (as in the picture) as you go. Once that is fixed, keep winding and gluing until the board is covered. Make sure you have two strips of rope leftover on the underside, the base plate will soon cover these up.

Step 7 8

Mounting the base plate

You need: Cordless drill/driver, Wood drill, Screws, Screw-in felt pads

Now, screw the base plate to the tyre (you may need to screw through the rope), and drill four holes for the felt feet. The feet make sure you don't scratch your floor.

Step 8 8

Finish as required

A tough pouffe made from tyres. — And you're done!

Your upcycling project is finished. If you like, you can use acrylic paint to create a nice pattern on the rope. But the pouffe looks great just as it is.