What Is It From?

Wood, but I don't think that's what you meant.

It looks like one of those huge spools that the utilities companies use for plastic conduit.

One of those giant "cotton reels" for storing and dispensing cables?

Looks like cable spools,.... come in different sizes and some are just the right height for a table.

A hippie coffee table.

Probably from the roadside.

It looks stained and varnished.

Hippies don't to 'stained and varnished,' they do 'bare as Nature intended.'

Now hipSTERS WOULD go for a stained and varnished cable spool table. The idea of taking an industrial cast-off and finishing it like fine furniture just DRIPS of hipster irony.

"hipster irony" - isn't that an oxymoron?

No, it's a redundancy. The only reason hipsters do ANYTHING is to be ironic. They dress in second-hand clothes from the thrift store, with colors and patterns clashing, not out of a sense of fashion⁽¹⁾, but as an ironic REJECTION of the concept of fashion. They go to coffee bars and listen to bad poetry, not for entertainment, but as an ironic REJECTION of the concept of 'popular (as in 'people like it') entertainment⁽²⁾. They watch a cartoon about magical ponies, not because they like it, but as an ironic REJECTION of the concept that mass media (which they have already rejected; they're being ironic about their own irony here⁽³⁾) must be segregated by age group and gender identity⁽⁴⁾.

Notes:

1. The fashion trend of "your mother dresses you funny."
2. This could also be considered an acceptance of the "true Art is incomprehensible" maxim, but being a hipster is not about accepting, it's about rejecting with irony.
3. This would be "meta-irony" if they didn't also reject the concept of meta-.
4. At least this is what they claim; it's also likely that they are actually "Bronies," and are just "keeping it in the closet" so they don't get cast out by their hipster peers.
   

You seem to have an exceptionally deep knowledge of the genre. Jus' sayin'.

You start paying attention to 'subcultures,' and you begin to pick up on the motifs and styles that define them:

The "Mod crowd" of the late 50's - early 60's were defined by a fascination with all things 'modern,' starting with 'modern jazz.' The culture was a rejection of 'old, stuffy, timid' British culture and an embracing of the 'new;' new materials, new styles of thinking, ("Women are people with their own goals and desires; they are not, nor should they strive to be, mere 'accessories' to 'their man.'")

The "Punk" movement of the 70's and continuing to this day, are defined by a rejection of authority and a celebration of independence, nonconformity, and a Do It Yourself ethic. They are also a 'confrontational' subculture, using their music, fashion, and even their very presence to make people question their own views on society.

We're all aware of the "Hippie" movement, with their rejection of the 'old ways' of fear and conformity, embracing Peace and Love, right during the time that America was heavily invested in a brutal war overseas. The hippies may be effectively gone now, but their values of Peace and Love and the "I'm okay, you're okay" non-judgementalism live on in the Tolerance and Acceptance values embraced by more recent subcultures, such as the Bronies⁽¹⁾.

I guess it helped that I was a 'nerd' in High School: being excluded from all the subcultures on campus allowed me to look at them all objectively and learn the structures, the similarities and differences; and from that, I learned how to 'analyze' other subcultures I came across.

Notes:

1. One exception to the Bronies and their Tolerance and Acceptance: do NOT call a Brony a "Furry." Bronies consider the "Furry" subculture to be too 'decadent and sex-obsessed,' mainly due to the sensationalist articles done on them my Vanity Fair and MTV. Bronies maintain a clear distinction between "real" Brony subculture and the "not for kids" stuff, forcing the latter to "stay in the closet" as a sub-subculture.
   

Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd) in "Taxi" had one in his apartment.

Cable spool.

The eccentric (or even random) location of holes is amusing.

What was left after the accident......

From the Cavalier testing grounds.

Shown below is one of the early proto type Cavalier. This model was built for (3)/(2) seater model. With the optional spare drive unit shown tailing behind.

Color comes in Rustic Brown.

Wow free furniture, haven't seen one of those for a while....

I'm not convinced about the cable drum idea - I've never seen one without a central hole.

Maybe it was a reject..

I believe it been cut down if you look at the pattern of the staples they go off the far side. They do appear to be pretty centered around the axle hole.

Great patio table with a place to hold the umbrella.

The central hole has been drilled out ... D'uh

Or maybe it's been stored on it's edge for too long and the hole has slipped down a tad....

Del

Maybe, someone took the hole, and now its in some ones pocket.

That individual needs to give it back. It could be used as a candle-holder and this table hasn't got one.

Too late, he lost it because he had a hole in his pocket.

the hole? Some barsteward nicked it and sold it on EBay

Maybe the hole grew shut?

Here's one on Ebay for £40 8' in dia....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Massive-wooden-cable-drum-party-table-patio-table-project-tall-wedding-table-/252128484572

Bonus question:

What kind of a coat was the person taking the picture wearing?

A windbreaker with jodhpurs and gumboots?

Only the Shadow knows....

Ahhhh, Now There's a table that's fit for a King..... King Arthur that is......

A burka?

Agree with the others...cable spool (aka dorm table).

That was obviously too easy. Yes, it was a cable drum.

In case you run into this...

I had a customer request for 750' of 4/4 cable attached to our submersible pump. I asked the cable vendor to bring both ends of the cable out of the reel. I attached the far end of the cable to the pump and secured the pump to the reel flange. At the job site, the customer put the reel on an axel and payed out the cable until it got to the pump.

Might it be something from a Mill of some sort, maybe even a flour mill?

Great question by the way, REALLY interesting for a change.

My guess is birch, but you didn't want to know that. But if you use is it to make an outhouse, you could be a member of the Birch John Society.

Definitely a 'cable spool' although they are also used to carry long lengths of either gas or water pipe. This one looks like it's made from pine and then stained before varnishing.

These were specially designed beer or ale barrels developed before the advent of the horse or Teamsters, which inspired the song "Roll out the barrel".

See also the book "Why Cats Paint".