Can anybody give me some good measurements for a coffee table (Detail within)?
Look at woodworking plans on google – quite a lot are free You will be needing nominal1 1/2″ square by 18″ long for the legs, 2″ x 1″ for the top rails, 1 1/2″ x 1″ for the bottom rails and, say 1″ thick by whatever size you choose for the top and similar but thinner for the bottom shelf. You must be prepared to true and plane to size all the timber, and to edge join planks for the top and shelf, ‘biscuit joints’; Legs and rails will need mortise and tenon joints, cut a groove on the inner faces of the rails so you can fit the top and shelf with buttons, (so they can move against the rails in the varying atmosphere) Oak or Ash would be good choices or North American Poplar ‘tulip-wood’ is a little cheaper. You can also buy laminated sheets of solid pine 22mm thick ( 50mm strips edge joined and finished) and look for some pine for the legs with a similar grain. If you have access to the machine tools needed you should be OK in 40 hours.
