Living-Deliberately.com

We have built a table.

It is big.

We’ve joked many times that this will be a table to build a house around. A life around. It’s only a half joke.

We built it for $70 with framing lumber and a week’s time.

But this table is priceless.

10 2×8’s, yellow pine. We almost used Cypress, which had a nice Florida heritage idea to it, but I wanted imperfect, dentable, wood that would take on a nice patina in what will become a very normal life. So, plain, run-of-the-mill (so to speak) pine it was.

First, we ripped it into strips.

Then, two beads of glue on every side to be jointed. We gave close attention to how the grain was matching…or not. I wanted a sort of “butcher block” look.

Three boards, glued and clamped; the beginning of the top.

The legs were made of salvaged wood. Origonally they were the beams in some guy’s kitchen, remodled by my Dad. Then, they became legs for my mother’s work tables. Now, patina removed, they will be the legs that hold my table, pictured here with the frame.

Shortening them slightly. They had been “counter height”, 36 in, and we wanted the table to be a finished 32.

Learning to use the Router. It takes a little finesse to get it right! There are few dings and wavy lines here and there on my table…. patina!

Dad, bracing the legs. We used screws and carriage bolts. The table will need to be disassembled to be moved; it’s too big and heavy otherwise.

Lots and lots and lots of sanding.

Choosing a finish was hard! And I was considering distressing it with chains too. It became a debate between “honey” and “nutmeg”, though what I decided on hadn’t yet been presented.

The tops were ready for the planer. I LOVE the planer best of all the tools in the shop. Ugly, rough, imperfect things go in; smooth, refined, clean things come out the other side.

Clamping the top together. At this point, Dad started calling it my “aircraft carrier”.

Scraping the glue bumps; getting ready sand and grind the top.

Routing the edge. I went a groove that wouldn’t get dented too easily, nor be a food catcher.

Just taking a moment to appreciate that grain! I LOVE it. Each line represents a year of life. That always seems profound to me.

Break Time!

Sealing it to minimize warping, a real concern not using wood that wasn’t kiln dried and aged to the extent we would have liked.

I decided on a shade of stain between Nutmeg and Honey. It’s called…”Wheat”. I am using this photo to be true to the project’s process but I swear I look rather mannish in this one!

And here it is!!!! It needs to cure for a few days before we eat on it. I’m gathering chairs from various thrift stores and garage sales and painting them a royal, almost navy, blue.

It is The Table. I’m not sure how working with wood, smelling fresh sawdust, and Dad’s time heals exactly. Only that it does somehow.

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