Monday, August 27, 2012

Dining Room Table - Part 3

I was going to wait and post a final post once it was all done, but I see that's it's been a while since I've updated, so I guess I should get another post up. 

Ok - last I was on, I left the project at the painting being done. So, lets start with what I did next. 
Next up, I added a plywood top. 
I used "L" shaped brackets (3 a side) to attach the plywood to the frame.  (forgot a photo of that). Anyways, this doesn't look too bad, so let's flip the table and see what it looks like.
Well, the wood on top looks good. Till I took a closer look. Hmm, I hate the way I can see the plywood. Not the look I was looking for. Plus, it added an extra 3/4" to the height. Not good! Especially since the table legs are 31" instead of your standard 28" (All 4 of us have long legs, Hubby and I are tall, the boys are getting there). So you add the 3/4" plywood, plus the 3/4" table boards to the 31" legs and you have 32 3/4" height table - we would have needed new chairs!  So less than 24 hours after I put the plywood on, I took it off. Will save it for a different project.

So, back to the hardware store I go. Where I meet a friend who asked if I lived there. To which I responded.... yes!  I explained my problem, and the guys behind customer service desk were very helpful in knowing exactly what I needed - joist brackets.  So, a 2x4 and some brackets, and we have a much better top. Hubs figures it looks like a little deck. 
Kids thought it was a deck! Told them this was the first and last time they were allowed to stand on the dining room table.  There is a certain amount of pride in knowing that I built it strong enough, that we could stand on it and it wouldn't break. I think I did pretty good. 
Next step.... washing the boards - there's 100+ years of dirt on them. 

The first picture shows how dirty the boards were. I thought that nice deep brown was actual colouring - but it all washed off.  Second picture shows my tools. I scraped and vacuumed, and scrubbed with a wire brush and vacuumed, and then I scrubbed with a wet floor brush. The towel is covering my legs because I didn't want them getting gross. 
Here's how the boards look after one washing. They sure lost that rich colour. Oh well, now I get to learn how to stain something. 
Cut my boards to the size I need. Sure is starting to come together. 

Predrilling all my holes. My brother-in-law gave me the idea of screwing the boards to the frame from underneath. So - lots of holes later - I think I have enough. I put my boards onto the floor and then the frame on top so that I could see where I  needed to put the holes. I didn't do the holes all the way through. Only about 2 1/2" deep, my screws are 1 1/2" long, so that leaves me 1" of 2x4 and a 1/2" of table board to screw through. I think it will work. Sure is coming together. 

Tonight, I will wash them one more time, and then give them a good sanding. Tomorrow, I get to play with stain.

5 comments:

  1. This is going to look awesome when it's done! :)

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    1. It's looking so good already. Tomorrow, I think I'm going to have to take the old table out, and store it in the basement. I need to get the new one in. And now I'm on a deadline - we have company coming on Thursday.

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  2. You should be proud, the table looks great! I'm completey inspired by your work.

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  3. So great! I am jealous of your skills!

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