First… The best perspective…

The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass… that it may remain in the house.
~ Isaiah 44:13

Small Table With Large Possibilities

During a recent visit to Goodwill, Dee and I came across a small metal table. It was sturdy and square, but missing the original glass top, which had probably been broken, leading to the former owner’s decision to donate the part that remained. Eh… for $2.99 it was worth the buy.

A few days later we visited a flea market in Nashville. One of our finds was a small bundle of tongue & groove boards that were at one time part of the siding for a house or garage. Cost – $5.00.

OK – time to turn the pieces into something useful. Gorilla Glue and a couple of bar clamps put the scrap pieces together, forming a strong bond. The next step was to square off the four sides of the planned table top using the table saw.

I really wanted the completed table to preserve the rustic look, yet
I also wanted a neat finished appearance, so I framed the tabletop with pieces of scrap pine. These were glued and nailed in place. Once the top was attached to the metal frame with wood screws, it was ready for finishing touches.

I chose to use two coats of General Finishes ‘Weathered Gray’ for the pine frame and the tabletop, carefully rubbing the stain into the wood. Most of the stain was wiped away, leaving behind the well-worn rustic look that makes the piece unique .- truly one of a kind! The last step was to add two coats of Minwax polyurethane satin finish. The surprise was that the finish coat seemed to highlight the worn and weathered look of the vintage tongue and groove boards.

Well, here’s the finished piece, ready for use… and there’s plenty of possibilities. Perhaps as an end table in a family or recreation room, or maybe as a handy place to set a cool drink on the patio, or even as a stand for potted plants, a few books, or a small fish aquarium.

So, instead of these materials ending up in the trash, they were turned into something useful and attractive. The total cost was less than ten dollars and a few hours of time, but this table is not for us. Instead I’ll be turning this item over to Dee who plans to sell it through her new business called Hearth & Gate. Someone’s gonna love this as an unusual but very practical bit of decor for their home.

© Jeffery J. Michaels / Plain English Publications 2017
(Quotations allowed with attribution to this blog)