Once upon a time, in a land far far away from my current life I managed a large warehouse.
A colleague named Jason would stop by every few days to
pick something up or coordinate on a job. He worked in the
same industry but for another company that we worked along side. Jason's name would come up frequently at
home as someone I saw all the time, even spent countless
time on the phone with. For some strange reason GG never
got to meet Jason, so he became a phantom idea. There
were many times one of them would show up and the other
had just left. It really became amusing for all of us. My
acquaintance with Jason continued after I moved into the
field. Jason was on many sites that I worked, but again
GG never saw him. One day last spring GG was
perusing Craig's list and came across an offer of free
lumber, and it was just down the road. GG loves to
surprise me with goodies so he set up to see the lumber with
the owner's wife and she made all the arrangements for
GG to meet up with her husband Sunday morning. So
when Sunday morning came he whisked me off in the van
with promises of wonder and delight. Have you figured it
out yet? The man giving away the wood turned out to be
none other than Jason. I just stood there dumb struck,
then we all laughed about it.
Needless to say this is how I acquired beautiful 2" thick
100 year old cedar I would use on this antique Trestle Table.
The original top had water damage and wanted to try something new.
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The standard height of a dining table today is between 28"
and 30". Which meant I had to raise
the height a bit with some bun feet.
While the glue set up on the feet I painted him with Annie
Sloan Old White Chalk Paint and distressed with a wet sponge.
Back at the top, all the boards needed to be cleaned and
smoothed. The end grain had to be closed using an angle
grinder with 36 grit disc.
I have used a grinder with wood working for more than 20
years, this is not a tool you just pick up and try without the
guidance of a trusted professional.
I needed one more board the right size so I did a shouted out
asking if any one could contribute. The bright orange center
board was what I got. The next step was to age the orange
piece to match the weathered look the other boards had.
asking if any one could contribute. The bright orange center
board was what I got. The next step was to age the orange
piece to match the weathered look the other boards had.
To achieve this look ...
I used a wash of black and brown paint on the one center
board then white washed all the boards together.
Next I strapped them all together. Above is the underside of
the surface. The strapping lines up perfectly to the table base.
The final steps were to lay 2 coats of Wipe On Poly
followed by 2 coats of Furniture wax to the new top.
Both product I used are from MINWAX.
I was able to date the original antique table to 1 of 2
furniture companies in Vancouver between 1912 and 1939.
UPDATE:
I found a fabulous use for the original top -
INSTAGRAM @4_the_love_of_wood
CLICK EACH PHOTO FOR DETAILS
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