Second-hand carpenter

When I was telling you about power tools that I work with, I mentioned that I would be back with the manual and finishing ones. Their presentation is related to a small work done for our booth at BIFE-SIM 2016. As it was done in a very short time I didn't even photograph all the stages, but I hope to get my point across eventually.

How I made the wooden countertop

For our stand we wanted to use tall furniture and a table with bar stools seemed very appropriate. Unfortunately, the table we found had been standing in the rain and had a damaged table top. It absolutely had to be replaced and we didn't have much time to do it either.

What I was going to do was not very different from reclaimed wood table top, but this time we used new planks of resinous wood. The original countertop was round, but a square one would have given us more space and was also much simpler to make.

I quickly cut the planks, drilled holes in the sides and fastened them with wooden dowels and pliers. Then I left them in the press for a couple hours.

Tools used

I told you, in addition to power tools I also use some hand tools. In a random string would be a saw, hammer, screwdrivers, pliers, pliers, patent, carpenter's meter, chisel, and a set of chisels.

If you want to buy cheap and good tools and don't mind that they are second-hand, you can find them in flea markets. I paid 15 lei. I also found a similar one at a garage sale antiquesbut he was asking 300 lei for it.

How we finished the countertop

The countertop, I toasted and aged little. They use improvised tools (chain, nuts strung on wire), but also scrapers, wire brushes, chisels or chisels.

Unfortunately, the finishing touches are missing intermediate photos, but I'll tell you how and what I did and show you the final result.

• I applied one coat of cream nitro primer and one coat of clear nitro,
• sanded well between coats with 320 grit sandpaper,
• I applied the dark walnut patina - I preferred a dark color because the metal table leg is black,
• I polished the patina,
• we applied a top coat of acrylic varnish with natural effect. 

I applied the finishing materials using a Kremlin cup gun (I reserve a special space for its presentation). Once dry, I assembled it and after a photo or two I ran to Romexpo because BIFE-SIM was starting.

Being at a furniture fair, our table, which we had thought of strictly for its utility, worked like a magnet. It sparked many discussions about wood, finishing and more.

Thanks for visiting!