Building a top from re-purposed wood for an ornate cast iron table base.
This is the almost finished project.
Some projects take awhile - the drying time between the shellac and the varnish layers slowed the finished project to a very slow crawl.
The ornate very heavy cast iron garden table base was found at a church fund raising garage sale in July.
Making the top: planning and construction
After stubbing a toe on the base I knew the base needed a large enough top to protect tender feet from accidental knocks. Out it went to the front deck into a quiet corner along with the remains of the TV Trolley (which was part of this project) and a faux round white curb find (which was used to test for size).
This is where re-purposing comes into the story.
DH took the top surface of the 20 year + rolling trolley that supported our now old and humongous TV - here is the 'getting ready to leave the house' birthday cake photo that had the TV on the trolley in the background. We walked around it for weeks and weeks, piled things on top, treated it like it belonged just for awhile longer. It was such a relief to see it finally go.
(the rest of the story was having a friend with teen age boys come and haul that amazingly heavy TV to recycling for us this week - thank you Scott - you did a very good deed).
Some of this project was worked on when I wasn't looking (so no pictures) but here are the left over pieces after cutting the table shape happened.
DH glued and clamped the boards he pried off the top of the trolley to make a rectangular shape. Those boards had been nailed on with a great many 3 " nails to that frame - made for a very sturdy base and involved small pry bar, hammer, larger pry bar and a lot of muscle to remove. When DH built it all those many years ago he built it to last.
Used the round faux piece to the wood as the pattern (it was 1" too wide for the glued up wooden rectangle. Next up was using a string and a pin and a pencil to make a circle. Still not right.
The idea of a semi-oval took root. Curved on two sides and straight on the other two.
DH redrew the shape, cut it out with the jig saw and sanded everything into a pleasing clean oval-ish surface and edge.

Some discussion on finish, decided to go with natural finish. Started with shellac on both sides to seal and keep the wooden top from bowing (read pictures left to right, down and left).
Tip - used push pins on the underside so it could be flipped over for each layer of shellac and varnish (saved some drying time).
Next up was the first coat of Circa 1850 Stain N Varnish Gel, first to the bottom and then the top.
This will be repeated 2 more times after each coat dries.
Getting closer to adding the top to the base (evening photo).
Top will be attached to the base from underneath with screws. A bit more work, more pictures to come, maybe in my next post.
Wild roses from way up country, such a sweet scent.
Thanks DH
PS - the wooden table top was built up underneath so the table base matched the screw holes on the cast iron base and then the built up area was screwed up into the top - so no screws showed on the top .
It was taken to my booth on October 9th (Thanksgiving Day in Canada)
Featured by:
Lisa of Condo Blues Aug 24/17
Tarah Lynn of To Grandma's House We Go Aug 30/17
PS - the wooden table top was built up underneath so the table base matched the screw holes on the cast iron base and then the built up area was screwed up into the top - so no screws showed on the top .
It was taken to my booth on October 9th (Thanksgiving Day in Canada)
Featured by:
Lisa of Condo Blues Aug 24/17
Tarah Lynn of To Grandma's House We Go Aug 30/17
Sharing with:
Thursday
Saving 4 Six, Have A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson, A Delightsome Life, My Thrift Store Addiction, Try It Like It, The Charm of Home, Seeking Lavender Lane, Sincerely Paula, Crafts a la Mode
Saving 4 Six, Have A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson, A Delightsome Life, My Thrift Store Addiction, Try It Like It, The Charm of Home, Seeking Lavender Lane, Sincerely Paula, Crafts a la Mode
Friday
Reviews, Chews and How-To's, Two Chicks and a Mom, Bloggers Pit Stop, Katherine's Corner, Under a Texas Sky, Rattlebridge Farm, Chic on a Shoestring, Little House Big Alaska, The Cottage Market, A Fireman's Wife, The Painted Hinge, The Boondocks Blog, How Sweet The Sound, Funky Junk Interiors, Ms. Toody Goo Shoes, Pam's Party and Practical Tips
Reviews, Chews and How-To's, Two Chicks and a Mom, Bloggers Pit Stop, Katherine's Corner, Under a Texas Sky, Rattlebridge Farm, Chic on a Shoestring, Little House Big Alaska, The Cottage Market, A Fireman's Wife, The Painted Hinge, The Boondocks Blog, How Sweet The Sound, Funky Junk Interiors, Ms. Toody Goo Shoes, Pam's Party and Practical Tips
Saturday
Pieced Pastimes, Our Mini Family, Strawberry Butterscotch, Life On Lakeshore Drive, Love of Home
Pieced Pastimes, Our Mini Family, Strawberry Butterscotch, Life On Lakeshore Drive, Love of Home
Sunday
Nifty Thrifty, That DIY Showoff, Silver Pennies, What Meegan Makes, Creating My Way To Success
Nifty Thrifty, That DIY Showoff, Silver Pennies, What Meegan Makes, Creating My Way To Success
Monday
Dwellings The Heart of Your Home, Two Purple Couches, Coastal Charm, Grandma's Briefs, A Stroll Through Life, Celebrate and Decorate, Home Stories A to Z
Dwellings The Heart of Your Home, Two Purple Couches, Coastal Charm, Grandma's Briefs, A Stroll Through Life, Celebrate and Decorate, Home Stories A to Z
Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style, Gingersnap Crafts, Raven Would, Raggety Bits, Grandma's House DIY, The Thrifty Home, Suburban Simplicity, Of Faeries and Fauna Craft Co., The Essence of Home
Savvy Southern Style, Gingersnap Crafts, Raven Would, Raggety Bits, Grandma's House DIY, The Thrifty Home, Suburban Simplicity, Of Faeries and Fauna Craft Co., The Essence of Home
That's quite a makeover. The tip about the push pins is appreciated ! The old TV story made me smile. However did we think we needed those monstrosities? We gave our (perfectly working) one to our lawn guy and he picked it up and carried it out himself! That man was strong.
ReplyDeleteWow Joy! Beautiful job! And a bit of a task by the looks of it too. Love very much. Mimi xxx
ReplyDeleteGreat repurpose - love the look!
ReplyDeleteJoy, the table is brilliant. What a fantastic finish. I love it. Well done my friend. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteLooking great so far! Great tip about using push pins - going to try that!
ReplyDeleteLove this! PINNED! Thanks for linking at Friday Frenzy Link Party!
ReplyDeleteJoy, your table top looks wonderful! Thank you for sharing @ Vintage Charm--pinned!
ReplyDeleteYour table looks great! What a nice transformation. :)
ReplyDeleteJoy, I love a great repurpose! Using the wood from the TV stand for the tabletop was a fantastic idea. I love the cast iron and wood combo too! Thanks so much for sharing with us! Pinned to share.
ReplyDeleteThat base is amazing Joy! The table is going to be wonderful. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
ReplyDeletehugs,
Jann
Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!
ReplyDeleteThat is one gorgeous table!
ReplyDelete:) gwingal
Looking forward to the finished product and we have a TV like that sitting in our garage. We've been trying to give it away but no one wants it. Thank you for sharing with us this week at Celebrate Your Story and we hope you will join us again next week.
ReplyDeleteyou have Sitka Roses! Amazing! I love the work you're doing on the table--be sure to share when you finish it!
ReplyDeleteWow! The perfect little table...great job!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY!
Blessings,
Cindy
This table is beautiful. I love the base of it very very much. You get a great job on all of the table.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this with us at the To Grandma's house we go link party! I'll be featuring on my site tomorrow morning when the new party starts!
ReplyDeleteI love the update it is the perfect garden table
ReplyDeleteI found a bunch of good articles on this subject here. Thanks!
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ReplyDeleteI love the result you achieved… Such a great idea!
ReplyDelete