Farmhouse Table

[Sharpienads]

I brought the base into the house and assembled it. It looks a lot bigger now (that's what she said). I'm really happy with how sturdy it is, and it will only be sturdier once that top is attached. I plan on building a bench out of the same redwood boards, but we'll probably buy chairs. I might try to make the chairs instead of buying them, but I haven't decided yet. I think we're gonna need a bigger rug.

[Tim K]

Nice work so far.

If that were mine, I'd put a coat of clear over everything, then distress the crap out of it. Follow that up with a black glaze (basically paint you apply then wipe off selectively), then another coat of clear. The black catches in the distressing marks and makes them look old. Doing it to the legs and the top would tie it all together and make it look unified.

Fill that pocket hole with stainable putty, enlarge randomly, stain appropriately and it will look exactly like a knot.

[BuffCyclist]

As Tim said, you can also use double strength coffee as a glaze, but you put it directly onto the white paint, let it dry and then go over it all with a nice clear coat (laquer, or whatever, i'm not a woodworker, just read about this tip lol).

[Sharpienads]

Fill that pocket hole with stainable putty, enlarge randomly, stain appropriately and it will look exactly like a knot.

Thanks for the tip.

[Irving]

Thanks for explaining the extensions. I thought that might be what you were doing, but wasn't sure. I showed this to my wife and crossed my fingers that she didn't demand that I try to make a table. She hates our kitchen table.

[Sharpienads]

Thanks for explaining the extensions. I thought that might be what you were doing, but wasn't sure. I showed this to my wife and crossed my fingers that she didn't demand that I try to make a table. She hates our kitchen table.

A lot of the tables I looked at online were just made with pine from Lowes or Home Depot and they look pretty good. Get some 2x8s, 2x4s, and 4x4s, and you can build a table. Most of the work I've done so far is just getting the old boards presentable. They were in pretty rough shape. But if you got the pre-cut lumber, I don't think it would be too difficult.

[Sharpienads]

I brought the top in today after I cleaned it up a little to get a feel for what it will look like. I plan on staining the top "Espresso".





Reximus Maximus likes his new table, even though he's trying not to show it.



The Old Buster Dog likes it, too. It's another place for him to lay under. He likes to lay under things.

[Irving]

Any knots or crevices that aren't filled in with clear coat will quickly fill up with crumbs, dirt, dust, etc. Then your wife will hate the table, and tell you about it every time she looks at it. That's my experience anyway.

[hollohas]

Great table, that's awesome! You're going to get years of good use and memories from that table. I love handmade furniture and hope it stays in your family for a long time.

Our old farmhouse table was handmade by my wife's grandpa from an old Walnut tree he cut down on his farm in MO. He had the tree rough cut into boards and built a beautiful table. He passed last year and no one else in the family wanted the table so my wife and I drove to MO to get it out of his old farm house along with the American made antique chairs. (He didn't build them). The thing weighs about 400 lbs so I wasn't thrilled about hauling it back to CO but I'm glad we did. We love our family meals around it and it reminds us of him. Here it is..

[Sharpienads]

Dude, that's a nice table. Mine's not nearly as hefty. But I do expect it to last a long time.