The Tale of a Table

Back in March of 2018, we had to say good bye to the biggest, oldest tree on our property.  (If you follow us on Instagram, we shared  in our stories the cutting of the tree, the milling of the lumber and a fun project we did with Lily with the stump.  And if you don't follow us, you should! FYI: A lot of the process can still be found in our saved stories.)

We were really sad to see the tree go but decided to focus on the positive and came up with a few projects that could come from our loss.

After the wood was milled into large slabs, they had to dry and cure.  The following May, it was time to put the wood to use.  But before that, Jason prepared by turning a set of table legs on the lathe.

They turned out great!

Ready to be a table!

But Summer was here and it was time to hang with Lily so they sat and waited while we vacationed sneaking in woodworking whenever the destination allowed.

Not really, but I thought this photo was too cute not to post.

The legs were joined with the table skirt and painted.

Sam supervised the drying process.

The wood from our tree was cut on the table saw in smaller strips and then planed.

After the pieces were run through the joiner, they were glued and clamped.

Lily did some cleaning.

And things were looking good.

Real good.

Until we went to dinner at Jason's parents' house for his birthday.  I blame it on my MIL.  I mean, she just had to remind me that at the beginning of this project, during a conversation that she was not even a part of, Jason and I had decided that the table he built us for our breakfast nook would be round.  Ummm....I don't know if you noticed, but there wasn't anything round about this table.

Honestly, I loved the way it looked in the space.  But after some discussion, we decided that round really would work best in our space and it was worth the extra effort to change the table into what we really wanted.  Jason actually insisted...

I was hesitant to not make it work. I really loved the table, but we looked for other options for the base that might work for a round table.  This was one option we had in our storage container.

We searched in our junk and came across this part of a light post that I had been holding on to for a small table on our balcony.



Isn't it cool?

We really liked this option, wanted to preserve the rusty look but also wanted to tone down the green, so Jason scrubbed and pressure washed it.

Next it was time to take the table apart and cut the top round.

This jig helped us go around and around with a router to cut the perfect circle.

Until the "holder onner" broke right before it was almost complete.

And put a gash in the side. 

This is where I do my part to remain positive. I mean, at least it was on the under side and really, it just adds to the story of a handmade, super special piece, right?!

The jigsaw was used to finish cutting the circle.

Then the router to smooth the edge.

To end the progress that particular day, Jason tore apart the bottom that was built for the square table so it could be adapted for a round top.

The next day, the skirt was shortened to fit the round top.

We took a poll on Instagram to see which one was the favorite...even though we already knew which one it would be.  Jason did not like the reconfigured farm table legs at all.  I was sad to not use the legs that he turned but there was no changing his mind about this option.

We both loved the look of this table but it really would not work with chairs and eating or help with the aisle we were trying to widen with our round table, so this option was not an option.

We both loved this option too and though we had no idea what kind of chairs would go with it, chairs would fit perfectly so this would be it.

But before we could finish the project, we decided to try our luck at Epoxy.  Ugh, it was expensive and a bad idea.  This was our first try at this and we are not sure what happened.  Maybe it was the weather?  Maybe it was a ghost? But mostly, it was a warped, ugly mess.  

And it was my turn to be the positive person again.

After the gunk dried, Jason cut the table into sections that would fit in the planer.

And he planed all that stuff off!

After joining and gluing the pieces together again, it was necessary to cut the circle once again since the new size pieces did not match perfectly.

Time to sand again!

And the Epoxy process actually did add to the success of our table.  The Oak had several cracks or places that were not completely solid.  And though I loved the look of this, I did not love the thought of crumbs hiding in those areas since this is the table we eat at most frequently.   So the Epoxy process filled these cracks in perfectly.

The base was cut to the correct height.

And Jason built gussets to attach the table top. (This is standing upside down.)

The Oak top was attached.

It was sealed with Sand and Sealer.

And delivered!

Then it was time to figure out seating.  We looked everywhere!  I was all over the place with what I thought might work.  (And no, we did not actually consider bright blue.  Lily painted that chair for her clubhouse!)

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After all the shopping and running around town, we took a friend's advice and looked on walmart.com.  We ordered chairs late one afternoon and they were delivered the next day, late morning-free shipping.  It was crazy.  Honestly, we wanted to buy local, but we just couldn't find what we wanted.  The chairs we chose were very similar to ones I had been wanting from World Market a while back.  I hadn't even considered them this most recent time we looked there. Jason never really liked them.  Or he never really liked one part about them.  Weirdly enough, the chairs we ordered did not have the extra piece that he did not like but all the parts I always had...and they were metal opposed to wood, which we both loved.

After a quick, easy assembly, we had seating at our table!

There were lots and lots of steps and some mishaps we had to overcome along the way, but I love this table and am blessed to have such a talented husband.

Speaking of talented, I will have to share the piece he built to finish out this space real soon!  Or if you want a sneak peek, you can see it on Instagram @tradinghousedesignco