MAKING A NEW/OLD FARM TABLE

What started out as making a new table top to set over my old dining table

(I wanted a more old looking table)

turned into making a whole new table.

After examining the legs of my old table I was unsure if they would

securely hold the weight of the new table top.

My old table was an old antique that my dad had made longer for me.

It was also very dark and I wanted to lighten up my dining room.

And since basically the only thing missing after the table top was constructed

would be the legs I just went for it.

New table it was.

And here it is.

Since I started from scratch I could make it not quite as wide as my old one.

Which I had always wanted and I made it a touch longer.

It's now 11 feet by 42 inches. 

Here's how my dad and I made this table.

First we got our lumber from our neighborhood sawmill.

We loaded it up in his trusty "old" truck.

Man it was a hot day that day.

We ran each board through the plainer over and over to get each

one the same thickness.

That was a dirty job.

And VERY noisy.

A lot of shavings were produced.

But not wasted.

I bagged them up to use in my chicken coop.

All stacked up.

We then proceeded to make the frame for the table

and attached the legs.

We did this in his shop.

We then loaded it in his trusty truck and took it to my dining room to finish.

That was quite a site.

 A really old man and his skinny old daughter manhandling that frame.

But we got her done.

Well here it is, all laid out in my dining room

ready to be assembled.

After pre drilling holes in the cross braces I attached them to the boards

for the table top.

I used a metal vice to pull the boards together

 before screwing in the screws on the braces.

Then we turned it over ( it was HEAVY)

and evenly cut off the ends to the proper length.

Talk about a mess, I had one.

I also had to sand down the top (again) with a belt sander

in my dining room.

MESSY

My house needed cleaning anyway.

Before I turned it over I wrote the history of this table on the underside.

And here it is.

Before having the finish applied.

I decided to use tong oil on the top to bring out the richness of the wood.

Here you can see the difference on the left side where the oil has been applied.

I decided to stain the legs a dark walnut to match the chairs

and contrast with the floors.

Here's the side of the table with the bench my dad and I made last fall.

Since I had so much cleaning to do after all that sanding

I decided to go ahead and decorate for fall.

I love fall.

Here's the final result.

My new/old farm table.

Hope you like it.

Stand at the crossroads and look;

ask for the ancient paths,

ask where the good way is,

and walk in it,

and you will find rest for your souls...

Jeremiah 6:16

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