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Goodbye, tired old porch coffee table. Hello, new handmade porch coffee table.
It took me about half a year to make this coffee table by hand, from scratch, and by God I will tweet about it.
How it started: five 4" x 4" x 8ft pieces of cedar lumber. Slowly, I cut them down to size with my Japanese hand saw.
This is, roughly, what I wanted, except the tabletop was going to be supported by the legs at the ends, not resting on top. (These are pictures from June, by the way.)
I glued the rough pieces together. They were not even. Squaring them was the most difficult part and I didn't do it very well! In fact this is where I took a long break because I was so daunted by the idea of squaring them.
(Please don't look at my foot in that second pic. Do not judge my birkenstock'd foot. I'm sorry I posted a feet pic for free.)
I listened to the entire Imperial Radch trilogy by @ann_leckie while I was cutting, gluing, and squaring the pieces.
Anyway I took a long break to paint and assemble a pre-cut shed. (I listened to @jeannette_ng's Under The Pendulum Sun while I did it.)
Back to it. I attached the tabletop to the legs with peg joints and wood glue and loooooong loooong claaaaaaaamps. (I listened to @KatWithSword's Roses and Rot while I did this part.) Then I planed the tabletop until it was flush with the legs.
I attached the rest of the pieces with wood glue and medium-sized clamps, then installed the brackets for the planter pot. (Listened to Sisters of The Vast Black by @LinaRather.)
However! The planter pot turned out to be slightly wider than the table! Oh no! But I had a solution: I glued 3/4" x 4" panels to the sides.
Perfect! I started sanding it while I listened to The Hollow Places by @UrsulaV.
I dithered on staining it because I didn't want to mess it up at this stage. But, got to it in December. I used water-based wood conditioner, stain, and polyurethane while I listened to The Night Circus by @erinmorgenstern. Then all that was left was waiting for it to cure.
Thus ends my 2020 furniture making and book rec thread. Other amazing books I listened to last year:
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by @veschwab
The Child Finder by @ReneDenfeld
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by @zenaldehyde
The Deep by @cyborgyndroid
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by @veschwab
The Child Finder by @ReneDenfeld
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by @zenaldehyde
The Deep by @cyborgyndroid
For the curious:
I drilled drainage holes into the planter, and the planter isn't attached to the brackets. So when I need to water the succulents, I lift the whole thing out.
I took zero safety precautions the whole time and cut my hand pretty deep.
Thanks everyone!
I drilled drainage holes into the planter, and the planter isn't attached to the brackets. So when I need to water the succulents, I lift the whole thing out.
I took zero safety precautions the whole time and cut my hand pretty deep.
Thanks everyone!
