CubbyChowder
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 16, 2013
- Messages
- 175
I've posted some of my work in here a few times and figured I'd show you guys my most recent project. I guess you could say I've been exercising my mind and hands, I'm always brainstorming new designs and trying to turn my concepts into reality.
I came up with this table top design by sitting down with a pen and notepad, drawing a bunch of squares, and filling those squares with patterns. Eventually I started liking the pattern, and kept evolving it until I was happy with the overall flow of it. I did the same with the legs later by drawing a bunch of rectangles, and designing leg patterns until I like what I've drawn. I went through a ton of different variations before I chose the final design. It's a fun way to create something, and very rewarding when you're all finished.
My neighbor was throwing away a bunch of wood, and I asked if I could snag some of the 2" boards that he was throwing out. They had a cool aged/rustic patina to them and I thought I'd use them for this project, and preserve the aged, weathered look.
After some measuring, cutting and welding, I came up with the basic frame for the table top. Measures roughly 21"x21":
I then cut the wood to the right size and did a test fit. I always like to incorporate flush sitting wooden inlays, it's kind of my thing:
I added some lines, which reminded me of jail cell bars:
Here is a before and after of the "jail cell bars":
After smoothing the welds out, I started tossing around some ideas for the metal finish. I came up with this really busy texture which made it sparkly and shiny, it looked pretty cool but it didn't really feel right, especially with the rustic wood:
Then came the legs, from sketchbook to reality:
I decided to get the table frame powder coated. I wanted to try a "vein" finish that I had been eyeing for a few months, but had never seen in real life, only on a sample chip. I thought it'd be cool, so I went for it, and I'm really glad I did (even though it was a bit pricey at $85 since it's a two step process). I got it back today and am amazed with the results, the finish looks so cool in person. The rustic wood wasn't working for it, so I put my new-to-me jointer to use and cut through the aged wood down to the fresh stuff and finished it off with some boiled linseed oil. I popped the wood in, stood back and smiled at the finished product. Really happy with how it turned out:
What do you guys think? Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks for looking
Mikey
I came up with this table top design by sitting down with a pen and notepad, drawing a bunch of squares, and filling those squares with patterns. Eventually I started liking the pattern, and kept evolving it until I was happy with the overall flow of it. I did the same with the legs later by drawing a bunch of rectangles, and designing leg patterns until I like what I've drawn. I went through a ton of different variations before I chose the final design. It's a fun way to create something, and very rewarding when you're all finished.
My neighbor was throwing away a bunch of wood, and I asked if I could snag some of the 2" boards that he was throwing out. They had a cool aged/rustic patina to them and I thought I'd use them for this project, and preserve the aged, weathered look.
After some measuring, cutting and welding, I came up with the basic frame for the table top. Measures roughly 21"x21":
I then cut the wood to the right size and did a test fit. I always like to incorporate flush sitting wooden inlays, it's kind of my thing:
I added some lines, which reminded me of jail cell bars:
Here is a before and after of the "jail cell bars":
After smoothing the welds out, I started tossing around some ideas for the metal finish. I came up with this really busy texture which made it sparkly and shiny, it looked pretty cool but it didn't really feel right, especially with the rustic wood:
Then came the legs, from sketchbook to reality:
I decided to get the table frame powder coated. I wanted to try a "vein" finish that I had been eyeing for a few months, but had never seen in real life, only on a sample chip. I thought it'd be cool, so I went for it, and I'm really glad I did (even though it was a bit pricey at $85 since it's a two step process). I got it back today and am amazed with the results, the finish looks so cool in person. The rustic wood wasn't working for it, so I put my new-to-me jointer to use and cut through the aged wood down to the fresh stuff and finished it off with some boiled linseed oil. I popped the wood in, stood back and smiled at the finished product. Really happy with how it turned out:
What do you guys think? Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks for looking
Mikey
Last edited:


