# Farmhouse Coffee Table



## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

I'm not really into the shabby chic, fake distressed thing, but my wife certainly is. Over the years I've built a lot of things that she's painted, stained, scraped, beat, sanded, scratched, poked and loved. I digress...

She forwarded me a pic of a coffee table she wanted me to build and this is the result. 

Random thoughts/facts:

Made from 2x6, 2x4 and 1x12s, 
M&T joinery except for the cross pieces, which are just glued. 
I used 3/8" dowels through the tenons to hold the breadboard ends in place
Feels weird sanding with 80 grit sandpaper. 
I'm soaking some steel wool in vinegar right now to age the wood before adding a dark stain to it this weekend.


























More pics to come.


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## Paarker (Mar 20, 2013)

Looks great can't wait to see a picture when it's finished.


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## Carvel Loafer (Dec 31, 2011)

Looks nice. I'm interested to see how the vinegar ages the wood; I never heard of that before.


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## Gilgaron (Mar 16, 2012)

I've used the vinegar steel wool trick once. If it doesn't get as dark as you want, brew up some tea with 10 bags of the cheap stuff and wipe it on before another application of iron solution.


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Alright, I just lost a little bit of my soul. I'm back from beating up perfectly good wood (albeit pine). I think I heard it screaming "why?!?!", Nancy Kerrigan style, while I was beating it with a chain and bolts... oh, and nunchucks. Knew I held on to those for a good reason. Chisels, screwdrivers, owl, handsaws and a few other odds and ends rounded up the torturing. 

I took my time and each board was sacrificed individually, to preserve the "hey, this is old wood I salvaged, not kiln dried stud lumber I bought on Sunday and beat the hell out of three days later" theme. I think it'll come out nicely.

I've darn near perfected my distressing/aging techniques as my wife had space in a vintage store we used to sell a lot of my work in. Between the vinegar/steel wool, rusty nails, baking soda, shoe polish, coffee grinds, tea, spray paint, propane torch, glazing, etc, I've been exposed to a lot. 

Here's the shelf that hangs above our bed.


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Oh, I forgot to mention that I got in on the coaster craze this holiday season. I made a ton and experimented with different finishes. These are the remaining ones that need to be delivered.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Kewl coasters. :thumbsup: I have a ton of scraps, I think I need to make some coasters.

So how did the table turn out? Its hard to tell with only little bits showing under the coasters.

Its almost a felony crime to beat up brand new wood, but sometimes its the only way to give them what they want.


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Thanks buddy. The table came out pretty cool actually. I didn't take pics of it because it's tough to show without any color added to it, but I think it'll look really neat. I did a lot of worm holes, gouges, bumps, bruises, etc. The vinegar solution should be ready in the morning and I'll apply it then in the afternoon, I'll start with some other concoctions to darken it some more. I'll be sure to take pics along the way.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

I like it. :thumbup:


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Alright, it's a beautiful morning here in sunny Tampa. I opened the door to the workshop (garage) to find it a rather pleasant 65 degrees. Perfect! I coated the table with the vinegar solution and it's soaking in nicely. You can see the progress in the pics below. 

Initial soaking









Aging (drying) in progress


















Drying some more...


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

You suck....I woke up to -17 this morning....yes....82 degrees colder than Tampa.


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## clpead (Oct 10, 2012)

ryan50hrl said:


> You suck....I woke up to -17 this morning....yes....82 degrees colder than Tampa.


-5 here...


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Alright, so I had to open the garage door to air it out in there... vinegar was pretty potent. NOWWW we're down to 57, so while you boys may be cold up there, it's so cold here, I had to put on slippers! People ask me "how do you deal with the heat down there in August??" This. This is why. The weather here is perfect from December to mid-April.


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Alright, she's dry enough now for me to continue on with the rest of the finishing job. Here's where we are now:


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Alright, next up spray paint and stain. The spray paint gives the wood another layer of depth... weathering if you will. I spray it on in key areas, leave it for maybe 2 minutes, and then apply stain right on top of it. I feather out the spray paint with the stain and wipe it off. I'll let this sit until 5 or 6 tonight and check back on it to see where we stand.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Now its starting to look like the tables I remember at my Grandda's hunting lodge up in the mountains of NY. This pile of 2x stock is looking like a well planed piece of very old furniture.

Well done! :thumbsup:


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

More random weathering/distressing pics of the table.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Table is looking good. Really taking shape. Your BB ends might create some expansion problems, but, maybe that would look good.:yes:

BTW...Some pretty cool footies you got there.:laughing:
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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Taylormade said:


> ...
> 
> Over the years ... she's painted, stained, scraped, beat, sanded, scratched, poked and loved. I digress...


And that's just what she does to YOU! :laughing:

The table's looking really cool. Your "aging" methods are working quite well. I like the coasters too.


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

cabinetman said:


> Table is looking good. Really taking shape. Your BB ends might create some expansion problems, but, maybe that would look good.:yes:
> 
> BTW...Some pretty cool footies you got there.:laughing:


Yeah, I agree, but whatever. I'll adjust as necessary. The lumber stock was kiln dried... that's as best as I got. The rest is wait and see. 



Chaincarver Steve said:


> And that's just what she does to YOU! :laughing:
> 
> The table's looking really cool. Your "aging" methods are working quite well. I like the coasters too.


Thanks bubba, I saw you did a thread on coasters and said "oh hell naw, if Mr Retired has time, I have time...." :yes:


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## Acercanto (Jul 9, 2013)

Very cool! I knew there was a reason I liked ya, you share my first name, AND you're a Hokie!
The table is coming along nicely!

Acer


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Acercanto said:


> Very cool! I knew there was a reason I liked ya, you share my first name, AND you're a Hokie!
> The table is coming along nicely!
> 
> Acer


My first name is Scott, but I'm most certainly a Hokie! Thanks for the kind words. The table IS coming along rather nicely I think. I applied the first coat of poly to it this morning. I'll be sanding/reapplying a few times today and then wetsand/hand rub later after it has some time to harden. I'll share pics of course :thumbsup:


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Ok this dude is just about wrapped up. I sanded with 400 grit and laid one final very thin coat of poly over the top. I'll give this a few days to set up and then I'll knock it down a bit and use some paste wax to finish it up once and for all.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Beautiful, and it looks like it really belongs in that setting. I love it when a piece "fits" into its surroundings.


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

johnnie52 said:


> Beautiful, and it looks like it really belongs in that setting. I love it when a piece "fits" into its surroundings.


Thanks Johnnie. Momma's happy so that's all that really matters. Of course now she wants to get rid of the Pottery Barn end tables we have and wants me to make ones that match this. Sigh. More 2x fun.


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

So I thought I'd update this thread because I really love the way the finish came out. Same old same old, except I chamfered the legs and didn't drill the dowels into the breadboards. 










"aged" with vinegar/steel wool


























In their "natural" environment, ha. Just kidding on the magazines, they were all inside our last end table and I was too lazy to remove them for the picture.


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