03-03-2016, 12:58 PM
I had an old rusty fire pit that has been well used over the years. I figured instead of tossing it I would try my hand at turning it into something I needed.
In order to try and make this a reclaimed and recycle project I’m using some wood that was sourced from a firewood pile. This is some rough walnut from a local gun stock manufacture.
This board measure 7 ft long, 9" wide and 1" thick, and it's pretty rough.
But a few passes through the planer later...
...reveals some wood that I will have no trouble making good use of!
The fire pit base measures 32" in diameter so in order to give me room to play I cut all the walnut to 36" in length.
I was a little short on walnut, so I grabbed a piece of hard maple I had on hand. I’m a fan of asymmetrical design. Those affected by OCD, look away!
After I got a layout I liked, I applied some wood glue and clamps and let it dry overnight.
Next day I came back out to the shop and cleaned up the joints and leveled the panel out. What was my favorite part of leveling a panel with my #5? Being done with it....
There are loads of ways to cut circles out. Routers, jig saws or even table saws. For me, I like the band saw method. First step is to locate the center of the board
Drill a small hole where you will place an axis of some sort. Here I'm using a 13/64" shelf pin as the axis around which the piece will spin.
I use my 13/64" bit and drill about 3/4 of the way through the board from the bottom side.
The circle is cut at the band saw with my “super fancy” circle cutting jig. It’s just a board, clamped to the table with some holes drilled in it. A 34" circle means you need a 17" radius.
Just line up the pin with the hole that is the correct distance from the blade.
After it's in the right hole, just turn on the band saw and slowly spin the table top around: circle!
I had some gaps and defects in these boards and I wanted to fill those holes in order to give the surface a nice uniform look. I mixed up some 5 minute epoxy and some black pigment and patched as needed.
While I waited for the epoxy to dry I spray painted my base. The color is Ivory Silk.
I might have sprayed my toenails…
The last thing to do on the top was sand it smooth and add a finish. I used three coasts of water base wipe on poly.
I then drilled out some elongated screw holes in the base to allow for seasonal wood movement of the top and attached it with 4 screws.
It’s now a comfortable, yet rustic coffee table for my patio room. I’m more than pleased with it. I’m also happy to have reclaimed some trash and made of use again.
Thanks for looking!
In order to try and make this a reclaimed and recycle project I’m using some wood that was sourced from a firewood pile. This is some rough walnut from a local gun stock manufacture.
This board measure 7 ft long, 9" wide and 1" thick, and it's pretty rough.
But a few passes through the planer later...
...reveals some wood that I will have no trouble making good use of!
The fire pit base measures 32" in diameter so in order to give me room to play I cut all the walnut to 36" in length.
I was a little short on walnut, so I grabbed a piece of hard maple I had on hand. I’m a fan of asymmetrical design. Those affected by OCD, look away!
After I got a layout I liked, I applied some wood glue and clamps and let it dry overnight.
Next day I came back out to the shop and cleaned up the joints and leveled the panel out. What was my favorite part of leveling a panel with my #5? Being done with it....
There are loads of ways to cut circles out. Routers, jig saws or even table saws. For me, I like the band saw method. First step is to locate the center of the board
Drill a small hole where you will place an axis of some sort. Here I'm using a 13/64" shelf pin as the axis around which the piece will spin.
I use my 13/64" bit and drill about 3/4 of the way through the board from the bottom side.
The circle is cut at the band saw with my “super fancy” circle cutting jig. It’s just a board, clamped to the table with some holes drilled in it. A 34" circle means you need a 17" radius.
Just line up the pin with the hole that is the correct distance from the blade.
After it's in the right hole, just turn on the band saw and slowly spin the table top around: circle!
I had some gaps and defects in these boards and I wanted to fill those holes in order to give the surface a nice uniform look. I mixed up some 5 minute epoxy and some black pigment and patched as needed.
While I waited for the epoxy to dry I spray painted my base. The color is Ivory Silk.
I might have sprayed my toenails…
The last thing to do on the top was sand it smooth and add a finish. I used three coasts of water base wipe on poly.
I then drilled out some elongated screw holes in the base to allow for seasonal wood movement of the top and attached it with 4 screws.
It’s now a comfortable, yet rustic coffee table for my patio room. I’m more than pleased with it. I’m also happy to have reclaimed some trash and made of use again.
Thanks for looking!
