Barn Wood Coffee Table

[BaileyNo5]

Here's a build-along an my latest project, a barn wood coffee table.  We wanted something rustic with a weathered gray look.  I was able to source some barn wood at $1/board for 1x and $2/board for 2x, 7' long boards.  Note this stuff is NOT flat and it's NOT square, which is different.  And the surfaces can't be flattened, smoothed, planed, sanded, etc, or the nice gray patina will be removed, which is a no-no.  (I did have to gently brush off some bird and bovine doo-doo, tho!)



Then I cruised the net looking for concepts and ideas, here's one that we liked.  Joinery needs help for sure, tho.  



Time to plan and draw.  I usually do a drawing on the back of a napkin and then get after the building.  But this time I decided to slow down a little.  I was determined to use Sketchup, even tho it had defeated me before, multiple times.  I found 10 Things I Wish I Had Known About Sketchup.  That and a truckload of patience got me off on the right foot and I eventually produced an acceptable plan.  Thank you Bob Lang!



Now to the fun part!  Breaking down the stock here.



I had no 4x stock, but I wanted the legs to be sturdy.  So I flattened one side of some 2x stock and glued it together, being careful to align it properly and avoid squeeze-out, since the surfaces can't be modified.  Ended up with some nice 4x6 (roughly) legs.





Laying things out, getting ready to mark mortise & tenon joints.



Dry fit of all the base parts.



Making some pegs for drawboring, I'm using leftover oak and maple scraps.



I've got most of the base glued and drawbored together now, I'll post some more pictures later.

[Arlin Eastman]

Did you do all of that in one day?

Also glad you are posting this work along.

To me it would be punishment if I could not sand it or plane it.

[BrokenOlMarine]

I'm along for the ride

[hbmcc]

Super! And, for persevering with Sketchup. I've used AutoCAD for about 20 years, almost as long as attempting to do anything with Sketchup. The first was a way to make digital drawings look 'by hand'. You know, they make stain that creates weathered wood. You can cheat while faking an old piece of furniture.

It's looking good!

[BaileyNo5]

Arlin:  No, I'm not that fast.  I think I started on Saturday, moving at a relaxed pace and doing other things in between, as usual.

Bruce:  I have seen the weathered stain, and I've made some myself with steel wool and vinegar.  The home brew works pretty well.  Have to try the store-bought stuff one of these days.  The thing you don't get with new wood and weathering stain is the texture.  Not to mention the bonus items, such as bird and cow excrement!

Here's the base all drawbored and glued together.  I added a cross-brace on the top.  Went together pretty well, it's as square as any other piece I've built, which I did not expect.  I will need to weather the cut ends of the slats on the bottom shelf and the top, so I'm testing some of the home brew on that piece of wood in the lower right.

[CLETUS]

  The thing you don't get with new wood and weathering stain is the texture.  

I helped a buddy build a sliding barn door for his kitchen. He hand textured the fresh cut wood and applied the steel wool and vinegar stain. It turned out amazing. Would it fool us guys that like to look at the details? No. All of the normal people are just amazed.

[Tynyyn]

Very nice build. Thanks for sharing.

[Hank Knight]

Nice coffee table!
One quick way to texture new wood is to sand blast it. An inexpensive sand blaster used with your shop compressor works fine. The sand eats away the soft grain and leaves the hard stuff, just like natural weathering. Works great.

[BaileyNo5]

Nice coffee table!
One quick way to texture new wood is to sand blast it. An inexpensive sand blaster used with your shop compressor works fine. The sand eats away the soft grain and leaves the hard stuff, just like natural weathering. Works great.

Hank, thanks for that excellent suggestion.  I had not thought of that, probably because I don't have a blaster.  But, there's always next time......another tool to collect.  That's something that would be handy for lots of stuff.

[BaileyNo5]

Nailed it. The bottom shelf, that is.  I really expected the pace to pick up when I finished the base.  Au contraire, mon frere.  I think it actually slowed down.  I had to select the boards, cull through and discard a bunch.  Also my better half got involved at this point, but far be it from me to suggest that was a contributing factor.  


I cut the boards to length and then painted the cut ends with strong tea followed by the steel/wool vinegar mixture.  Tea on the left, vinegar on the right.



You can clearly see the one end that is natural in the picture below.  The cut ends are at various stages of darkening as some of them got their treatment sooner.  If more darkening is needed, I can add another coat.



The cut nails were pre-drilled, a larger hole for the top board and smaller for the bottom, as the nails are tapered.  Nail holes and board spacing were eyeballed.  No expectation of precision with this piece!