Scavenger Chic

DIY Wood Slice End Table

• By Joan
• April 27, 2017
• 13 Comments

A couple of years ago my hubby and I were running a few errands when we pass a yard that had a freshly taken down tree and a huge sign —FREE WOOD, YOU HAUL.

Of course I muttered out loud, “I would like one of those.  I could make something out of that.”

Being the sweet guy that he is,  hubby offered to stop.

“Oh no” I protested, ” I couldn’t make you do that!”

So he didn’t, we went on our merry way.

Of course, we had to return the same way after our errands and by now there were several people taking advantage of the free fire wood.  “I can still stop if you would like me to.”

“No, that’s OK.” (Yes, I really want you to.)

Pretty sure I didn’t say the second part of that out loud but sweet hubby stopped and got me a beautiful, fresh slice of wood.  It did get sap all over his car which I happily cleaned up but it got rolled to a nice spot under the deck to dry out and has been sitting there ever since.

So now, two years later he doesn’t look so pretty.  The sap has gone, replaced by the black stuff.  A lot of the bark has fallen off but he is so ready for his makeover.

With a hammer and screwdriver the bark that didn’t fall off naturally was easily knocked off.

Now for the part of the project that took the most time…sanding.  I started out with medium sandpaper but that wasn’t doing the job, back to the hardware store for the super coarse stuff.

Since I’ve sanded off the top layer of black you can see where all the grooves are, probably from the chain saw.

The sides had to be sanded as well, but they were a lot easier without the saw dents.

It’s so smooth and beautiful.  The two irregularities in the slice are from branches.

The stain brings out the beauty of the wood.  This color is Golden Pecan, a nice medium colored stain.

Followed the stain with a few coats of polyurethane.

I bought my 20″  hairpin legs on Etsy from Philly Fabrication.  You can also purchase  Narrow Hairpin Legs from Amazon.  Both are about the same price, Philly starts out cheaper but you have to pay for shipping and at Amazon the shipping is free.

My wood slice was far from level.  Putting a level on the ends of the hairpin legs showed about a 1″ difference from the highest point of the slice to the lowest. Next time I’ll have to get hubby to get me a more even slice :).

For a brief moment I considered chiseling out a groove for the highest leg but it was soooo much easier to just add a chunk of wood until the legs measured level.

I did end up staining the cut ends of the blocks of wood so they wouldn’t be too noticeable.

The wood slice is about two feet across and 8 inches thick and makes a perfect end table.  Thanks Brian.

Stay inspired.

Shared at DIY Salvaged Junk Projects,

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Talk of the Town, Farmhouse Friday,

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