Harvest Table

Phil, very interesting.

Across the rear lane from my daughter's home in Vancouver is a shop that does almost the same thing. Every day, I've walked past the open doored workshop of this shop and saw them converting low cost Pine tables into 'treasures' with prices up around the $800 mark.

I must say that your work is far more attractive than the ones in Vancouver.

I hope you've developed an efficiency of work that accomplishes the end product in a lot less time than it would take me!

I can see why you sell a lot of them. $200 to $300 is a bargain!

Thanks folks. I make the real thing as well from scratch but they're in the $600 to $1,200 range, so this helps store owners keep costs down. This finish is a French Canadian style.

I also do this with rocking chairs. They look great with the faux antique finish. Old dressers look good with this look when you repalce the front drawers with doors and turn them into wash stands.

Creative use of old materials! What a great idea! Well done.

There's an "estate sale" business (I think it's one family, two store fronts) in my little town and its adjoining one, where they bring back the stuff they couldn't sell at the actual estate sale and put it out for display. We wander by occasionally and note that it doesn't always seem to be the good stuff that costs more, often there'll be something that looks really nice, but on closer inspection is just veneered MDF, where the solid wood pieces will be cheaper because they've got marred finish (actually useful and used to the family that had 'em! Horrors!).

So it's good to see you adding the value back to the good stuff!

What a great "green" project. Its great to see someone make good use of these cast offs and put money in the bank. How much time do you spend on the average table?

I ditto what Greg said. This table is just beautiful. If you want free tables to start off with check out freecycle.org. Freecycle is free no money is exchanged, you can post a Wanted or an Offer.

Diane

Phil -

Theses are beautiful - I can see why you sell a lot of them. I am interested in your finish technique.

David, the finish technique varies with the style of top. If its veneered to look like full planks the job is easy. I sand the laquer clearcoat and glaze over the piece with layers of acrylic paint. Burnt Sienna is a favorite color to mask the department store look yet let the grain show through. Then I might use a large brush and drag a dark brown color over top or between glazes to enhance the grain. Ragging on soupy black and rubbing it off leaves a layer of pigment on the surface that also helps age the finish.

In this case the top was parquet and need heavy graining to look right. I used a dark brown and a large brush to draw grain the length of the top and then buried it with transparent layers of burnt sienna and autumn brown. Watery black is ragged on and wiped off to age the look and then I wiped on a coat of tung oil, polished it and waxed it. Sometimes I clearcoat and steelwool to a satin finish.

Its a lot of work but I accomplished the top in one night because the acrylic dries fast. The skirt and legs are basecoated with a black acrylic, then light green and barn red are brushed and ragged on and rubbed through with laquer thinner which gives better control than sanding through. I sell reproductions to a partiular dealer who hates finishes rubbed through to the wood, so I use the lacquer thinner to reveal successive paint layers and feather them back nicely for an effect that he is very pleased with. I clearcoated the base with spray waterbase but I also use laquer clear on projects as well depending on how toxic I am that day.

Greg, I usually complete a table in two days, mixing it with my other work, so eight to ten hours max.

it's beautiful!
You've done a great job - at recycling and creating this beautiful piece of furniture.

Phil:

These are great! Nice job.

Just amazing Phil, its beautiful, you need to teach someone your gift. Keep them busy while your on the road. jockmike

Don't let the junk dealer see what you are reselling them for. Looks great and a great return on you time and money.

Yea thats about a 300% markup. mike