Dining room table: mission accomplished

I finally welded the frame (much thanks to Molten Metal Works).  I was a little out of practice with the welding, but after a little practice and a few mis-steps, I think I nailed it.  The frame was too big to fit in my car, so Ralph and Bear, two guys who were at the welding studio, offered to drive it up to my place in their truck.  Much thanks to them as well.  I put gun blueing on the steel to give it a darker look (the photo is of the blueing before I waxed and polished it.  The final result wasn't yellow, I promise).  The metal supply store was closed, so I had to buy the gun blueing at an actual gun store.  It was my first time in a gun store and hopefully my last.  I've never felt more out of place or uncomfortable.  I got some rubber feet to seal up the bottoms of the legs and then put the whole thing together!  We need a few more chairs, but so far, it looks great in the dining room.

Dining table top done!

I had meant to have the whole dining room table done a while ago, but Clinton and I have been very distracted.  A stray pitbull showed up on our porch a few months ago and one thing led to another and we now have a dog.  Daisy, our 8 year old chocolate pitbull mix, takes up a lot of our time and energy.

This doesn't mean I'm not determined to finish this dining room table though.  It will get done; I just done know when.

Daisy did make a contribution to the table.  For my birthday, she (I'm pretty sure it was Clinton who bought and wrapped the gift, but he swore it was from Daisy), got me really great clamps so I could glue the wood slats together properly.  So a few weekends ago I put all the wood slats that I stained together.  Last weekend, I attached the slatted top to a plywood bottom, using glue and screws.  This weekend, I cut the table down to size with my new circular saw (I really did need a hand-held circular saw so I treated myself) and put three coats of polyurethane finish on top.  It looks gorgeous.

Now I just need to build the frame for it.

Project: dining room table

I've wanted a new dining room table for a while now.  My current table was great for my last place, but it's too country cottage for our craftsman.  I found this gorgeous table online, but it cost way more than I was willing to pay.  I decided to build something similar.  First, I found a guy selling old fruit crates on Craigslist.  I bought three.  I took the crates apart, sanded the wood, and put different color stains on each piece.  I also cut the wood into smaller slats, so I could mix up the colors more.  The next step is to bind the pieces together, frame them with a wood border, and then weld a steel frame to put the table top on.  I've only been doing a little bit at a time, so this project still has a long way to go.  But I have a feeling that when it's finished, it's going to be great.

This is the table that inspired me to try to make my own.

These are my slats

A handful of tomatoes

Here is our first batch of tomatoes.  We're tossing them in the freezer to store until we have more.  Then we're going to try to find a good recipe for sauce and paste.  It'd be great to can our own sauce.  So proud!

Happy Fourth of July!

This Fourth of July is a little sad because I don't get to spend it with Clinton, who is back east visiting his wonderful family, and because there aren't any Dodger Stadium fireworks this year.  However, there is still plenty of excitement going on around here!  Tomatoes are turning from green to red, raspberry buds are forming, the broccoli is starting to broccolize, and the green peppers are ready to eat.  And my sister is in town, so I finally get to show off the garden to her.