After craving a zinc-topped X base farmhouse table for our new house's large outdoor space for a while, but not wanting to spend upwards of $1k on one, I asked my husband (T) to build me one as my Christmas present last year. It took us a couple of months to get it done (very spread out over weekends) but I love the result.
I found the plans here for an X base table exactly like the one I had been lusting after, and googling around found several sets of instructions on how to fabricate metal countertops. We ordered the zinc from rotometals.com, and visited our local Woodworkers Source to find a suitable wood. I didn't want to use cheap lumber for a number of reasons.
1. I want the table to be around a very long time, and didn't want to have to stain it over and over
2. I was looking for a high end result that would only look better with wear and tear, which I knew couldn't be achieved with stained cheap framing wood
3. I had heard bad things about how wood wear outside in AZ, and though this is on a covered porch, we didn't want to spend hours making something only for it to fall apart.
We chose a Spanish Cedar, which the helpful guy at WWS suggested as one of a couple of good options. They squared the wood for us and cut it to the exact widths we needed, so T only had to cut to the lengths needed.
Once we were done with the frame, We used a sheet of MDF on a frame of pine to thicken the edges of the top, and wrapped the zinc around this.
We aren't DIY novices but this is the first piece of 'furniture' we have ever built.
We haven't sealed the zinc yet - I want it to patina more before I consider that. I have given the table one coat of oil (no colour) and it's performing wonderfully several months in.
Thanks Ana!
Comments
loniwolfe
Mon, 09/19/2011 - 16:57
Awesome!
Great job! And I love how you painted it, it really pops! I've been wanting to build this for our dog, and let it double as a bedside table. Any suggestions or things to watch out for in the process?
Guest (not verified)
Tue, 09/20/2011 - 11:27
Thank you for the
Thank you for the compliments!
What I learned in making this was when suing the kreg jig, not too much pressure or it will split the wood. I also learned about the importance of predrilling. Make sure you check for square and remember (because i didn't) that the plans don't include a bottom! I had previously made my dog a bed that I had stuffed with two old standard sized pillows and it fit perfectly in the bottom!