by Todd Walker
I had hoped to get this project finished last weekend. With out-of-town family coming in yesterday, Dirt Road Girl gave me the nudge I needed.
Why is your kitchen table the most important piece of furniture in your house?
Here’s what Caroline Cooper had to say about this project two weeks ago:
“In my opinion, the kitchen table is the most important piece of furniture in a household. It is the place that family and friends share their meals and their lives. The kitchen table can be the place of home industry where the household produces goods rather than just consuming. The household table was once the center of activity for food storage preparation, crafting, and other forms of paid work. The kitchen table used to be the place for teaching our children, but that use has gone out of style, or has been regulated by the state out of existence.”
This is the last picture y’all saw of the table assembled, but unfinished.
All it needed was stain and 3 coats of sealer applied. That process took more time than actually building the table. DRG picked out a stain that would give it a weathered look. After testing it on a scrap piece of wood, we decided against it. It had a blue tint to it. Not our style.
After two more trips to the box store, we settled on the color pictured below:
Getting it into the house was the challenge. With a combination of dollies, ramps, and one blood blister, DRG and I moved it to its proper place. We used an incline plane to navigate steps – and save energy and back pain. My daddy taught me to work smarter, not harder.
I estimate a total of 15 hours to complete this project from the first saw cut to the last brush of polyurethane. We invested a total of $150.00 in materials. The finished product is a priceless family heirloom.
Last night we broke bread for the first time on our new family table with DRG’s cousin and wife we haven’t seen in years. Caroline, you’re right. We spent the whole evening catching up around the most important piece of furniture in our house. Lots of great memories will be created on and around our simple, rustic, functional farmhouse table.
To learn more about building one yourself, click here.
Do you have any DiY Preparedness Projects you’d like to learn about? Drop us a line in the comments or email us and we’ll get busy with a tutorial. In the meantime, check out the other preparedness projects on our DiY Projects page. Ideas are always welcome.
Related articles
- A DiY Farmhouse Table, DRG’s Grocery Bag, and Chair Planter (survivalsherpa.wordpress.com)
Very nice table.
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Thank you Vikki! If you’re ever close by, you’ll have to come eat with us 🙂
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Beautiful job! Congratulations and enjoy!
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We plan on it Crunchy Mama! BTW, I’m running your guest post tomorrow. Looks great!
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Very nice! BTW, are the chairs pictured heirlooms?
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Thanks Judy! They’re someone’s heirlooms I’m sure. We bought them at an antique store 🙂 Got to get more soon.
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Awesome table, its perfect.
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Thanks! Appreciate that.
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Great job! I made a similar one from Locust, harvested from our property. It weighed about 500lbs. It’s in our cousins pavilion.
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Thanks Jason! Cool beans man on the wood harvested on your land. There’s something very connecting to the land when we use the natural resources the land provides. Mine weighed around 300 I’m guestimating.
I’d love to see a pic of your table. Did you mill the wood yourself?
I made a cedar bench for DRG from a six foot piece – tornado casualty. Used primitive tools except for the chainsaw to rip the stock in half. Even built a shaving horse in the process to round the legs. It was a great project!
Here’s the bench here: https://survivalsherpa.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/self-reliance-lessons-making-a-honey-do-bench-from-a-cedar-tree-with-pioneer-tools-mostly/
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