Making this live edge stump table was a challenging endeavor for me, but not how you might expect. I decided to do minimal processing of the stump. That meant no taking off the bark, no leveling with a router, and for the love of all things good–no sanding! Yes, I almost blew it with the sanding. I broke down and got the sander out. But I needed a longer extension cord, and looking for it slowed me down just long enough to come to my senses. So you understand, I would normally sand a stump like this for hours to get it flat and smooth. But this time, I wanted to go in a different direction.
Every now and then I have a project that just doesn’t work out, at least not in time for the next time I want to post. This happened right before a recent Christmas-time trip to visit my sister and her family. In fact, two projects didn’t work well enough to put out there on the web. That left me in a bit of a bind, being away from home and not able to work on another project. Well the good news is, the break at Christmas gave me a chance to get a project gallery onto my blog, something I’ve wanted to do for a while. Check it out in the menu bar above. Another thing I had time for during the break is starting a new community Pinterest board–Concrete and Cement Furniture/Decor/Garden Community Board. I started it because I wanted a place for concrete/cement enthusiasts to have a place to gather and post. Check it out and follow the board if you like it. If you want to join as a contributor, type “ADD ME” on this pin https://www.pinterest.com/pin/500603314815473738/ (shown below).
I’ll then send you an invite to the board, and after you accept the invite you can add pins to the board. You know who you are, and you need to join!
During the Christmas trip, I spent considerable time with paper and a pencil on airplanes. I now have many furniture and decor ideas that need developing, and the procedures and details ferreted out–which for me usually takes some time and trial and error. Okay, to make a long story short, I still needed a project to put up on the blog in the short term, so I wandered around the house looking at what I had and came up with an idea. I call it a little cement low table with chunky legs, aka a cement plant stand with chunky legs.
If you make one of these side tables you will be the only person with one like it. Yours will be your color, your piece of wood, your chosen legs, your height, and so on….customized to how you want it. The top three things I have in mind about the DIY furniture I create are that the furniture is: 1) customizeable, 2) easy to make, and 3) inexpensive. So here are 5 side tables I made this year that cost less than $25 to make and can be made by people without much experience or expensive tools. They are all customizable in ways that I describe in the posts and in other ways you think of. Please feel free to share your version of any of these side tables in the comments section, or e-mail me photo(s), and I will put together a “brag” post. (This goes for any of my tutorials.)
The wood for stump tables is affordable (usually free!). In this post I’ll show you some low-cost, easy-to-make DIY furniture leg options for your stump table. Of course, the legs can be used in other furniture projects, too!
I don’t have that much carpentry experience, and I’ll tell you a secret–I’m not sure I want too much. What I mean is, if a furniture piece involves a compound miter saw and a table saw, lots of angled cuts, a long cut list (or any cut list), a pneumatic nailer, or generally something complex, it probably isn’t the project for me. I admire fellow bloggers who can whip out a big farmhouse table or something similar. But for many types of furniture builds, I like looking but not doing. Are any of you in this situation? (more…)
To learn how to prepare tree stumps for furniture, go here and here.
I love Waddell brand tapered legs because of their shape (Mid-Century Modern), price (low), and availability (Lowes, Home Depot, Menards, etc). In this post, I’ll show you how to customize them using a tube cutter, a coping saw, and paint.
Waddell brand tapered table legs are a great bargain. For instance, the 12 inch legs are only $3 each at Menards. These mid-century modern style legs are available in several lengths from 6 inches up to the 28 inch table height. They come unfinished, just waiting for you to personalize them. My only issue with the legs is the metal ferrule (aka cap, toe, shoe, sabot) and glide at the tip. For some furniture projects the ferrule and glide look great. For others I’d rather not have either, and for some I want the ferrule but not the glide. (more…)
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