Well I might not have hit my deadline (one week? pshaw!) but I’m glad I set it. Sometimes you have to set your sights too high to push yourself. It tooks me WAY more than 3 coats of polyurethane to get a finish that was acceptable. I learned 2 things the hard way:
- Wipe-on poly, though easier to apply evenly, produces very thin coats, and a newer canister is going to be WAY more effective than an older one (no matter how well it’s sealed.) I spent about a week simply applying coat after coat of old wipe-on poly waiting at least 2 hours in between each. In between coats I worked on the shims.
- The floor where this bar is going is seriously uneven, so shims are going to be attached between the legs and the underside of the table. The first challenge is cutting out a bunch of small things with a big tool.
I used the same strategy as cutting an onion: cut fringe first (leaving one end attached,) then across. It keeps the piece large and manageable until the very last cut. By the last few cuts, though, I’ve realized that my excessive fencing isn’t actually helping any, so I start free handing with the saw. Luckily, these will be on the underside so they can be... imperfect.
When at long last I stop adding layers of finish to the top, I flip it over and start attaching the legs. One side needs no shims. I quickly realize that the screws I have are too long, and would poke through. I have to buy new, shorter screws for this side, while I need drastically longer screws for the shim side.
The non-shimmed side comes together easily enough. The shimmed side is not so easy. It doesn’t help that the shims are warping like crazy when I go to attach them. I have to drill holes larger than the screw threads so that they will pull flat onto the board. Also, since I’m not gluing them together, I have to do a careful dance of clamps, screws, and drilling to keep everything lined up.
Did I mention the floor is REALLY uneven? That’s almost 2 inches of shimming just to get it level. With the shim-legs now attached, the bar is finally complete. Hooray! I text my roommates to see who wants to help me carry it up. We discover that bringing a long (10 ft!) fully constructed bar table through a household is not the easiest thing in the world. We finally get it in place, but unfortunately can't use it until the last coat of poly has sat for a full 24 hours. The table also has the unfortunate problem of bending in the middle if you lean on it. If I ever run short on projects I might flip it over and put in some reinforcing. Here it is after 24 hours of drying.
I think it helps that space out a great deal and I can confirm it is just the right height for sitting down to a nice hardy breakfast. Sweet!