Jewelers Bench Upgrade
She managed to find a coffee table at a local market with a nice solid.. Or shall we almost solid (see Eloises comments below) top that would fit her workspace.
After some serious handy work and a bit of assistance from hubby the result is fantastic…!
Eloise has been so nice to share the photos below for your inspiration:
Eloise: Remember I mentioned the new workbench project? Well it is done but took a bit more effort than we expected. We ran into a few hiccups, like when the old coffee table top turned out not to be completely solid. This became apparent when we cut out the half-moon shape. My husband plugged the holes up very nicely and then it was down to staining and varnishing.
The staining was a horrible job. The first layers were so blotchy that I eventually stripped it down back to the wood and started again. The second attempt was better but not perfect. Actually I was obsessing on the finish but now I am using it you don’t notice any blotches. 3 layers of stain and 3 layers of varnish. I wanted a dark colour which would provide a nice contrast to the metals used.
We used the same desk legs from the previous table, but added raisers to adjust the height. I had wanted to make a slide out draw to catch the silver dust and bits, but this was eventually filed under a possible future addition.
I managed to find some second hand leather and used it to make the bench apron. The finished result:
I am pleased with the plier holder under the desk; it is made with iron L shaped brackets, and an aluminum strip bent around the shape of the cutout.
Thanks a lot to Eloise fro sharing her bench build experience and photos..