Weaved Table Top

Sometimes I like to do a little something different. I found this frame for a table at a second hand store several years ago. When I first saw it I just passed it by. It is one (was) one of those tables that had a glass top but the glass was gone. A note on the frame said the glass broke.

As I walked around the store the table kept coming back into my mind. It just wouldn't leave. The thought was that maybe I could do the chair braiding technique on this frame. So I bought the frame and home it came. I looked through all my pattern books but just could not find what I wanted for the top of this table. So I got some graphing paper and made my own pattern.

The frame had been sitting around for a while so was quite tarnished. Cleaning it was quite a lot of work since the legs and top is not straight but has lots of bends for accent. It took days of polishing and buffing to get it to shine right again, and a lot of back pain from all the bending, but it was completed.

The design is a very tight weaved top for the table. I didn't want a chance that the top would be able to sag at any time so it is tightly packed as it is weaved. The only problem with that was for the last few rows. There was little room to work and I had to make up special pulling tools for the weaving but I finally finished it.

I have had this as an outdoor table for summer use for years now. This past year the table legs started to show the wear and the metal that is on them is simply a layer of shiny stuff over a base that is not all that nice. This year if I am going to continue to be able to use it and have it look nice I am going to have to find a way to replace the legs. It would be a bummer to loose it. The good news is that if I do, I have another frame, a bit more of the rectangle then square, to replace it with. The bad news is that I need another pattern and I am not looking forward to the back pain, I am a few years older also.

Still this table is a good example for those who are into recycling materials. You can discover ways to makeover something if you just let those thoughts in your head have their way.