TheGreatStoryOf...: N 53.537496/ W -113.513542

Ok, so...every story has to have a start...

This is the start of TheGr8StoryOf N 53.537496/ W -113.513542

First of all,i know what are you going to say: „what is with the name??“

..and since this is my first post,i will try and explain..

The name speaks a lot of the item..and what is the better way to determine an object than with its core,or,in my case, what was the purpose of the „ core“ piece and where was it found .

..if you take the name and type it into google earth you will get the exact location of a significant piece that i used in the item..niet,huh?..

Please say yes, please say yes

If you typed it in and got a picture of a building under construction(2015/2016) then you are in the right spot....aaand probbably wondering what does that have to do with the item..:)

Well, 53.537496/ W -113.513542 got its name after a beam(later reffered just as „the beam“ ) that was holding one of the balconies on the building...

You see, I am around construction sites a lot and that building got stripped and while the balconies were beeing done, one of the beams had to be replaced..as it turned out later,it was „The Beam“

For weeks everybody was tripping over it and it was pushed aside(a heavy task,i tell you).

It was an old, ugly looking, heavy piece of rot bitten wood..at least, that is what everybody saw...Me?..i saw potential..:)

One day after work,my friend and I loaded it onto his truck( another heavy task), and brought it to my house..we have put it in the basement and let it to dry...for weeks it was down there while my mind was trying to grasp the potential of „The Beam“ and shape it into something..

And then it hit me! „ The Beam“ will become „The legs“ of a coffee table and i shall name it accordingly...:)

Also, I had some used scaffold planks just sitting in the basement and decided to combine the two...and the rest is history!..just kidding:)

At that point the idea started getting shape..

Since i decided to open this blog(and my etsy shop )later in the process, i dont have all the pictures from the beginning..

Anyways, the N 53.537496/ W -113.513542 was on its way..

I Started with grinding and cutting the planks..

Years of abuse and harsh elements on the planks were not forgiving..

it took me a while..and a lot of sanding paper..:)

All dusty and packs and packs of sanding paper later, i was ready to glue the planks together..Again, no pictures..:(

I dusted of everything ,glued it and left it to cure...

A week or so later, something was on my mind..something was bothering me..like i forgot something..

..then i remembered- it was the planks that i glued together:)

One would think you would feel pretty stupid after something like that..i just called it ageing and continued like nothing happend..

Next in line was cutting in the grooves for the metal that goes arround the table..i didnt have it at the time, i just knew the dimensions and went from that..once i did that i got to do the sanding part all over again( oh the horror)..after the agony was over, it was time to treat and protect the wood..

Picture time..

I had to do some extra work on the grooves and that is why you cant see any laquer in the grooves(wasnt deep enough bla bla, boring stuff)

Anyway, countless coats of lacquer later(and sanding that comes with it), tabletop was almost done and i was finally ready to deal with „ The Beam“!

Dont know why i didn take a picture while it was in one piece(10ft) but here are some after the cutting just to get the idea what it looked like before sanding..

It was full of nails and staples(you can see some on the picture)

This is a picture of a crack along the side of „The Beam“ that i love..i think it gives depth to the final product..

And this is where it was rotten..

After i removed all of the nails and staples it was time for the exciting part again-more sanding!!

Sanding „The Beam“ was kind of tricky...i had to figure out the line in between smooth surface and sanding off the character and the age of of the wood.. but It went smoother than anticipated..and a lot less dust then with the planks...i guess it was because it was only wood unlike the planks where i had dirt , mud , and something that was hopefully just acrylic...:)

After chipping away the dry rotten parts it was lacquer time once again:)

All in all, i think i did good on „The Beam“

And obviously,i had to repeat the proces for the other leg...i am sorry-„The Beam“:)

After doing that it was time for some metal bending and welding:)

Again,i am really bad with taking pictures while i am working so i dont have the pictures of the metal before bending or before welding on the screws...so here is the „in the welding process“ picture..

And just for your info,i used 2inch by ¼ inch steel flat bar..