by Fran Casselman
Materials & Tools:
#88628 Unfinished Round Pedestal Table
#1249 Weldbond or White glue
#16001 Light Duty Knife with Safety Cap
#10115 12" Stainless Steel Ruler
#600021 Self-Healing Cutting Mat
#55670 Razor Saw Kit with 2 Blades & Handle or Serrated a knife
Pencil
Fine sandpaper
Triangular file
Thin black cardstock
Wood stain (of your choice) and sealer
Black paint
Half-dome Fingernail decorations
Instructions:
The unfinished table required an alteration to make it level before use. Yours may not need this adjustment but if it does, or you want to lower the height of the table, here’s what to do: Determine the height you want. Measure the thickness of the table top and subtract that from the overall height to get the base height measurement. Turn the table upside down and use a pencil and ruler (or template cut to measure) to mark the base height on both sides of all four legs. Score the mark with a craft knife and use a fine-tooth saw to cut the legs. Set the table, upright and flat, on a sheet of sandpaper and sand in a circular motion to smooth any rough edges.
To get the look of individual boards with iron banding, mark a few straight, parallel lines across the top of the table, being careful to follow the grain of the wood. With a ruler and craft knife, score the lines; then use a small triangular file to deepen the grooves. Don’t forget to go over the edge to indicate the boards are the full thickness of the table. Use fine sandpaper, working with the grain, to smooth any roughness. Stain and seal, paint the base black.
For the banding, cut two 1/8" strips of thin black cardstock (circumference is a little more than 11") and curl slightly on a firm-but-giving surface, such as a mouse pad or fun foam. Use a piece of dowel or the barrel of a marker, pressing along the length of the cardstock strip on the foam, until it begins to curve on its own. Avoid bends or creases. Plan the seam with your boards, glue a short length (about an inch in my case) of the curled strip in place in the groove, then glue the long strip to cover both ends of the short one. Apply half-dome fingernail decorations as bolt heads to appear to secure each board plus additional bolts evenly spaced in other areas.