| Project by spaids | posted 1702 days ago | 2797 views | 3 times favorited | 10 comments |  |
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My father-in-law asked for a cover for his fire pit. He didn’t want much just anything to throw over it. You can see that he has a very nice patio and I couldn’t just give him a piece of ply to lay on it. I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to try to learn how to make a large panel/table top. Well like I said he didn’t want anything nice so I got the cheapest pine 2×4’s that “looked” straight from the big box store. Oh my were they wet! These boards twisted and turned so much. I planed them and the next day its like I did nothing. A biscuit jointer would have been a great tool for aligning these but I don’t have one. I ripped dados down one side of the boards and put tongues on the other side all with my table saw. This turned out to be more trouble that it was worth. I just couldn’t ever seem to get these boards squared up and as such the groves and tongues didn’t like meeting. After I glued it up I had at it with a belt sander on the joints. It feels smooth to the touch but it is NOT flat. I put some minwax stain on it (forgot the color) and a few coats of minway clear shield. I was very sick of this by the time it was finished. I have to say that after it got some color it looked a lot better and all the mistakes made it look more like a distressed piece. Oh well, all he wanted was a piece of wood so he and my mother-in-law were both very happy to have something that was a bit more usable. Now to convince my mother-in-law that you don’t need a coaster to set your drink on it.
-- Wipe the blood stains from your blade before coming in.--
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10 comments so far
lew
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8983 posts in 1924 days
#1 posted 1702 days ago
Nice Job!
I’ll bet even the cheapest pine wasn’t all that cheap- and as you pointed out- they were still crappy!
Lew
-- Lew- Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!
Napaman
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5015 posts in 2246 days
#2 posted 1702 days ago
wow this looks great…this really changes the look and will be attractive to the eye…now it makes the pit much more usable because people can sit on it ( i am guesssing its sturdy enough)...the uneveness may be an advantage…because rain water will run off—-hopefull to the outside…
Also…asuming you cant put this on right after a fire?
Looks greeat!!!!!!!!!
-- Matt--Proud LJ since 2007
Richforever
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652 posts in 1889 days
#3 posted 1702 days ago
Nice rich color that goes well with the patio. Wonderful job!
-- Rich, Seattle, WA
Moron
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4436 posts in 2062 days
#4 posted 1702 days ago
a wooden cover for a fire pit?
am I the only one awake tonight?
-- "Good artists borrow, great artists steal”…..Picasso
jockmike2
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10636 posts in 2415 days
#5 posted 1701 days ago
Great comeback, you’re learning the first steps of a good carpenter, take something crappy and make it look good. That looks mighty good to me.
-- (You just have to please the man in the Mirror) Mike from Michigan -
dsb1829
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367 posts in 1796 days
#6 posted 1701 days ago
The end result is very nice, but I feel your pain on the big box lumber. I usually stock pile pine 2×4 and 2×6 boards in the shop just so I know that they have had a couple of months to air dry. Never know what you will get if you just start working with them from the store.
-- Doug, woodworking in Alabama
janice
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1027 posts in 1594 days
#7 posted 1555 days ago
Hey O’Fallon. Nice to meet you. Love the firepit cover. Hard to believe that was just 2×4’s. Very pretty. I like your work.
-- Janice
irishcolleen
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66 posts in 1650 days
#8 posted 1554 days ago
You made those 2X4’s look great! I really like the color…..I have a lot of trouble staining pine, so you have my thumbs up!
spaids
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699 posts in 1862 days
#9 posted 1554 days ago
Thanks for all the comments (and concerns…roman). I’m surprised at the two lumberjocks who have commented in the last day when the project was posted 5 months ago. Did I make it to the “roll the dice” spot on the front page?
If anyone is curious this cover has not yet been burned. I bet my father-in-law that it wouldn’t make it a year before it got burned up and I think he is being extra careful with it to spite me. :)
-- Wipe the blood stains from your blade before coming in.--
Kristoffer
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617 posts in 1385 days
#10 posted 1119 days ago
2X4s from the big box store?! And they’ve said that you can’t polish a turd…. Looks polished to me.
-- Cheers and God Bless
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