| Project by spaids | posted 433 days ago | 781 views | 3 times favorited | 9 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.
9 comments so far
lew
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4515 posts in 655 days
posted 433 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
Napaman
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3495 posts in 977 days
posted 433 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, Napa, CA...fun is beautiful...just trying to have some fun...
Richforever
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341 posts in 620 days
posted 433 days ago
Nice rich color that goes well with the patio. Wonderful job!
-- Rich, Seattle, WA
roman
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1125 posts in 793 days
posted 433 days ago
a wooden cover for a fire pit?
am I the only one awake tonight?
-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/
jockmike2
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7368 posts in 1146 days
posted 432 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.
-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com
dsb1829
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368 posts in 527 days
posted 432 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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301 posts in 325 days
posted 286 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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40 posts in 381 days
posted 285 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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461 posts in 593 days
posted 285 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.