New "vintage" Side Tables

The 1940/50's piece of furniture had become weathered out on the back patio. I used it to hold potted plants and garden tools. I didn't want a "project" so I set it to the curb for free, in hopes that someone else would see the beauty - dovetail joints, wooden wheels and deep drawers. They had their chance. Day four I was hauling it to the back yard again. The piece is heavy and takes up quite a bit of space. I decided to turn it into matching side tables. For a brief moment, I had thought to turn it into a tower, but knew it would be too heavy. The trash to treasure project took me about 2 weeks, working on and off for about 3 hours at a time and when weather permitted.

jigsaw, drill, sander, sandpaper, wood glue, caulking, spackling, scrap wood trim, scrap pine board, 2" wood screws, small nails, hammer, black satin paint, silver spray paint, white glue, paint brushes, fabric, drop cloth,

The one-piece desk/vanity had a middle drawer that i removed and set aside for another project.

One wheel is missing.

I took off the back support board and set it aside for another project. Using the jigsaw, I cut through the heavy piece of wood that made up the desktop. Too late, I discovered I could have removed each top side drawer and found the bolts that held the top in place. One of the bolts was rusted so i used some oil on it. Loosening the 4 bolts I was able to eliminate the desktop.... getting to the bolts is another frustrating story. Doing these few steps took me well over an hour. I ended up with 2 side tables.

Anything I did to one of the tables, I had to repeat on the other table.

The sides where the desktop was attached had the bolt holes that i filled with spackle. In some spots the veneer peeled away from the wood so I smoothed in spackle.

There was a cutaway space in the back side that was 1/4 deep, an inch wide and 12 inches long. I had a trim piece that I cut to fit in that space. I used wood glue and small nails to tap it in place.

I had to think for a while on how to make a wheel and get it on the small axel. The axel is riveted on the wheel bracket. I knew I could not remove the axel and replace it.

My solution: I had a wood dowel that was the same diameter as the existing wheels. Using the drill I drilled down into the center of the dowel 1 inch deep. The drilled hole is slightly larger than the axel. Using the jigsaw, I then cut the 3/4 inch thickness of the wheel and had a circle with a hole in it. I cut the circle in half using a fine blade hand saw. I laid the table on its side so i had access to the wheel bracket. Using strong wood glue, I put glue on each half and then put the halves around the axel. I did not have a small enough vise grip to hold the pieces together so i took twine and wrapped and knotted it around the wheel very tightly. I let the wheel dry overnight. It is very strong and rolls with the other wheels.

On the outside wall of the table there is a piece of molding. On side that held the center desk board, the trim only went around the corner about 3 inches. I went to the big box lumber store to buy 2 1/2 feet of molding. I was able to match it perfectly, but it was a special order piece of trim. I was set to have them order 8 feet of the trim but was told I had to order two 8 foot pieces for about $20. I only needed 2 1/2 feet. I decided I would come up with a different solution. I did not want to spend a lot of money on this project. At the Habitat Restore I found a broken piece of molding for $1. It did not match but it was rounded like the lower half of the original molding. I cut my pieces 14 inches long, smeared wood glue the length of it, butted it up against the existing trim and nailed it into place. To make the upper curve, I ran a bead of paintable white caulking the length of the new molding piece. Using the tip of my finger I then shaped a curved indent to match the trim.

When I removed the back board that held the pieces together as 1 unit, it left a 1 inch gap at the back of the table top. I did not want things to fall into this space. Using a scrap piece of pine (13x7 inches) I cut 2 back stops 12x3 inches. I used wood screws and some glue to hold it in place. After attaching the backstop, I did not like the round shape - the whole table is more squared edges. I took the backstops off and made a flat cut across the top removing about 1 inch in height and reattached them. This photo shows the curved piece. The final picture will show the flattened piece.

I did a rough sanding of the tables and cleaned the dust off. This is an old piece of furniture, getting its third or fourth life so there are some blemishes - I knew the paint would be a good concealer. The largest cost for this project was buying the quart of black paint and 1 can of silver spray paint. Using a drop cloth for my work area, I painted the sides, back and top with the black paint. At first the drawers were only painted black around the edges. I decided to paint the sides of the draws black too for a cleaner look when the drawer is open. Inside the drawers i used a wood oil to freshen the wood. On 2 different drawers I wrote quotes. Using tape, I blocked off a straight line where the body of the table meets the legs. I used two coats of silver spray paint for the legs/wheels. I also sprayed the drawer pulls silver.

None of the drawers needed repair. This piece of furniture is all wood and was well built. The purple cosmic fabric will be on the drawer fronts. I cut circles of the various images to put on the drawer pulls that I painted silver. I measured each drawer front separately. Even the two larger drawers were not the same size by as much as 1/4 of an inch. I cut out the fabric for each drawer. One half yard of fabric (18"x 44") was enough to cover all six drawers. I mixed 3 tablespoons of white glue with 1 tablespoon of water (plus or minus, add water a little at a time to get a smooth consistency). I used a paint brush to spread the glue over the wood. Then I smoothed on the fabric. I added another layer of glue on top of the fabric, especially around the edge of the drawer. If the fabric seems a fraction too big, lift it up at the edge, trim with scissors and lay it back onto the glue surface. The glue process does not diminish the glitter that is on this fabric. Each drawer can take up to 30 minutes. For each drawer I mixed more glue and repeated the steps. I also glued the fabric circles to the drawer pulls. Over the years, I have used fabric on several projects - it is very durable. One piece I have had in my home for over 10 years. You might want to experiment with designer tissue paper.... or use paint on your whole piece. Let the fabric dry overnight. Put the drawer pulls back on.

The finished tables. I think they will have another 15+ years of use.

From the desk drawer I built a tabletop drawer - shabby white, fabric front.

From the support backboard I made a 2-hook board. I left the stenciled numbers and staples on it for a rustic look. All I did to the board was cut 3 inches off each end and wiped it with wood oil. Where the original mounting holes are I put rusted wire for hanging it on the wall. Hang your hat...or your heart.

There were 2 decorative brackets under the desk drawer. I used them to make a picture stand. I stapled a mesh fabric to make a hinge down the back of the brackets.

I had one board, 4 old bolts and little scraps to throw away.