Carpentry and Woodworking - building a cable spool table

In the home I just recently purchased the basement is finished with old barn siding.....very neat, rustic look. I want to build a cable spool table, it will look great down there.

I was in a bar that had some of these tables and I have my plan all figured out except one area...

The top

The tables at the bar appear to have a 2in. wide brass or copper strip tacked around the top edge. The strip is vertical around the side of the top and the strip extends about 3/8" above the top of the table. This provides a 3/8" lip if ya see what I'm saying....

Anyway, the top surface has something poured into it.....I dont know if it is varnish or shellac of some sort. Kinda reminds me of those clocks ya see that are weird shaped cut from a tree and have a glass like coating over them.

The tables I saw whatever it is, it looks like glass and seems to be very hard. I want to lay some cards, poker chips etc. on the table and then pour this "whatever" :) over it so that it is permanatly sealed in and can be seen from the top.

I just dont know what would work good. There are some holes that I'll have to plug. Hopefully it doesn't run through every crack and crevice....

Any ideas???
It seems to me a varnish would get expensive and may take a year to harden:)

Thanks for any info...

This appears to be what you are looking for:

http://www.shopmaninc.com/kk121.html

You are probably going to have to make sure that there are no holes and crevices.

Hope this helps.

Lloyd95,

Chfite is pointing you to the right stuff, I believe. A friend, who owns a restaurant used this product to coat his bar and tables. It works great.

Another approach, since you're only dealing with one table is to have a glass top made for it. You can get it 3/8" thick, and the banding would be optional, although I think it would look good.

I have an old grain elevator pulley converted to a table. I put a 3/8" glass top on it, which is about 32" in diameter, and it looks great and takes a beating.

Good luck!

Chfite,

Thanks, that is exactly what I was looking for!!!


Randy, I was thinking of glass also, but the spool I'm using has some warped boards and I dont think I could get the glass to sit right.