Reclaimed and Repurposed
Yet another challenge--this time in the form of a bar top! On a Saturday afternoon after a lazy brunch, Tory and I spent the day antiquing but with purpose (I know...that doesn't sound rough at all...but it's coming). We were hunting for some vintage items to add a personal touch to The Whiskey Chaser. While walking through the isles at Urban Ore (a local salvage yard) and seeing many cool things but nothing we needed, we happened to almost trip over PURE PERFECTION! Right in front of us was a 12 foot long slab of salvaged wood. Sure it looked a mess, but we knew it was exactly what we needed--this would be the future bar top of The Whiskey Chaser. Was it bowling lane? A boat dock? Maybe an old shuffleboard? A steel mill floor? No clue, but it was perfect. I rushed over and found an employee to see if we could put it on hold while Tory stood guard as lookie-loos took side-eyed glances. Why is it that people will walk by items like this all day long and never even give them a consideration, but once someone shows interest, all of a sudden everyone wants it?? Okay, they could have just been wondering what the heck we were planning on using such a monstrous piece of wood for. Either way, Tory held her ground.
Now comes the start of the challenging part. We had to figure out a way to get it home, as it was around 300 pounds and far too long long to fit in our SUV. Making sure it was safely on hold, we decided to return the next day with a plan and a skill saw.
After returning and purchasing our new treasure, we wheeled it out to the parking lot. Skillsaw in hand, we cut to the pre-measured size of our main bar top, which happened to be just short enough to be able to close the tailgate. First problem solved. On to the next.
This block of wood was perfect but it was in need of some TLC to transform it into a bar top. We sanded for hours before giving in to the idea that we were going to need a bigger sander. After making another tool purchase, I continued to sand away while Tory batched endless customized shades of stain in an effort to match the shiplap on our custom trailer door. After trying every shade of stain possible and spending days staining and re-sanding, we finally got it right! Who knew wood staining was so calculated? Our reclaimed and repurposed bar is now ready for installation! What do you think?
