DIY Stain and Sewing machine table

Building a house has taught me that you need a huge magnet on a pole to pick up all the rusty nails

the builders left behind.

This is a gallon bucket mostly full of rusty nails and spare metal parts.

This isn't something I should have to pick up, 

I mean how wasteful are these guys that just long group of nails were discarded on the ground?

I was hoping to at least get a buck or so when we recycled them.

Until I read a chemist post on how to clean nails,

(Waste not, want not.)

He described that the nails gave off a rich dark red color 

(oxidation red I'm sure) when soaked in vinegar.

Then it hit me, people make stain out of steel wool all the time!

I just happen to be short on stain, have two gallons of vinegar, and a bucket of rusty nails.

Instead of the steel wool, I soaked this stuff I found 

around my house in Vinegar for two weeks,

Dirt and all, it soaked.

I've read that coffee gives the stain a more brown hue, but also the original chemist post 

had mentioned how hydrogen peroxide had made it more red.

Heck I've got a whole bottle of that, that was about to expire.

Evidently it does expire, if you were wondering.

After Adding some coffee grounds from a used K-cup, I drained it into a bucket to get just the stain, I really didn't want to lug around a heavy bucket of nails.

The rusty stuff looked like this;

 Yay! Clean nails, not that I really have a purpose for them.

But at least they're clean(er).

The stain still had chunks in it, 

I really should have filtered it or strained it.

It looked like this;

 My wonderful husband said it looks like coffee and cigarettes marinated in water.

Which is not something I would like to imagine.

Ever.

Moving on,

I recieved a beautiful base of an antique treadle sewing machine from my aunt.

She had it just 'laying around'. I hope to get to that status some day.

The problem was finding a top to make a table.

After meandering around the local hardware store lumber yard, 

I didn't find a single board that was the right width or length. 

I really didn't have the energy to cut and measure and measure again.

Maybe not in that order.

Plus most the boards were expensive, the legs were free and it's going to sit outside, 

I don't want to spend a fortune on just the top.

Thanks to a helpful employee I learned that they sell table tops.

 Pre-cut, sanded, and the perfect size. 

Serendipity.

I cleaned up the base with some dish soap and hot water and a toothbrush.

After three coats my husband really liked the color.

Please excuse the mess in the background, the husband was drywalling the garage.

It really depends on how dark you want it, I called it good at three.

I had some clear spray sealer in the garage so I used that to seal the top.

I screwed the top on with a quick measurement, 

I found some short wood screws and just used the holes that were already drilled in the base.

all together it looks like this!

Please excuse the huge pile of crap in our front yard. 

It was supposed to be cleaned up a few weeks ago by the contractor.

It fits perfectly next to the front door and will be perfect for holiday decorations!

So far I've gotten a no soliciting sign and a sewing machine tractor my grandpa made for me!

I love that both pieces were once a whole sewing machine, now it's more useful!

Thanks for stopping by!
W