The sanding and finishing is done and now the hardest part... Waiting for it to cure so I can touch it and use it.
After I sanded with 120, 220, and 400 grit I glued the legs in. I don't have any clamps with that kind of overhang reach so I improvised with some 25 lb (11.5 kg) weights overnight. It worked a treat and saved me a lot of hassle.
I cleaned up the surfaces by vacuuming and then wiping it with mineral spirits.I cleaned up my bench top too and vaccumed it to prevent extra dust during finishing. I mixed up the two part Rustic Lumber finish (oil to hardner 1:5 ratio). I have a lot so I had some glass jars to make some sample packs for my IRL woodworking friends to try it out. But I got distracted and ended up mixing up the same sample so I ended up with more than twice as much as I needed 😬
The finish was easy to apply and then buff out after 15 minutes. It looks a bit dull while the finishing is absorbing but there's some nice sheen after you wipe it off, not shiny but nice sheen. I finished the bottom and sides then moved on to the top after. After wiping it down, I took it outside in the sun to show off the beautiful grain. All this work to make it look like I did nothing at all!
It'll cure for a week and then it'll be a while before I can put it in service so there'll be one last post to show it in its final location at some point. Thanks for coming along on this journey!
