August 24, 2018 – By product of removing shrubs – potential end table

         Searching the internet for ways to remove shrub stumps other than a landscaper coming in and grinding them up, I noticed many articles about copper nails versus stump killer chemicals.

         I am not a poison chemicals type person – unless it is poison ivy.  But, I don’t want to poison the soil of my front yard with chemicals because I do want to plant perennials that are low growing.

         In the midst of searching for how to kill off stumps, I noticed a comment that caught my attention along with photos.

         “Make a table out of a stump – or seating . . .”

         I saw pictures of trunks that had been turned into stylish end tables.

         HMMMMMM – I had 4 trunks out front waiting to be hauled off.  They were all branching trunks – all interesting wood and ready and waiting for some cleverness and creativity.  And, the best part,  . . . FREE!

         We discovered the cut trunks were too heavy to lift by one person and even a struggle with two people.  My husband was getting out his electric chain saw in order to cut them into pieces so we could get them into the pickup truck without busting a gut.

         As he was going out the door, I asked.  “Can you cut one of them at 24 inches from the bottom for me so I can make an end table?”

         He stopped and considered it and I continued. 

“Here is the tape measure, here is a sharpie – I like that one – it has multiple trunks and is the most interesting.”

         I was surprised that he didn’t call it a hair-brained idea.  He dutifully cut the one I had picked out and I had him drag it to the top of the steps.

         Later I pulled it inside the house and assessed it.  Yes, it will make something interesting.  I would need to peel the outside bark off it to get it down to the pretty wood.  It was gouged in a few places and the bark was green and about 1/8^th the below the surface I could see blondish wood.

         A few days later, as there was nothing on TV of interest and I was bored I thought about the four-stem trunk in the next room.  I grabbed an old blanket and pulled out a ‘staple puller’ I’d used when I removed the rug when I put down lament floor a few years back.  I rolled the stump onto the blanket and set to work.

         

          Two hours later, with sticky fingers, all the bark was removed revealing the blondish wood. I would need to get out my Dremel drill to work on the knot areas of the stump where the limbs had been cut, but it was looking good already.

  

      

Forgive me, I was not positioned correctly when I took the second picture but you can see, the crazy project is coming along.

         Now, I need to let it dry out before I sand it and move on to the varnish and then glass tabletop.

         But, hopefully, this will give you an idea for an “almost” free end table or coffee table if you, too, are cutting down trees or shrubs.

         I will be back at you on this blog with further developments.