DIY: A Corotu Coffee Table

A year ago, March 2024, Daryl and I had the opportunity to purchase an old Corotu wood stump with a slab that could be used as a coffee table. We got the wood cut to height and brought it to our totally unliveable house.

Once the bark was removed from the base it showed tons of bug holes. The sides of the top had also been eaten quite severely.

Daryl saturated both pieces with an insecticide and once it had dried up and stopped stinking, it was stored. After several months sitting in a closet, it was time to drag the pieces of wood out and start the refinishing process.

It actually looked good until you got up close and started sanding. Then there were so many holes where bugs had been eating the wood. There were no live bugs as thankfully the insecticide from the previous year had done its job.

There was wood around the sides of the top that was like tissue paper and had to be removed. Unfortunately, it also meant some of the nice contrast light coloured wood around the table would be destroyed.

Pretty soon it became evident that the chisel and sander weren’t going to do the job and it was time to use a grinder. Another new skill and kind of scary at the beginning. It could chew through the wood like a hot knife in butter!

It took a while but eventually the base was smooth, levelled and sealed.

The table top took a lot longer to do. There are three lovely hearts in the wood and most of the light coloured wood around the edges had been saved.

Then ‘someone’ said to oil the wood to bring out the grain. Well, that was a big mistake, it turned the wood so dark you could barely see the grain, and the sides lost their nice colour. I tried wiping it off and sanding it but it was well soaked in and not coming off.

The only way to salvage this was to turn the piece of wood over and use the ‘not as nice’ side. I had only done minimal sanding on the underside, so time to bring back the sander. It was it very rough shape, but sure looked better than having a black table top.

After applying five coats of a 3 in 1 varnish, stain and sealer it was finished.

Another project finished. So satisfying!

Cheers

Ruth