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PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 5:49 pm 
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Hey folks,

This morning marked a watershed moment at my local watering hole / breakfast place. Ha!, the place across the street from my shop, and the place where I go for breakfast before work, the place where I go for my end of day reward, was in need of a woodworking intervention.

You see, when they put in the bar, they used a piece of reclaimed bowling alley. That in itself was not such a problem (although repurposed bowling alley does have its issues). What turned out to be a problem was the water soluble finish that the installers put on it, over the alkyd floor varnish that was the original finish. The water soluble finish not only didn't play well with the varnish, it became a sticky, dirty mess over time.

Ha! is owned and run by the nicest and hardest working couple you would ever want to meet. Al cleans up and opens the place at 8:00 AM, and Alicia takes the closing shift 'till 2:00 AM, all while they raise two great kids. So I always felt guilty for complaining about the bar surface.

This week, Al and Alicia left the bar in the care of their employees, and took a few days to get away with their kids before school starts. So this morning, Caitlin, the morning bartender, and I decided to take matters into our own hands and started scraping the sickly stuff off the bar, after the morning rush had died down.

Image Image

I applied some mineral oil to the top to protect it in the short term, until a permanent finish can be applied. I made no attempt to get all the dark spots up; to some extent, they add to the character of the place.

It's so much better now, I may just have to go over there to enjoy my own work. :wink:

Cheers,
Tom
(P.s. support your local bartender) :-D

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Last edited by tms on Thu Sep 01, 2016 7:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2016 12:23 pm 
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Location: Skagit Co WA
Great job, Tom.

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Cheers - Dennis


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PostPosted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 9:00 am 
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charity truly begins at home (or across the street).
Next time I'd cover the little bins of cherries, lemons, limes, etc. :-)


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PostPosted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 4:28 pm 
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Hey drstrip,

They did cover most of the counter with towels, but they just pulled the garnish bar away from the "drop zone".

Cheers,
Tom

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 4:50 pm 
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Has the owner seen it yet?
Looks a lot better!
Now when you spill your beer on it, you will feel bad. :oops:
Zulu

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 4:57 pm 
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Hey Zulu,

No, they're still away. I'm not done yet either. Tonight, I'm going to do some more prep, and then we'll apply some poly over the next few days.

Cheers,
Tom

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Mohandas K. Ghandi
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 5:37 pm 
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Next time we're down town I'll definitely spot you a pint. Great work!

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