Installing a new top on a formerly marble top eastlake dresser

I bought this eastlake dresser for 10.00 at a yard sale 3 years ago or so and have been using it for storage.

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My entire Victorian home has been going through renovation restoration and a combination of both. As I work through an area I try to use the same materials in as many places as possible. It takes time for plaster to dry and harden so working on several sections of several rooms at the same time seem to get the biggest overall results.

While I am working in a room unless I have nothing to replace a piece of furniture I am eliminating problems I have with existing furniture and restoring pieces in need of immediate attention.

This dresser is a prime example made around 1890 it is well built and solid walnut several different species it is a really nice piece of furniture. but a new piece of 3/4 inch thick marble is expensive instead I will do a simple fix that will make it more efficient complete and look better.

The first step is to measure the top make sure you leave a 1/2-3/4 inch or so overhang so the piece looks correct. After taking my measurements I go to the table saw and rip the end of one or two pieces of pine to get a good clean joint line that covers the table correctly, then I turn the boards tape them together raise the blade and again cut twice to make sure I will have a clean line on the edge of the top where they are even.

After routing the whole top I use sandpaper to clean up the edges hit the top with 220 grit paper to clean up the rough spots and then go over it again with 400 grit to take finish better. I decided on red mahogany finish to give the top a redder color. I apply several coats of finish with a old sock discarding it after each use. Depending on the finish you want the finish to be darker than the piece you are matching for best results as some of the finish will likely wipe off if you are using a rub on finish like the mcluskies I am using.

I check the top against the dresser to make sure everything looks like its going to line up well I remove the tape line the top up square with the back and even on both sides with a tape measure tacking all the corners of the boards with small finish nails paying close attention to the gap between the two boards.

I set up my router with a Gard flush with the center of the bit and the bit flush with the bottom of the router this is a simple og style bit it makes a quick clean corner for the top of any piece of furniture. The router has a ball bearing piston on the tip which is designed to prevent the router from cutting too deep into the board but I find the guard helps guide the router more evenly when used together.


I use a number of different finishes for a number of different results. I usually strip the entire piece before to make sure everything else matches but do not have an enormous piece of walnut or black walnut lumber so this is piece work and I actually like the look of the old finish so I will end up washing the rest of the case with murphies oil soap and warm water. I use a tooth brush to clean detailed areas and tight corners. I also hit several of the scratches with the same red mahogany finish which showed an instant improvement.

Tools and Materials needed
Two wide pine boards long enough and wide enough to do the job.
Pencil
Tape measure
Table saw
router
OG 1/2-3/4 bit
400 grit sheet sand paper folded into quarters
orbital sander prefered for cleaning up top fast with 220 grit sand paper
Chosen color stain
Shelac or poly for 3 coat finish sanding with 400 grit between coats lightly

So the world was fairly quiet this morning when I woke up at 4:23 in the morning for no apparent reason other than that I was just plain not tired (odd) this is eactly the time I would normally be winding down to go to bed this may not be good for the upcoming work week hmmm, anyway I went out into the world only to find it fairly quiet still around eight thirty when i began running errands at a much less than diligent pace with a wishywashy demeanor and basically a great attitude and very little direction at wall mart I found the sock rack where there were more socks on the floor than there were on the shelf, however it was much more important to continually move around the clearence items than to put the stuff you are gonna sell for full price back on the shelf the gloves and hats were also literaly covering about forty feet of floor it was fairly quiet for the day after Christmas, i found good deals on perfume and managed to actually find only two of the things on the shelf that was on the list out of 9 not very good odds. I was greeted by a pleasant but miserable cashier with the looks to go along with the demeanor. I tried unsuccessfully to make her laugh although

hazey days before long weekends

Another fabulous shift with an extended lunch and an hour of training with a sweet beatiful girl. I preped a double batch of cookies to mix up after the butter softens killed the trash in the kitchen put away all the stray dishes and clean ones scrubbed down the counters and cleaned up the table i rescued from certain doom in the dank basement. I cleaned up some trash put away the tools in the laundry room now painted on three walls with some of the art and a mirror rehung. The celing and the floor are in need of desperate attention in this 1890s victorian and the trim will be needing a fresh coat of high hiding white.

I listed a trunk I restored on Craigslist today

http://nh.craigslist.org/atq/2767026211.html

Then I preped some gift baskets for christmas filled with all kinds of terrific teas coffee and sauces a blooming indoor bulb and some cocanut to use as filler.

Then I cleaned the vacume and vacumed three rooms. I sanded some of the wall in the laundry room and tried to find the last picture to hang on the wall.

The Power of Positive thinking and the ability to experience happiness

Do you ever wonder why you are feeling bad are you in a rut and just can't ever seem to get out of it? Well the solution is easier than you may think.

An affirmative or positive thought is much more powerful than a negative thought. If you are feeling down or unhappy with your current state of affairs no matter how bad things are, as soon as you begin to think positivly you will start to move forward you will smilie more atract positive people and positive events. The biggest difference between sucess and failure is attitude.

As it was said life is ten percent chance and ninty percent attitude that mantra is the truth. I have gone through a terrible time this year. I am not suffering I am not negative instead I have focused on the good. Mountains of debt divorce death no matter what the event is dwelling in the bad will bring more bad. If you look for negative events you will see them in abundance. On the other hand if you look for the good and commit to being positive and feeling good you will begin to feel a change on a deeper level.

You will stop complaining about events other people and the effect they have on you and will begin to focus on the things in your life you can be grateful for as soon as you envision your goals and visualize positivly you will find opportunities that you had since then overlooked.

Heat lighting in clear skys with soft cold grass underfoot

A brief walk around beneath the starlit night heat lightning echoes across the sky brightening up the night like daylight in one brief flash after another.
The grass was cold damp and soft underfoot on my sore feet it was a connection to the world and those around me that I have not felt in a while. As a long weekend lights and laughter echoed off far in the distance and lights glowed up and down the street.

Wake up and take life by the reigns choose a new direction and find passion

Awaking after several weeks of nearly non stop rain fog overcast sky's and dribble or drizzle if you prefer. I did not find I was tired or sad instead I found that for the first time in a long time I was at peace.

When the storm broke and the sun finally showed itself I found myself looking out on a lush and overgrown lawn I saw not work desperately needing to be done but a world awakening to spring and all that is good in the world.

Flowers blooming birds singing and the trees coming alive in color especially among the cherry trees apples and lilacs. I found not that I was missing something as life had taken so many nasty turns instead I found that I was awake alive and feeling passionate about my life my home and all the good that I had achieved funneled through me bringing about a feeling of great satisfaction.

I spend so much of my time working but need to find balance. Attitude effects everything and what we say we can't really take back. So we need to be kind whenever possible humble when successful, resilient to adversity and live every day like it may be our last.

Building bridges and making connections to new and inviting things while dealing with difficult decisions.

I live in an interesting house its just me among seven women with ages from six months to 28 years we are a young family and a half as my wife's sister also lives with us and her two children.

As I returned home yesterday I was greeted with backed up plumbing in the bathroom running into my basement and an adventure in snaking the pipes as the water was coming back up from the sink out of the tub a bent coat hanger finally freed the clog a plunger on the shower floor could not.

Dealing with these types of issues are a common occurrence in an 1890's Victorian with a number of updates. U have greatly eliminated spending and have spent very little on fixing these types of problems since I bought the house freeing up money overtime to pay for things we actually need.

The new dilemma however is daycare we have an exceptional daycare which watches our 9 month old they have been very kind to us by providing very low prices for watching a baby and they are exceptionally good caretakers however shelling out over a hundred dollars a week when the money is needed elsewhere is very difficult at best this was my wife's decision we had been paying for one day a week to secure her spot while we were waiting to see if we qualified for daycare assistance, prior to that I had been watching her first shift before I  go to work around 2:30. Daycare assistance came in and they pay a whoping 2.00 or so of her daycare bill every week. My wife believes that if I quit my second job they will cover more, I don't see the point as it is the only way I am able to actually pay down debt and take bills off of her plate plus I really miss my baby who is growing up much to fast if you ask me. Time seems to go by faster every day. I enjoy getting more sleep but my wife is perfectly capable of watching her during the week as her hours are eratic at best.

So the new issue is finding a way to get my wife to see that we cannot afford to continue to pay for daycare as things are at the moment the one day a week is essential to me so that I can sleep before I work three shifts between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning but that frees up almost four thousand a year in New England that is allot of money.

Like our wonderful congress my wife tries to be hazy about finances she makes little fibs to make it look like she got a fantastic deal while shopping or to try and undercut how much she actually spent on the new gadget or gizmo. She has to pay bills late when they cut her hours and I have to pick up slack often. Making planning to pay down debt much more difficult. I love my wife and her happiness is important but living beyond ones means is a disaster waiting to happen.