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Nastibrew - nice top did you run into any of you currency "soaking" up any of the epoxy? I have found/heard in the past most paper products would have to be completely "coated" with a clear glue like elmers to seal it so soaking doesn't occur and have that -been through a flood- look. i'm not sure if they used epoxy or urethane though. also have heard that epoxy will yellow over time if exposed to any uv rays. i'm in the planning stages not and was thinking the same type of thing on black painted wood with brew coasters sealed in urethane.
 
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Still have some work to do but here is layout. Eventually taking down the tap tower in the back and redoing, the counter tops need to be fixed.

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I love this thread and have been waiting to post pictures of my basement bar until I finished a few touches. My basement was unfinished when I bought the place so the project started with framing. We (my father and I) framed the most important wall (the one with the taps) first and that actually slowed the project down because once the beer was flowing, well, things didn't seem so urgent! I've got mostly everything done I wanted but it'll still be an ongoing project because it's a lot more fun than say painting a bathroom. Thanks for sharing your pics and letting me show off mine.

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Heyo,

Just dropping in to post a pic as well as get some advice. This bar is a couple of Elm Slabs 2" thick. Now this is more of a woodworking question but since it is a bar I wanted to ask you guys first. I am not interested in putting a 50 coat on here but waterproofing this sucker and making the grain "pop" is paramount. That in mind here is my plan:

1.) Tung oil
2.) 2 coats Defthane Polyurethane (Oil based) heavy coat afterwards..

I am not a woodworker of course but I'd like your 2 cents since I don't know if the above is legit or not. I'd hate to waste these slabs so please hit me up. Also I'd love to post some plans if at all interested. My brew tech is going on the other side of this bar.

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Wisconsinjohn, its been a while since I have done much staining, but I think that would turn out great. The tung oil is going to bring out the wood's natural beauty very nicely, but depending on how much grain you want to show, may not be as much as you are hoping. Google "tung oil elm" and it will show you a very subtle almost "nude" look. If you take some mineral spirits on a rag and wipe it on it will give you a preview of how it will turn out. After it dries it will return to the natural unfinished state. If you are looking for anything else I would look into a stain. As for the poly you listed, since it is rated interior/exterior it should work great and I would think it wouldn't leave any glass rings behind. The more thin coats you use, the better the final product will be, both durability and look. You will want to do light sanding with high grit in between each coat and remove dust with a tack cloth. Be prepared for your whole house to stink like paint thinner for a few weeks after this project. Do you have any scraps you can try it out on? And if you get it done and decide you want a little more protection, you could always use some beeswax over the final coat. It will act like a polish, and could be buffed to a high gloss if desired, but would need a small amount reapplied maybe once every/every other year depending on use.

If you have a woodworking store nearby they should be able to point you in the right direction of what to use to get you what you want, and usually are more than helpful on telling you what process to use and some tips. The box stores usually don't have the same expertise, but if you ask enough different people, sometimes you can figure out what should be done. I wouldn't worry about ruining you nice bar top, as if it doesn't turn out quite like you hoped, you can always strip and sand back to the wood.
 
I'm not sure how the polyurethane over the oil finish will work. I'd bet just the polyurethane itself would work, but go for many more than 2 coats - you might need 6-10 coats, sanded with very, very fine sandpaper or steel wool between. You'd then have a rugged, waterproof finish.

This is a picture of my brew bench that was an old pine slab, with 11 coats of polyurethane. No problems with beer spills at all.

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What a great thread! Lets see more!

I moved into my new house about a month ago now. It has a large finished basement that I will be converting into a bar. I'm hoping to get started on this project within the next few months. When I do, I'll be posting pictures here.
 
cfrazier77 said:
If it was mine I would keep it the way it is. It reminds me of my grandparents' place.
Click to expand...

Forgot about this thread! I'm keeping the floor. It has class. :D

This house had 27 50'+ pine trees surrounding it. Most had a incurable fungus & were eventually going to die. I found a couple of guys that had a portable bandsaw & asked the tree trimmers to kept a few of the fattest trunks, 10'-12' tall.

Meet my new bar top and shelves for project NewBar 2016:

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RocketBrewer said:
That should make a beautiful bar top!
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I hope. They cut me 4 12' lengths that were square cut on 1 side, live edge on the other so I can join them back to back for 2 nice fat top pcs, 3.5" thick. The rest was cut into 1.5" thick, live edge both sides that I'll use for shelves behind the bar or whatever.

I'm thinking of many coats of poly like nhwrecker did on that table posted above. Not quite sure yet. That is pretty dark & being in a basement already I want to lighten things up.

Most of the fun will be the stacked stone bar face and wall behind it I want to put in, then put the shelves in the wall like they 'float' out of the stone. I have it in my head, just need to draw it up and get going. Might start the tear out & putting in the base this winter.
 
VegasJ said:
I hope. They cut me 4 12' lengths that were square cut on 1 side, live edge on the other so I can join them back to back for 2 nice fat top pcs, 3.5" thick. The rest was cut into 1.5" thick, live edge both sides that I'll use for shelves behind the bar or whatever.

I'm thinking of many coats of poly like nhwrecker did on that table posted above. Not quite sure yet. That is pretty dark & being in a basement already I want to lighten things up.

Most of the fun will be the stacked stone bar face and wall behind it I want to put in, then put the shelves in the wall like they 'float' out of the stone. I have it in my head, just need to draw it up and get going. Might start the tear out & putting in the base this winter.
Click to expand...

Use clear poly, or, for a little color, honey oak. We got the honey oak when we built our house, wanting to keep colors brighter lighting-wise. And if you don't want to do 6-12 coats of poly, seal the surface first with shellac, then the poly. Poly tends to soak in a lot before finally building up on the surface.
 
Love the builds, maybe in 15 years when the kid is older..or 18 years and they are gone and we are rich again.

Problem is not really many houses have basements here, its not a standard thing like it seems to be in many states so i'd have to buy a shed, or make one myself...retirement cant come soon enough. I try not to think about the fact i still need to work nearly as many years as i've been alive to get there though...
 
I hear ya man. I got lucky. Most of this was grabbed off of craigslist.

Bar-$100
Stools- 8 for $75
Fridge - $50
Kegarator - free

I made the hightop table from a tree in the yard and table top from lowes. Just stained it.

Someday Fuzze!

The rest came as xmas gifts over the years.
 
governorkc said:
My pics should be fixed now
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Gorgeous set up man. I've been planning switching my three tap tower out for taps fitted to the exhaust ports of an air cooled triple ( limited choice available these days) for a while. Nice to see your engine tap executed so well confirming my belief that it will hopefully be the mutt's nuts when I get round to it.
 
mcspanner said:
Gorgeous set up man. I've been planning switching my three tap tower out for taps fitted to the exhaust ports of an air cooled triple ( limited choice available these days) for a while. Nice to see your engine tap executed so well confirming my belief that it will hopefully be the mutt's nuts when I get round to it.
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Thanks man, yeah the engine tap turned out cool, I like to have "motor oil" on tap.

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