I posted a question in the (gasp!) painting section about this post. They took it easy on me, especially Gene, Leo, and Chris. I learned some things about finish, I can guarantee that.
I had a local kitchen design center approach me about this job. "It is a small job and I thought of you" kind of jobs. She has existing Cherry cabinets that have been there for 10 years. She's replacing the laminate countertops with granite. The granite people said "need support for that beast" and they brought in the expert.
I figured I am not going to make much money on this anyway, so I'll do the absolute best job I can and see if I can blow them away. The HO wanted a footrest. The original was made by the HO's husband. Not too bad for a complete novice. She wanted something much nicer.
I actually went to the lumber yard, the one with ROUGH sawn and planed it down. I'm glad I had some test pieces to try to match up. I think I got close. It's already starting to darken on me, which I anticipated. I went a little light and expect it to darken into what she has there. You can see the quarter round on the base is much lighter than the post. It is the exact finish to the post. I expect it 100% to darken into the post color.
The square black support piece came from my 2nd cousin who lives 1/2 mile from me. He works at a machine shop and they had a piece of 1/2" thick aluminum just sitting there doin' nuthin'. $100.
Last night, I made the 3/4" quarter round. I started at 7 PM and finished it this morning. Adds the nice touch to it I think. I had fun with this. I enjoy this type of work. Hopefully more is coming!
Originals