Cast Iron and the Hardware Counter

Last winter on one of my first picking adventures, we sauntered into the more than 100 year old hardware store in Browerville, Minnesota.  Chris and Morgan had been there before, but it was my first opportunity to scrounge around the three large floors of the old building.  In the basement, I found a large counter made from fir floor boards that had been used as the stores glass cutting station for years.  It was oil soaked and dirty but I thought it had a high potential for use as a bar or table top.  I bought it and then left it there because we didn't have room in the truck.  We stopped by Browerville a couple of times after that day, but we didn't ever have space for the counter.

This summer I purchased a great cast iron base that will be perfect for a bar.  It took three of us to load it onto my trailer.  I knew that it was ready for a marriage in a junk heaven.  We made another trip to Browerville and loaded up the counter top.  I sanded it, stained it a deep red mahogany and covered it with three coats of poly.

The cast iron base was washed, scrubbed, welded and footed.  It too received a coat of poly.  The bar top is 6 1/2 ft by 4 ft and almost 2 inches thick.  There is a 14 inch over hang and at 42 inches tall, a perfect height for a full size bar stool.  I think that it is going to make a beautiful bar somewhere.

Mr. Flannery