The Flipside

So I'm going thru the shop trying to decide what to keep and what to toss when I came across this workbench with steel legs and a 2x4 top. It was my father's and his father's before him.

Even though there is a lot of provenance there I decided to take it apart and toss it. After pulling the bolts out I flipped the top over to notice that the 2x4's are actually really nice redwood.

Not that there is any good material for instruments here, but I have decided to strip, paint, and refinish this little gem.

Wonderful history.
Why go to the work of removing all the evidence of your dad's and grandfather's use of this cool old bench-top?
Unless you need it to be all pristine, I would leave it alone, or just repaint the base the same color.

For what it is worth that is a Sears powertool stand. Much nicer than the tin they sell today. The last two I aquired went to a local powder caoting shop. Well worth the money to have them sandblast ans coat it, plus it looked a lot better than my rattle can paint jobs.

The top should clean up nice.

Bet there is pristine paint at the bolted junctions. I have taken those pieces toa Sherwin Williams store for a match.