Anyway, I want to tell you about one of my favorite items in my studio. It's my hammering table. A couple of years ago I really wanted a "stump", a real "jeweler's stump". I asked all around and found a really nice guy who lives out in the country in a nearby town. He was nice enough to cut a section of a fallen cedar tree for me and even delivered it. The cedar smelled wonderful and I thought it would work out perfectly for my needs. Unfortunately, I soon found out that the cedar wood was too soft and the stump was not perfectly flat on the bottom, so it just didn't work out. I contemplated starting my search all over again until I realized I had just the thing sitting in my storage building - a butcher block pedestal table that had an Early American style base that didn't match my home decor. Not only did I not like the style of the base, but since it was a pedestal table I knew it would not be sturdy enough for pounding. I took the butcher block top off of the base and searched for something to use for legs. In a pile of leftover lumber from a deck that we built in our back yard I found some 4 X 4 posts and some other usable lumber and was able to construct a VERY sturdy table that has worked out perfectly for all the hammering I do while stamping or texturing metal.
