Charming old houses hold many precious details. One of our favorites are the cast iron grills that cover heating vents. These grills, or registers, can be as lovely as they are durable. We came across a particularly stylish set and were inspired to turn them into table tops. Tom Tamborello is here to take us, step by step, through this project.

Materials:

Cast iron register grill
naval jelly
paint brushes, natural bristle
Clear, rust protective sealant spray
table legs, ours were 25-inch Hepplewhite end table legs, in cherry, from tablelegs.com
1 x 4 (cherry) lumber for table apron, length determined by grill size
tung oil sealer/ finish
1/2-inch fluted dowels
Wood screws

Tools:

Paint brushes, natural bristles
wire brush
lint free rags
drill
doweling jig
sand paper, medium and fine grits

Directions:

1. Remove loose rust particles from register grill with wire brush. Apply a layer of naval jelly, let sit 15 minutes and rinse off. Repeat as necessary. Seal surface with clear rust inhibiting spray.

2. Sand 1 x 4 table apron wood, first with medium and then fine grit sandpapers.

3. Using doweling jig, make dowel holes in ends of table apron wood and tops of legs.

4. Glue fluted dowels into table leg holes.

5. Assemble table legs and apron. It is easiest to do this upside down on your work surface.

6. Turn assembled table base over and set grill tabletop in place.

7. Apply tung oil to all wood surfaces with lint free rag. Let dry. Repeat.

8. Screw register grill top securely to table base, being sure to pre-drill all holes.

Special Thanks:
Table legs - www.tablelegs.com An online source for table parts