As I suspected ‘simply upcycle an old reel into a table’ is not as simple as it looks if you have had to take the reel apart to fit it in you car (a ford galaxy). Some of the YouTube videos I watched suggested casually that you could counter sink the bolts – you’d have a very wobbly table with bolts sticking out the top and bottom if you didn’t counter sink and cut off the excess metal so if you’re thinking of having a go make sure you are confident doing this before you start.

So, this was mission ‘make this table work or admit defeat to your husband’, failure was not an option. Luckily, I had a secret weapon in the form of my Dad! He is the person who started me off down this road by giving me my first tool kit at the age of seven and is infinitely practical when it comes to wood (although he can’t open a packet of ham or take down a gazebo without a hacksaw) Half way through he said, “You know I would have bought you a table” but I think he rather enjoyed the challenge really…

So who won? Well, it worked as a table (oh ye of little faith big hubby) and we got many compliments about it from our BBQ guests which he took very graciously and I got to mouth, “I told you so”. The verdict – not as simple to do as others may have you believe but very much worth the hard work…I win!