For years I wanted to replace a crappy table that sits next to the door that leads to our garage. It's a convenient place to drop off keys, cell phones, letters to be mailed, etc. After over a year, my supply of 8 quarter walnut was finally dry enough to use. Over the course of several weeks I make a few sketches and finally decided on a plan. Due to the space it was going to occupy, I first made a prototype from scraps laying around, just to see if it would work OK in the spot. The 2nd pic shows the prototype and the final table side by side. The prototype was held together with brad nails and pocket holes. It went together in about 2 hours. The final table is all mortise & tenon with the top being shop-sawn book matched curly maple. The legs were rough cut on the table saw and hand planed to the final size. The curly maple had too much grain to send though the planer so it was leveled with my trusty old Stanley #4 and a card scraper. All in all, it took about two weeks.
Telling a man he has too many tools,
is like telling a woman she has too many shoes.
09-03-2019, 02:45 PM (This post was last modified: 09-03-2019, 02:46 PM by Mike 55.)
(09-03-2019, 11:07 AM)Terry W Wrote: For years I wanted to replace a crappy table that sits next to the door that leads to our garage. It's a convenient place to drop off keys, cell phones, letters to be mailed, etc. After over a year, my supply of 8 quarter walnut was finally dry enough to use. Over the course of several weeks I make a few sketches and finally decided on a plan. Due to the space it was going to occupy, I first made a prototype from scraps laying around, just to see if it would work OK in the spot. The 2nd pic shows the prototype and the final table side by side. The prototype was held together with brad nails and pocket holes. It went together in about 2 hours. The final table is all mortise & tenon with the top being shop-sawn book matched curly maple. The legs were rough cut on the table saw and hand planed to the final size. The curly maple had too much grain to send though the planer so it was leveled with my trusty old Stanley #4 and a card scraper. All in all, it took about two weeks.
Nicely done. What finish did you put on to make the curly maple "POP" ?
(09-03-2019, 02:45 PM)Mike 55 Wrote: Nicely done. What finish did you put on to make the curly maple "POP" ?
I liked the finish so much I actually wrote it down. Here's what I did.....
Curly Maple Table Finish: used only on the maple, not the walnut.
Die was Trans Tint Dye- "Dark Vintage Maple" in alcohol.
(I just eyeballed this till it looked about right then tried it out on a scrap beforehand. )
Died with above. Let dry then sanded with 120 grit
Die again with Trans Tint Dye- Dark Vintage Maple in alcohol
Let dry then sanded with 150 grit
Coated with Watco Natural. Let soak in for 10 minutes
then wipe off and let dry.
Assembled with legs and applied 3 coats Arm-R-Seal satin finish to everything.
Scuff sanding with 400 grit and/or 0000 steel wool between coats.
Telling a man he has too many tools,
is like telling a woman she has too many shoes.
Beautiful.
I have a couple more slabs of spalted maple and a large stack of black walnut.
If i can figure out somewhere to put one, I'll try to make one.
Jim in Okie You can tell a lot about the character of a man - By the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.
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