Sawdust

Posted on February 4, 2008January 19, 2009 by gayle

Time to plane more of the timbers. Reasons: 1) need some a bit thicker for the table supports and crosspiece, 2) need some more 1″ thick for the table top. Fitting the planks in the table top is an art and a science. Because of their age and exposure to the environment each timber has unique features. Often these include warps and twists in the lumber that make them less than straight. So when fitting these planks together lengthwise, it is often a matter of matching the slight curves. Not a horrible task, but I needed more options for the second half of the table top. Thus far it is about half the length it needs to be.

Polyurethane Glue

Notice the glue exuding from the butt joints. This is the glue I mentioned in my last posting. This one is Critical Bond from Moser’s. It is my favorite glue. I have tried a bunch of others, Gorilla Glue, Excel, even an Elmer’s take on it. The two best I have used are Critical Bond and Excel. Caution: If you get it on your skin and it dries there, it has to wear off. Before it is cured, it can be wiped off with mineral spirits.

Regarding sawdust, or in this case shavings, always plane outside. It makes a huge mess. (and this is nothing compared to the first batch of lumber I trimmed down for the table top)

Just Plane Shavings

Roughing It

Posted on January 23, 2008January 19, 2009 by gayle

Kelly S.’s dining table is slowly taking shape. Weather and a regular job have hampered progress, but half of the table top has now been assembled. The planks were joined with grooved dowels and a polyurethane glue. I love this glue because it fills spaces, sands well, and holds like, well glue, or at least like glue should. Here are a couple pictures of the first half of the table top–rough though it is. Trust me it will be just gorgeous when it is sanded and finished.

This next one is a close up of the greenish spalting in the end plank. Did not see this in the wood for the Coastal Living table. I think it is from metal leaching from nails or roofing. Notice the nail tracing. There are plenty of cool features like this in salvaged wood.

Little by Little

Posted on January 9, 2008January 19, 2009 by gayle

Making some progress on the dining table for Kelly S. I have planed all the boards I think I will need for the table top (a bit more than 1 inch thick) and have begun to cut 4 ft sections that will be joined lengthwise with dowels to form the two halves of the table top. From the picture you can see there is some cool graining, knots, bug trails, and the some spots that have the scars of rough sawing. All of these will be very cool when finished. These are only a few of the 4ft sections I will need. Each of these has to have the edges cleaned up–I do this with my table saw since I do not have a jointer. Cleaning up the edges can be a pain in the $%** because pitch builds up on the blade and causes it to stick and sometimes stalls the saw. I have to clean the blade occasionally. But, little my little the pieces will come together and become a useful, beautiful thing—all from something that had a previous life holding up a barn roof.

Oak after planing

Fine Dining: Part 2

Posted on January 3, 2008March 29, 2016 by gayle

I have been commissioned to build another dining table like the one I built for the Coastal Living Idea House in River Dunes, NC. I am very excited about it and asked Kelly S. (the owner of the finished table) if I could blog about it. So, it begins.

Yesterday, in frigid weather uncharacteristic of the South, I drove to Cullman, AL to pick up salvaged oak timbers from Southern Accents Architectural Antiques (see my previous post). These are the same timbers I used for the CLv table. The timbers came from roof supports on an old barn. The guys at SAAA pulled the nails and sawed the timbers in half (roughly) lengthwise. The wood has some really neat features besides old nail holes. There are bug trails and knots and some have really great oak figuring. My next step is to plane it to the proper thickness for the table top. As rough as this is now, it is neat to see what it will become and how beautiful the finished wood is.

For the Birds

Posted on December 18, 2007January 19, 2009 by gayle

I think my muse has returned. Busyness is the enemy of creativity. After an extremely hectic summer and fall things have slowed down to where my mind wanders to making things. This week I saw a pile of wood scraps and a broken shutter as what they could become. So I made a birdhouse for a friend as a housewarming present. The roof is made of the shutter slats–which were the perfect size and shape for overlapping roofing. The sides are made from cedar siding scraps—this I like because it should help the birdies with their parasites. Bugs do not like cedar, nor does fungus. The shell adornment was a souvenir of a trip to the coast and the aluminum flashing used to seal the top was purchased from a home improvement store for a weather proofing project around the house. This was a pretty quick and easy project and it made a fine gift for my friend’s new home. I intend to make a couple more as gifts.

Here is a second birdhouse I built as a gift. I am going to post a measured drawing here as well so you can knock one out at home. All you need is some wood, a saw, hammer, drill, and nails.