Kelly’s table is coming along and will shortly be finished–literally. Below is a picture of it unfinished and assembled. The band clamps are there to hold the two halves of the top together so I can mark the spots for the alignment pins and other hardware. That should be done tomorrow. Then what remains is a final sanding and a few coats of oil finish.
Progress continues on Kelly’s dining table. The two halves of the top have been rough sanded and the table base is almost complete.
Remaining steps include fitting the two halves using alignment pins, placing the attachment points for the two halves, finish sanding all the parts, and application of the penetrating oil finish. Then it will be heavily bubble wrapped and packaged for shipping by Fed Ex. If the weather cooperates, I hope to do this my next weekend or shortly thereafter. It looks good and is solidly built. I made a couple improvements to the design since the initial table was built. I hope Kelly likes it when it is in her home. She has picked some fabulous chairs from Pier 1 that will complement the rustic nature of the piece and add some style and class to the dining set.
It is beginning to look like a dining table, or at least the parts of a dining table. There is only one piece of the 5 left to be assembled–the center crosspiece. I have done the math and plan to cut and assemble it tomorrow. Believe it or not, the trigonometry/geometry I learned years ago does come in handy at times. I used the good old Pythagorean theorum to figure out the lengths of the pieces I will need to form the crossed members of the center support.
This picture shows the underside of one of the top halves. I added some thin strips to the underside. The glue has to be removed and it needs a final sand.
Here are the leg supports. They need some hand sanding to remove glue residue but otherwise these are ready to be assembled to the crosspiece when it is finished.
This weekend was beautiful here in AL. So, I was able to make progress on Kelly’s dining table. This first image shows one half of the top (leaned up against the wall), one of the leg supports, and the second half of the table on the floor. The larger spots on the table top have been filled and sanded to medium grade. Final sanding will wait until just before finishing with a penetrating oil. The leg support pictured has not been rough sanded yet. The second half of the table top is still about 10″ short of where it needs to be so I have a few more planks to fit.
The second leg support has been fitted and joined but the glue is drying as of now.
So it is coming along. It is going to be rustic and beautiful!
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.
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)
