Moving Forward on the Table

On April 18th I posted a picture of our spare table sitting in the middle of the floor of my shop. 

  I had begun by cleaning and staining the legs of the gate leg table.  I began on the bottom because it will be generally hidden, so I could do some experimenting with sanding and finish.  After a bit of work it was clear that the table was solid and would be worth the work to polish it up a bit.

  Moving onto the top meant dealing with some more visible issues. The veneer was thin but glued to a thicker sheet of plywood, then glued to a solid wood core.  In a several places the veneer was chipped,  and every where it is brittle.

 

  On the middle section I had to cut a entire one inch strip off one side, there were too many and too large chips to be repaired individually.  I trimmed the edge  back and glued in a strip of oak veneer, I hope to make the patch less visible at the finishing stage.  You can see that there is no way to glue the patch in the middle. No problem I have four 8 pound lead weights I got from my brother. He needed them in his scuba diving days.  If he takes up diving again he can have them back. For my purposes the  weights hold the veneer strip down perfectly.

   

  Once the table top is completely sanded the patch is already less obvious.  The table also needs to be extended by four inches to have it match our regular table exactly.  To make it four inches wider  I added a piece of oak board to one of the wings, using pocket holes and screws. You can see the addition next time.

  While I am working on this table I am also finishing the organization box and had to fix my shop stool.  I've laid out the second piece of chair rail, it is seven feet long, that is lots of relief carving and made a few wooden beer coasters.  I can't stay sitting. standing or bent over in a single position very long and so I need to have to have a variety of projects on the go using different tools and postures in the shop.  

  Having various projects on the go at one time can lead to a bit of chaos in the shop.  Every now and then I have to stop everything and make a focused effort at clearing things up.  I've collected some card board boxes and shortly there will be a cleaning binge where off cuts are hauled away to fire pits. 

  As I putter away at things in my shop I often listen to pod casts or admire other wood workers on the net.  If you want to have your back ache and your soul filled with admiration check out - Massive cross cut saw.  Or maybe I'd find someone local with a portable saw mill.....?

cheers, ianw