Time is flying.

Wow, I cannot believe how fast time is moving. I have had very little activity in the shop since my last post. I did make two more cutting boards for family, and another large cribbage board for a friend. Now that I am unemployed once again and the Christmas rush has passed I should be able to make some progress again. Please stick around and check in, I am hoping to spend at least a few hours in the shop each day.

Table Done! On to the next project

Well, we completed the dining room table for Ruth's parents Saturday morning. Good thing, because we were heading there in the afternoon for her dad's (Bob) 60th birthday party. We had the top, legs and skirting stained and finished by Friday night, and did all of the assembly Saturday morning. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure!

Here the skirting is on, and the new slides are ready to be put on.

Here we have the slides installed and lined up, also one of the leaves are in place and the aligners are screwed in...one more leaf to go.

The last step to assembly is to attach the refinished legs that were on their old table.

All put together!

Here it is...all ready to go. This tabletop was made out of 5/4 quartersawn red oak. Quartersawn lumber is much more stable because the grain runs perpendicular to the face instead of parallel such as flat, or rift sawn lumber. This means that as humidity changes with the season, the wood will expand horizontally instead of vertically, meaning no warping or cupping along the width of the table. Instead of the table getting warped or crooked, it will simply just get slightly narrower, or wider with humidity changes.

Using quartersawn wood adds great stability to any project, but the best part, is that the grain patterns usually posses a great "fleck" pattern, almost like tiger stripes, as seen here. The whole table had great amounts of fleck...I loved it!

The finishing technique was a five part process that we had never done before.

Step 1-Minwax Early American Stain
Step 2-Heavy coat of Minwax Tung Oil
Step-3-another heavy coat of Tung Oil
Step4-Heavy coat of Minwax Glossy Polyurethane
Step 5-Heavy coat of Minwax Paste Wax

The stain is well..for color. The tung oil is a very easy wipe on finish that cures to a very hard glossy layer that is very durable and soaks into the wood pores. Two coats of tung oil ensure that anything spilled will not get into the wood and damage it. The polyurethane above that seals the pores of the wood to ensure that any hot or cold item placed on the surface will not pull the moisture to the surface and leave a nasty hazy ring on the tabletop. The paste wax is wiped on the top really heavy, allowed to dry, then vigorously wiped off to leave a shiny hand rubbed look(just like a car wax). The paste wax is an extra barrier for moisture, and offers extra scratch resistance. The paste wax can be re-applied at anytime to restore the nice luster to the table.


Moving on from here:
Today I started building the doors for the wardrobe I need to update. Tomorrow I head to Hartford to have them planed down and to pick up the sheet of plywood I need to make the shelves. I am hoping to have this done by the end of the week, but we will see how that goes.

Progress

Well...today some major progress was made on the dining room table for Ruth's parents. We have the top and the leaves all made up and shaped up. Tomorrow we take the router to it, to make a nice profile on the edge. The new slides, and aligner plates are on order and should be in yet this week. Hoping to have it done soon! Then it is on to finishing up the shelf and doors for the wardrobe. Thank god, because I am so behind it is not even funny.

Still around

Well...I am still alive. It has been a-while since I have posted, once again. I have been working lots of hours in my regular job, and have not found allot of time to be in the shop. I am working on a few things, and it will be picking up here shortly. Stay tuned for some updates.

Same Old

Same old, same old around the shop. Trying to get as much done in the shop as I can. A few more projects have come in, and trying to budget the time. Nothing picture worthy at the moment. Check back, hopefully I have some pictures to show you soon.

Progress Report

Well, tonight I got a few more projects completed. I finished another step-stool, this one is going to my sister-in-law and hubby for the chilluns. I also finished the cutting board, it is soaking in mineral oil right now.
As of now, the tabletop has hit a small obstacle. I took it to KM Hardwoods to get planed to final thickness....and well, their planer is 2 inches smaller than I was told it was. Now I am searching out a place with a planer at least 26" wide. I do not want to wait until school is in so I can have my old shop teacher run it for me. So, I have been calling around looking for a place that is not 100 miles away.

Phil and Sue...I will be getting to your armoire doors and shelves soon!

Having only nights and weekends to work in the shop kind of sucks, but progress is being made. My list starts to get shorter, then fortunately it fills right up again. Its a good thing, I just wish I had more time to be out there.

Ruth sanding the cutting board to a glass like smoothness.

The step-stool stained up and ready for a coat of poly tomorrow.

Cutting board soaking up the oil.

Back to the shop

I had the day off of work today, so I made some headway in the shop. The table top is all glued up, and I have another cutting board in the clamps as well.

Here is one of the leaves for the tabletop in the clamps.

Here is one half of the table top. The glue will be scraped off by Ruth tomorrow. When I get home from work we will head to Hartford to my hardwood dealer for some mill work. These panels are 26 inches wide, and luckily they have a planer and a sander that will accommodate these panels. While I am there I will be picking up some oak for a the doors that go on the wardrobe. It is a long drive for mill work, but I can make allot of trips with the 5 grand it would cost for the planer I want.

Yet another cutting board before the first glue up.


Hopefully I will have pictures of some nice pretty tabletop pieces.