Thread: Blackwood dining table

Originally Posted by zenwood

How do you find blackwood to work? I find it very prone to tearout with a handplane.

Hi Zenwood,

Yes, the Blackwood can be a real horror to plane, even with a very fine setting on the plane and a sharp iron as the grain keeps reversing. However, scrapers work very well; these are what I've been using mainly so far.

Mind you, scraping those little trim pieces was a bit of a trial, and blerry hard on the fingers

That's nice work.......looking foward to next pictures.

So Steve what have you decided to finish the top with?

Originally Posted by TEEJAY

So Steve what have you decided to finish the top with?

I'll have some pics by the end of the week-end. The top is all glued up and smoothed.

I will be using breadboard ends, but will (I think ) NOT apply any kind of bevel or round-over on the edges, principally because the original design didn't either. Then again, the original didn't use beadboard ends...

WRT a finish, I've, ahem! "borrowed" a recipe from Garret Hack, which is basically boiled linseed oil, Spar varnish and mineral turps (just a slight variant on Danish Oil, really) - quite thin on the first coat, then wet sanded on the 2nd & 3rd coats, and the last couple of coats with a rather larger proportion of Spar varnish for the top and the legs for added protection.

When all is nice & dry, I'll Traditional Wax it.

Its coming along beautifully, going to be a beautiful table when it is finished. I would never have thought of the veneered legs on MDF torsion boxes - great idea.

Originally Posted by Auld Bassoon

WRT a finish, I've, ahem! "borrowed" a recipe from Garret Hack, which is basically boiled linseed oil, Spar varnish and mineral turps (just a slight variant on Danish Oil, really) - quite thin on the first coat, then wet sanded on the 2nd & 3rd coats, and the last couple of coats with a rather larger proportion of Spar varnish for the top and the legs for added protection.

When all is nice & dry, I'll Traditional Wax it.

All sounds interesting Steve,

What sort of durability and heat resistance is expected with this?

I know nothing is bomb proof in this sort of thing but did you pick the finish because it is readily fixed up if it gets a blemmish or because it penetrates and has a wax over it?

Or do you just like the finish and not so bothered as you won't have kids attacking it (like mine will)

Smoothing off the top? You rely mainly on the domino getting it flush then just scrape or sand?

Hi Teejay,

Gerrard Hack's "recipe" is one he claims that he uses for all his pieces - just verying the amount of spar varnish upwards if he wants a more durable finish.

I will be finished with Trad Wax (just as he uses paste wax).

This time around I just went for a straight edge-edge joint for the top as it's made up of eleven boards (not counting the breadboard ends).

The table is almost done! Just a quick rub down at 1000 or do, then some wax.

Comment, as always, welcome!

Just a couple of pics!

Now I'll have to start thinking about the chairs

Originally Posted by Auld Bassoon

Now I'll have to start thinking about the chairs

Check out Majors - they would be awesome with this table

And by the way - it's a classic looking table

Just a couple of pics of the completed table in situ (albeit with some old chairs).

Cheers!

I must admit, with that leg construction I was expecting something on a grander scale...

The original didn't have breadboard ends? Odd... they lend themselves nicely to the design. All in all I'd say it's a keeper. Very nice bit of work, Steve, definitely in keeping with the standards we're beginning to expect from you.

Yes had the same thought myself.

Beautiful work, great looking table top.

What timber are the bread board ends? They look different from the Blackwood top. Looks like a great finish on the top, what did you use?

Just read previous posts and answered my own question!

Thanks Skew!

I deliberately only wanted a small dining table (the one I had in place previously was a six seater, and was just too big), so I made this a two seater - too hard to make a one seater

The breadboard ends are Blackwood, per the rest of the table - it's just the grain orientation I think.

The finish for the top was about six coats of boiled linseed oil, spar varnish and turps - starting with 1 part spar varnish to 8 parts BLO, then thinned by about 60% with turps and applied hot. Subsequent coats gradually increased the proportion of spar varnish up to about 8:1 with BLO and only thinned with about 5% turps.

Each coat was given a day to dry, then lightly sanded, starting with 320 after the first coat, and 1200 on the penultimate one. Finally four coats of UBeaut Trad wax after a buff with EEE