My Dining Table (Photo Thread)

[Stu Pocknee]

This project took me 2 years to complete. 102 weeks of procrastinating and eating off borrowed tables, - and then 2 weeks of actually doing something.

In photo 1 you see the raw ingredients for my dining table. The wider boards at left are to form an 'envelope' around the table top. The thinner ones in the middle are for the table top and the skirts. The 100mm x 100mm lengths on the right are for the legs.

The timber is New Guinea Rosewood.

Photo 2 is same pile. Different angle.

It's daunting for a new woodie to see a pile like this and wonder if he can actually make it turn into something presentable...

In photo # 3 you can see some of the gorgeous grain and range in colors in this wood.

[Stu Pocknee]

The first thing I did was start working on the legs.

Photo 1: Time to measure and cut.

Photo 2: End grain view.

Photo 3: Here the sections are cut to length.

[Stu Pocknee]

I don't own a jointer (yet ). As you can see from # 1 the boards did need to be straightened up a bit. I sent them off to a local joinery to get this done. For $30 it was a bargain. (although, arguably, if I was looking for a 'bargain' I wouldn't be making the thing in the first place...)

Photo 2: Here are the planks back from the joinery...

Photo 3: End shot.

[Stu Pocknee]

While the planks were off at the joinery I got to work on turning the legs.

As a rank amateur with my first lathe this was a daunting prospect.

I settled on a design after browsing the internet and the odd furniture store (and getting approval from the boss of course ).

I also turned a 1/4 scale model first to make sure I had the design right...

Photo 1 shows the first tentative roughing down steps.

Photo 2 shows something beginning to take shape...

Photo 3 is another angle.

[Stu Pocknee]

Here is my first leg.

Photo 1: Prior to sanding. Bit rough but nothing to be too ashamed of.

Photo 2. Different angle.

Photo 3: The result after sanding. Starting to look promising!

[Wongo]

Beautiful wood. I am a big fan of NZ Rosewood too. Have fun with it.

[Stu Pocknee]

I am no gun with the lathe so i took it all slowly and carefully. In all it took me about two days to do all 4 legs!

Photo 1: Here they pictured with the 1/4 scale model I did first.

Photo 2: Far from perfect but I was pretty happy with them anyway.

Photo 3: Wood shavings galore! The roses beside the house seem to like them as mulch. Rosewood mulch for roses. That's got to be good. Right?

[Wongo]

Hey mate, don't you have to square up the legs and cut mortises before turning them?

[Stu Pocknee]

Beautiful wood. I am a big fan of NZ Rosewood too. Have fun with it.

Yeah I like it too. It has real character.

PS. Thanks Wongo for the reputation vote. I don't yet know what that actually is, but I figure it's a good thing!

[Stu Pocknee]

Hey mate, don't you have to square up the legs and cut mortises before turning them?

If I did I was (am) too green to know it!

Because the lengths were short and pretty straight I had no problems turning the lengths. There was also enough square end remaining that mortising was no problem.

Maybe I just got lucky with the quality of the wood I had?

[Stu Pocknee]

The next step was to join the table top planks. I decided to use biscuits for this. (another first for me....)

in photo 2 you see biscuit slots on one of the wider 'envelope' planks.

And I suppose photo 3 is where the piece in photo 2 was mated to.

[Stu Pocknee]

This would have been a test fit up to make sure everything was going to work. I also ran a multiple bead along the bottom of the skirting boards with the router but i don't see it here so it must have come later.

[Stu Pocknee]

By the looks of this I must have glued up all the longitudinal boards and let them set before I glued on the end pieces. It looks like I also put G-clamps on the ends to make sure they were all squared up.

Photo 2 is me fiddling. My projects involve a lot of that!

[Stu Pocknee]

Next came the sanding. I could have had this done at the joinery as well but if I can do it myself I like to (even though I *really* don't like sanding).

The boss was unhappy with the color variation the in the table so I oiled the underside of the table top with Danish Oil tinted with Oak to try and mask them a bit. The result was a very dark finish and she was not happy

So it all had to be sanded back. In Photo 1 you can see things part way through the process.

Next was a dilute mahogany stain. Photo 2. This seemed to meet with approval.

Photo 3 is the top side. I beveled the underside edges of the table top with the router to give it a less chunky appearance.

[Stu Pocknee]

The legs and skirts are attached via mortice and tenon. I turned small pegs with square wooden heads to pin these joints. (Photo 1). 2 per joint.

I also inserted 45 degree cross pieces at each corner. (photo 2)

Photo 3 shows the legs after staining. You can just see the mortises and peg holes.