Thread: The table that got me interested.

G'day,

Well this was the project that got me interested in woodwork again. We needed a new dining table and had just moved into a house after having been in units for years and i got a shed (and a massive amount of work to fix the yard but that is another story). Shortly after moving in the fence fell down and i decided to keep the timber posts and rails, they were hardwood and had been there for 60 years but and had rotted out at ground level but were still solid, the plan was for firewood but that changed.

I got some oregon beams off my brothers carport that were 300 by 60 by 6 m and decided to make a table. Having had no experience in woodwork since doing tech studies at school i appreciated the advice from a cabinet maker mate and a few others willing to give it, some better than others i think.

I had the beams put through a thicknesser to take the paint off and planed back the jarrah for the legs and beams with my dads electric plane, then did a lot of sanding with a borrowed belt sander and by hand. I doweled the legs to the rails and screwed the brace in each corner. I finished it with a waterbased clear cote and am pretty happy with the overall result, it seems to be taking the punishment that a 2 1/2 year old gives it.

I wish i had been pointed in the direction of this forum prior to the project as looking through there are plenty of great ideas of how i could have tackled this and i would appreciate any ideas on how what i should have done differently as my brother wants one similar out of the left over pieces.

Anyway all i can say is i love the smell of working with timber and the satisfaction of making something and overall i was happy with the result, and most importantly the wife is happy with it.