I use pine because I like it and it's nice to work with and you can either stain or paint it. I like the knots. If you are going to paint, you can use poplar which is very smooth and doesn't have knots.
My wood starts like this, it's called rough and comes from my local lumber warehouse which is not anything like Home Depot or Lowe's.
Before photo:
Here's a basic drawing
This photo shows eight legs with
their dovetail grooves:
My table has tapered legs. The tapering starts 5" from the top of the leg on the two inside leg faces, which are the same faces that have the dovetail grooves in them, and they head down the leg leaving a 1" square leg at the very bottom. I use the table saw and a tapering jig that I bought. Some make their own jig, but I found one for only about $15 and it was worth it, considering the time I would have spent making it. When you taper, the wood is being pushed into the saw blade at an angle so that the leg is not parallel to the saw's fence. The jig holds it that way, which is the only safe way to do it.A leg on the table saw ready to be tapered:
(saw blade, leg, tapering jig, fence)
Here is an apron (upside down) with the dovetail end trimmed:
Here are two of the aprons sitting in a leg:
On the inside of the apron 3/8" down from the top edge, you need to make a kerf on the table saw to hold the Z table fasteners that will hold the top on. I get mine at Lee Valley, you can see them here:
http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=1&p=40146&cat=3,41306,41309
If you want, you can put a beadboard edge at the bottom of the aprons. This makes it look a lot nicer than a straight piece, but it's not necessary. The beading is done with a router bit in a router hanging in a table with a fence that you run the apron upright (vertically) against. After a good sanding of all pieces you can slide the aprons into the legs with a little glue. If you put too much it will just come out the top of the groove and make a mess. You really don't need a lot because the dovetail does all the work, it really can't pull out.
This shows the beaded apron in the leg:
The top is square, 16" x 16" and about 1" thick. I use widths of pine glued together edge to edge to make up the wider piece I need. Usually about 4"-5" widths are okay. If you have them too much wider they can warp. Make sure the edges are completely smooth and perpendicular to the faces before gluing to get the flattest top you can. Use clamps to hold this for a few hours. Bessey clamps are nice. I love clamps, all kinds of clamps except those spring clamp things which I find don't have any holding power. Always make this piece a bit larger than you need and then trim to final size and sand smooth.
This table has painted and distressed legs and aprons, the top is stained and distressed. I painted the legs and aprons with black exterior acrylic paint and then distressed it by rubbing with sandpaper along the edges. At the places where the wood showed through I rubbed on the same stain that was going on the top. The top is stained with gel stain. Other stains go blotchy on pine and some other woods. I have had great success with gel stain and the brand I use is Flecto Varathane which comes in many shades and is also mixable, so you can make your own colour. (Don't ask me how I know this, but it's best to make sure you make enough of your own colour, just in case you run out and need more.) After staining the top, I beat it a bit with a screwdriver and some other things I found in the shop. Then I took some of the paint and painted it into the distressed depressions with a small paintbrush. Everything got at least five coats of wipe-on polyurethane. It goes on nicely, but is very thin so it needs a few more coats than the brush-on poly. *Always test your poly over your paint first. I have had interior acrylic paints which are not compatible with the poly, and I found out the hard way.*
When everything is dry, turn the table upside down and attach two clamps to each apron with screws. You cannot glue the top to the apron and legs, this is why you need these. Wood moves with the seasons, if you just glue it or screw the top on, it will crack. The clamps allow the top to expand and contract with the seasons. Now that is really another blog topic.... wood moves and many people do not realize that.
Underneath the table:
Finished table:
Another lamp table I made has stained legs and aprons and a tiled top in a wood frame. The possibilities are endless. And who says the top has to be square? How about shaped like a flower or any other shape and painted?
Hmmmm... so many ideas, so little time!
Wow... you did a fantastic job!!
ReplyDelete@Cheap Chic Home. I'm speechless. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect little table. I'm always so impressed with people who can do such beautiful wook with wood... so not my talent. Great job!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, girl. I leave almost all of the woodworking to my husband, but I watch enough Norm and DIY to know that you really did some good work on this table. Great job and thanks for linking up to FFF. I really look forward to seeing what else you share with us. I have a well equipped shop and this might motivate me to try to make something instead of waiting for hubby. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYour table looks so great! Great work, seriously.. I am scared to take on some of these projects.. Well, I guess I should say I am scared of the tools needed to create the projects. :-)
ReplyDeleteWow. How cool is it that you have the know how to create what you dream of while the rest of us dash around thrift stores and the like?!? Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up to SNS #6!
Funky Junk Donna
Hi Julie! I am seriously impressed with your skills! I have been begging and whining trying to get my husband to cut a wooden pole down for me because I don't even know how to use a saw. I wish you were my BFF so you could teach me how to do it myself. lol I am looking forward to seeing more from you in the future. :)
ReplyDeleteHi from Ontario! Cute little table but obviously constructed well with the dovetails. How cool that you became a cabinetmaker. I became a follower, please stop by anytime.
ReplyDeleteThanks to all of you for the kind comments. I'm new at this and I am so happy that someone is reading my blog. You all CAN do it. I see things I like and I can make them. I don't have to search for something to fit a space, I can make it to whatever size I want. You can learn to do this, too! More to come, hope you keep reading! Please post with any questions, I would be glad to help.
ReplyDeleteI love this table! Dovetails are a whole new world for me. As I attempt to build my furniture, I'm sticking more with the dowels (my goal is to not use any hardware) but for tables and such I need to learn the dovetail.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see a post on different bits and saws and what type of router you use.
Also, the dryness of wood! I know that's something I need to learn but haven't found anybody that can explain it to me! :o)
Em
I think I just learned more in 7 minutes than I have in all of my 38 years. Fascinating. Great explanations for everything. And I promise before I go to bed tonight I will repeat five times "Wood MOVES.... wood.... moves" :)
ReplyDelete