sapele dining table

it really stinks getting old, everything starts falling apart.

feel better.

Isn't it fun being old enough to have a "guy" for all yer body parts.

allen levine said:

it really stinks getting old, everything starts falling apart.

feel better.

Click to expand...

I agree, but I don't like the alternative to getting old. I've got too much left to do yet.

I'm bionic now. I have metal and plastic parts all through me. I twinkle like a Christmas tree when I go through the X Ray machine at the airport I'm not a "6 million dollar man", at least not yet, but I'm heading that way very quickly.

The table is looking good, so far. Keep the sweat stains off it or it will be difficult to get a good finish. I'm watching the progress.

Charley

all I managed today was to cut the mortises in the legs. Its almost unbearable out there, and that's with the AC on. I full expect to have problems with movement, no way the wood isn't moving in that heat and humidity.

wish pop had ac in the garage, was well over 100 in there today.

garage is not insulated enough that a small AC will do much in 100 dgree temps, plus, heavy heavy humidity. Not to mention the draw on the electricity that kills my chance to use other machines that are plugged into same line.

after some sanding, I decided the bulk of it has to be with the drum sander.
I was lucky enough to get some help today. I caught her right after she finished teaching the summer school kiddies and right before she went off for a manicure. Shes never too busy to help out her daddy.
It wasn't warm here today, but I don't know how she wore a sweatshirt the entire 90 minutes, and then another 30 helping me put the sander away and close up for the day.

(I made sure every pass was very light, no burning, no damage to the belt, worked out fine. Now I will still have to sand it with orbital, but it will be much less of a task )

this table is moving along at snail pace, not that Im under any time constraints.

top is level sanded thru drum sander, Im about to get to orbital sanding, but I finished off the legs, mortises, aprons, tenons, and just fit it all together to see how it looks.(nothing is glued)

logistics? is a big problem for me. I don't have a large enough flat surface to assemble something this big at once, nor do I have the individual strength to move this piece as I put it together.

I marked off and jointed each edge,(so they butt up against each other) first the two main pieces, then the leaf piece(If the table comes out acceptable, I probably will make another 12 inch leaf).

so now I have 2 half pieces of a table, and in order that I allow adequate space for movement of the top, I figure Im going to have to leave the aprons lengthwise a bit short on each piece to allow top to expand and contract, if apron is too long, table wont close when the top contracts
so without leaf there will always be a slight gap between the aprons in the center, correct? Am I not thinking along the right path here? I already know to leave the table extender open 1/4 of an inch when I attach it for the same reason.
I want to thank anyone in advance for a drop of guidance here, but please remember, Im in a tiny shop, if I build another torsion top table to use to work on this table, I wont have any room to move around, second, please keep it very simple for me.
I intend to use one pocket screw on the end of apron that goes near table edge, and tabletop clips the rest of the aprons so the top has room to move. No glue on aprons to top, just one pocket screw to keep edge of apron in place, then all tabletop clips to allow for movement.
Still not sure how I will tackle the lack of space or flat surface space for assembly

final table dimensions came in at 39 and 3/4 width, (I had some problems cutting, had to cut off another 1/4 inch) and 61 and 3/4 length, a bit longer than I intended, but that's fine

You have left more room in the apron joints than I usually do... With good hardwood like you are using, I suspect 1/8 inch would be ample. You can put a small trim piece on the inside, attached to only one side of the apron, to help hide the gap.

I use pocket screws on all my aprons - much easier than clips. If you want to get fancy use a biscuit cutter to give the screw extra room to move on the side aprons, but no extra room is required on the ends - the grain of the apron is the same as the table grain.

I put the pocket screws fairly close together on the end aprons, including very close to the leg for extra support when lifting the table. I put them farther apart on the sides, where the movement can become a factor.

I like my extra leaves to be 18 or more inches wide. 12 inches is not enough to add a full place setting to each side of the table.

I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure you built that table upside down. Allen.

Charlie Plesums said:

You have left more room in the apron joints than I usually do... With good hardwood like you are using, I suspect 1/8 inch would be ample. You can put a small trim piece on the inside, attached to only one side of the apron, to help hide the gap.

I use pocket screws on all my aprons - much easier than clips. If you want to get fancy use a biscuit cutter to give the screw extra room to move on the side aprons, but no extra room is required on the ends - the grain of the apron is the same as the table grain.

I put the pocket screws fairly close together on the end aprons, including very close to the leg for extra support when lifting the table. I put them farther apart on the sides, where the movement can become a factor.

I like my extra leaves to be 18 or more inches wide. 12 inches is not enough to add a full place setting to each side of the table.

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thanx Charlie, I didn't secure the aprons, I just laid it on the tabletop.
I was thinking between 1/16 and 1/18 of each side.

glued up the aprons to legs, and have around 5.5 hours sanding, between drum sander and orbital sanding.

heres a piece of top I clean off with mineral spirits to see if I have any noticeable marks before I go to assembly and then final sanding. Im sanding top down to 180, 2 coats teak oil, then most likely carefully applied polyurethane, sanding thoroughly between coats and final sanding with wet sandpaper. (Im not fond of this, but I cannot spray oil based lacquer and Ive made tops with poly before and like the way they've held up over the years)

allen levine said:

glued up the aprons to legs, and have around 5.5 hours sanding, between drum sander and orbital sanding.

heres a piece of top I clean off with mineral spirits to see if I have any noticeable marks before I go to assembly and then final sanding. Im sanding top down to 180, 2 coats teak oil, then most likely carefully applied polyurethane, sanding thoroughly between coats and final sanding with wet sandpaper. (Im not fond of this, but I cannot spray oil based lacquer and Ive made tops with poly before and like the way they've held up over the years)

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The top looks great! The poly will be a fair amount of work, with the sanding and all.

On alternative - no less work (maybe even more) - would be Behlen's "Rock Hard Tabletop Varnish." It's been on my dining room table for about twenty years now, and it's still holding up well. I may have to re-do it in another couple years, but hey, twenty years!?

Table looks great Allen, really like the look of that wood.

I like the look! The wood looks great and I think this is going to be one beautiful table.

Allen i say it again, keep posting, you are an absolute inspiration to me. Looks fantastic. You should get Larry to teach you to spray finish. Then you could use the water based poly and life would be bliss.

I spray water based lacquer on almost everything I build the past couple of years.
I don't think a water based laquer will hold up as nice as an oil based one for the use this table will get.
its 10 times easier spraying water based, no burn in, I could put 12 coats on the top all within one day.
Just not sure if it will hold up, so Im going with what Ive used previously, and know the results.

my neighbor, the retired fireman/and also general contractor, already told me when I begin to assemble it all, he want to help me so I can lift it up and down and flip it without scratching it up.

I had a clip fall off my light in the bathroom above the shower when I changed the bulb, I tried but could not get the clip back in, but it held up ok. I asked him about it since it was part of his ex crew that installed the bathroom, and he came in and spent over an hour removing the entire thing and getting it to fit in again. He makes me feel guilty because hes always helping me out with plumbing, minor electrical stuff, he loves to keep busy, and he never takes money. Yesterday I bumped into his son in law and found out where he likes to eat, and I bought him a gift certificate so he can take his wife out for lunch/dinner. Ofcourse, he got very upset, says he loves helping me out, but it made me feel better, especially when I need help lifting things, or now, a lift to the lumber yard for one piece of wood.(I sold my f-150, it was just sitting in driveway collecting dust)


elen is out at a quilting class, as soon as she gets back we are leaving for a extended weekend trip up to Connecticut.
I wont be doing any work on the table until I get the right screw sizes I ordered, should be here around when I get home later next week.. (so no progress this week, but I promised elen Ill have it ready for thanksgiving, sorry brent, I luv ya man.)

Rob Keeble said:

Allen i say it again, keep posting, you are an absolute inspiration to me. Looks fantastic. You should get Larry to teach you to spray finish. Then you could use the water based poly and life would be bliss.

Click to expand...

ya know larry lives 900 miles from me? not like he can pop over or me to him for a quick lesson. If I lived close enough Id rent time in his clean room to spray it.(if hed let me)
my wifes friend husband(my friend also) who always invited me to use his spray booth in his auto body shop to spray any furniture(years ago), he lost the shop in Hurricane Sandy, washed away.
that's when I started using water based products that don't need the same kind of ventilation as oil based.

allen levine said:

....I spray water based lacquer on almost everything I build the past couple of years.
I don't think a water based laquer will hold up as nice as an oil based one for the use this table will get.
its 10 times easier spraying water based, no burn in, I could put 12 coats on the top all within one day.
Just not sure if it will hold up, so Im going with what Ive used previously, and know the results.......

Click to expand...

Allen, I spray Target Water Based Lacquer in huge quantity (until recently I bought it in 5 gallon cans), which provides full burn in even after it has cured. For my tables (and desk tops) I have switched to the Target conversion varnish (EM8000cv) which is harder, sprays similar to lacquer, and has burn in for the first few hours, so you can spray a light coat every 15 minutes. Target also has a water based Polyurethane (EM9000), which I have not used, but I have used their water based Polycarbonate (EM9300) - most notably for a counter in an auto repair shop where people are dragging their car keys across the counter all day (over 3 years before it showed any wear). A friend of mine (high end furniture maker) swears by the polyurethane on his furniture.

Be sure to use a sanding sealer (I use the Target EM1000) or Shellac or something to pop the color of the wood (as well as providing a smooth surface to work with) before you start the build coats.

very slow working with a large and heavy piece.

took my time, lined up everything, made a simple jig, just a piece of plywood with a lip so the slides would line up parallel to each other and work well, pilot holes first, removed slides, don't have a drill bit long enough to go through slide holes and make pilot hole, attached the slides on one side, then drilled pilot holes, and did other side.
The floor in the garage is very uneven, so when my neighbor came in to help me flip table, if we move the table to one spot, the top lines up perfectly, move it an inch, the top is off 1/16, so Im thinking I need to put alignment pins in, didn't want to, but the same neighbor also gave me a dowel kit, which I can use for the brass alignment pins, simple kit, drill one hole, push together, it marks the starting point for the adjacent hole.
a picture with and without leaf. Eventually, Ill build a second 24 inch leaf. the slides open 51 inches. only problem is I don't think I can open the table fully in my tiny house, but eventually it may be moved to another location(Im hoping to give it to my daughter)
right now, the table with the leaf is approx. 86 inches long.