sapele dining table

I had my daughter over this morning for an hour and I immediately put her to work.
I needed a partner to help me lift table, I managed to finish the assembly, got 5/16 dowels aligned in top and leaf. I did not flip the table, she couldn't lift it with me, but it looked good upside down, I don't know if I could have aligned the top much better. (without the dowels the top was pretty straight, and the table is so heavy I don't think dowels are necessary, but I put them in anyway)
Now I will resand starting at 120, go to 180 and stop. 2 coats oil, don't remember if its teak oil or another oil I used on the wine buffet.
not sure if theres much more interest here on this project, but Ill post my progress up until now

its very heavy, so you really have to give it a good push to get table back or a good pull to extend it.

when Im all done, I have a few minor projects to work on, then Ill work on another leaf in case someone has room to extend it that far.
 

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when Im all done, I have a few minor projects to work on, then Ill work on another leaf in case someone has room to extend it that far.

I suggest you do the second leaf at this time, so the finish is identical, the sheen matches, etc.

For a film finish (like lacquer or varnish) I sand to 150 or so, but for an oil finish I sand to 320-400 or finer. I don't know what you need with oil under poly (if that is still your plan)
 
I suggest you do the second leaf at this time, so the finish is identical, the sheen matches, etc.

For a film finish (like lacquer or varnish) I sand to 150 or so, but for an oil finish I sand to 320-400 or finer. I don't know what you need with oil under poly (if that is still your plan)


I thought about the second leaf and making it now, but I know I cant fit a 10 foot table in my house and seat comfortably around it, and I don't know if my daughter whenever she takes it will have enough room either.
worst case scenario, in 2 years she wants another leaf, it will only be put in on those special occasions and I doubt anyone will notice the slight difference in the look of the finish.
That's around 10 bf or a bit less of 5/4 sapele, expensive to use up if we never need it.
 
teak oiled, one coat, 45 minutes, second coat, 20 minutes, wiped down, wiped down again 5 minutes later with cleaner cloth, then wiped down again. (kept applying thin coats on the edge grain to make sure it more even)
Ill let it cure for a week or so before I think about finishing.

sorry about the bad glare, I cant move the table around much and had to work on a foot stool to do top. lights produce bad glare in there.(last pic is the leaf)
 

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Looks great from here Allen. The glare is just enough to show how smooth of a sanding job that you did, and I like it.

Charley

yeah, I went to a higher grit on top as suggested

jim, oil based polyurethane, it worked well on the table Im using now, held up nicely, so Im willing to try it again. I have to keep it simple and easy.
 
Man, that's some gorgeous wood, Allen. Heirloom in progress, if you ask me.

...not sure if theres much more interest here on this project, but Ill post my progress up until now...

I'm not commenting a lot on this thread, but I'm definitely interested in seeing the progress and finished photos. :thumb:
 
I had to build a sled/dollie this today so I can move this thing around without assistance.
I put 2 coats of poly on bottom side, wont do top till next week(too humid tomorrow and sunday I have a wedding out of state), let it dry, put the extension slides back on and got help putting it onto dollie
.....I think Im going to end up pulling out the dowels, they aren't glued in, and it lined up beautifully when it was upside down, now its off a bit, and I don't know if I want to spend time doctoring it all up. Table is heavy enough, I don't think dowels are necessary. I did it because I noticed them in my neighbors table.
its a wait and see thing. I think I made the sled a bit too short, it just makes it when I open to remove the leaf.

I will tape over the exposed portion of the extension slides when I poly the top.

hehe, we went to a doowop concert outdoors Wednesday night, the drifters, the toys, and some other group, cant recall their name.....my eyes aren't getting any better, and damn, I don't look that good, from gp, to optometrist, to neurologist, to ophthalmologist to retinal specialist ophthalmologist, and now hes sending me to neuro ophthalmologist and still no one wants to give me a definite conclusion. , seems its retinal migraine, not optical, and its so rare even the doctors don't believe it. but like he says, he wants to treat me so when it happens, the vision does come back and its not permanent
the joys of aging.

thought Id bore you all a little more.on the brighter side, were going to the philly expo mid sept for the national quilting show, Im so excited, not sure whats worse, all these doctors or going to the national quilting show. then I get to go to Nevada in October and shoot some machine guns.

if you look at second picture, with the leaf pushed together, the leaf lifts up maybe 1/16th or less on the far left side.
 

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just ticks me off, many, many bad words.
I always clean up the shop before I use any type of finish. I blow out everything, lighting fixtures, anything hanging, let all the dust settle, then vacuum up.

after the second coat went on today, I didn't push the table far enough into the garage, all of the sudden when I hit the button to close the overhead door, dust from the track spilled down onto the wet table.

carefully, I used a lightly wetted mineral spirits brush to get off as much as I could, looked clean, the rest Ill have to do with sanding when it dries.

just really ticked me off.
 
Dust! Why did it have to be dust! I hate dust. My leaf blower does a fairly good job of de-dusting the garage, but unless you dust rag everything and seal the room there are always some particles hanging around to muck up your finish. Beautiful table, Allen!
 
just ticks me off, many, many bad words.
I always clean up the shop before I use any type of finish. I blow out everything, lighting fixtures, anything hanging, let all the dust settle, then vacuum up.

after the second coat went on today, I didn't push the table far enough into the garage, all of the sudden when I hit the button to close the overhead door, dust from the track spilled down onto the wet table.

carefully, I used a lightly wetted mineral spirits brush to get off as much as I could, looked clean, the rest Ill have to do with sanding when it dries.

just really ticked me off.

Been there, done that. Very frustrating! I hope you can remedy the situation.
 
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