My first attempt-telephone stand/table

allen levine

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new york city burbs
ok, I decided after all the outdoor stuff Ive built, I need to get my feet wet, at least see how the water feels.(gotta be honest, some of the workmanship here is inspiring, but without the experience and tools, its frustrating)
Ive built a few indoor items, but nothing was made of hardwood, nor did I try to make anything I thought someone would keep as compared to throw away furniture.
I know for you guys, this is a walk in the park.
I tried my best for best sides and end grains, used the biscuit joiner, dont know if thats the right way, but clamped it good, cleaned up the glue, my table top is on the way.
Ill figure out how to taper some legs tomorrow, I have an easy jig in mind.
I figured if I post up most of it, all of my mistakes will get corrected and my next attempt will come out better.
No real design or drawing, a 15 inch square top, routed over, 4 aprons, 4 tapered legs if I figure out how to make a jig. No fancy joints, it will hold only a telephone, so biscuits are the way Im going to go.

I cant do too much work at once, Im so limited in space.....I need a dry room, my daughter is handpainting chairs for me, I got candle holders drying, outdoor tables, and I use anything or every inch of space to let it all hang out and dry.(btw, thats one of my router books on the table, I have to read alot cause I really know little about bits and shaping)
 

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This will be a fun thread to follow. Looks like you're off to a good start with the table top. You were wise to use cauls to keep everything in line, and equally wise to use wax paper to keep from gluing the cauls to the table top. :thumb:

Looking forward to the next installment. :)
 
Hi Allen :wave:,
Good for you on this project!
You have alot going on, and the painting done by your daughter is very pretty. Nice flow on a chair like that.:thumb:
Needed to use the ole wax paper today on a little charity redo myself. You are coming along just fine.:D No hurry, 15 years!:D
Shaz :)
 
its 100% obvious to me why so many woodworkers own their own planes
I have a handheld one, with a 3 inch blade, useless.(Im talking electric)

I sanded the top down a bit, although smooth and no seams show, (bottom not so perfect, but noone will see it), I notice with feeling it a wave in the wood. It obviously wasnt planed perfect.
My own fault, big store, bad lumber yard.(surfaced on all 4 sides, just poorly done) But I want to experiment with cheap wood.
I dont think its noticiable, but I feel it when I rub my fingers along the top to feel if I can feel a seam, which I dont.
 
so Im learning, if one wants to build anything of quality, first thing one has to do is buy a good tablesaw.
Im struggling, and Im pretty happy I have tons of 2x3 studs sitting around doing nothing, cause practice, practice, practice.
(again, you guys have to understand this is so new to me, Im happy I remembered to use a push stick with the jig so I have all my fingers. I have a horrible fear of power tools, so this doesnt come that easy)

Made the jig, took me alot of practice to get it just right, not sure why, had to cut 6 practice legs.
Pretty simple,I take zero credit for the jig, I read about it last night.

Just put the leg in, secure it, done, against the fence I showed the taper.

I figured if anything comes out of this thread, at least it gives the veterans of this profession and craft a good laugh with their morning coffee.(Im determined)

Ill go cut the top down to size, made it a couple of inches oversize both ways.(my routing skills are still trying to show themselves, figured if I mess up once, at least I can chop an inch off and start over.)
 

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Looking good so far!

Don't worry so much about collecting tools as using what you have to the best of your ability. (This from the resident tool collector.)

I'm scared of tablesaws and don't have one - a proper respect for big spinning sharp things is good, but if the spidey sense goes from mild apprehension / "let me double check to make sure I won't be in harm's way" to full blown "ZOMG it's going to eat me!" fear, listen to it - you'll likely be able to figure out a safer way of getting done what set off the alarm bells.

Likewise, we all have different comfort levels with our tools. No harm in deciding that a technique that someone else uses all the time perfectly safely is not the technique I am comfortable using.

I agree, some of the folks here can be putting their work in the Taj Mahal and it'd fit right in, but the nice thing about the place here is that folks are just as happy to say, "Congrats on your first drawer" as they are to ooh and aah at some of the gorgeous things that those with many more years experience than us beginners have.

And we can all learn from each other, even the beginning project posts. I learned about the use of cauls from this post - I don't know I'd've thought of that without seeing the pic you posted here. Thanks!
 
legs are ok, was just wondering, do the tapered sides always face inside?
cut the table top to exact 16x16 square, and routed over the edges for a little shaping. Had a little burning, so I had to sand out some bad spots.
Im moving the wood through the blades, both tablesaw and router too slowly, its a bad habit.
.

I dont have grandchildren, and likely not anytime soon, so I have no other use for my digital camera.

uh, didnt look right, the legs were not right. I stuck a wedge into the jig, and tapered a second side, now they look right(if I had a router table, Id probably round over the legs edges.)
 

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OFcourse I had to dispose of a leg, and then I realized the slighest movement of the leg in the jig caused the apron to be a drop off, but not a real problem.
I measured the distance of the far legs to see if when I glued it all up, and it was the same distance across the legs.
The problem, I cut one slot too large, I dont know what I was thinking, or not thinking. Can I cut a piece of a biscuit in there, glue it in, then trim it and sand, or should I cut a 1/8th piece of the stock and glue that in there?
I didnt feel like making another leg, and I know if I was making this for someone, Id probably would have cut another leg.
Im just going to use a wooden cleat screwed on the apron to attach the top.
The picture shows the oversize biscuit slot.(top right corner of first picture)
any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.(is there a decent stainable wood filler?)

(I should have made everything out of pine first, and tried and fitted it all to see if I was close)
 

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I'd think an 1/8 piece of stock would work fine for you. Be careful cutting things that thin, though. I see that your tablesaw has the factory plate around the blade, which leaves a gap that thin material can fall into. A zero clearance insert can help make this type of cut much safer.

Here's a quick link I found on Google for "zero clearance insert". There are many others, too.
 
ok, I wont be wasting much more bandwidth soon, promise, almost there.

I used a little hand trim saw, cut some small pieces and put a drop of glue, tapped it in, sanded it down, not fine sanded yet. Looks good, good enough.
didnt attach the top, figured Id stain it all up first, thinking a red mahogany stain.

For my first attempt at making something out of hardwood, Im ok with the results.
Learned some things, learned my limitations so far

I wonder what they call the first pic, a biscuit cut correction?(hehehe)
second pic, dont know why lines came out like that in front. no lines on the wood.
 

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Im using this board to teach me things I never knew.

Ive built tables before, bought the legs from Home depot, used the glued up sheets of pine, also a mega store purchase, and used angle irons to hold the legs to the apron. All pine. I guess thats considered woodworking. The mega stores, make those huge glued up boards of pine, in different thicknesses for people who like me who know very little, and only had to screw four legs onto them.and when I bought the biscuit cutter, a employer of mine asked me if I could make him a tiny table, almost doll size, to fit in a tiny space next to a bed in a guest room, to hold a clock, or a phone. Made it out of poplar, did a nice job on that, did not taper legs.
After glueing up pine, I quickly learned how easy it warps in 12 hours, so I ripped doors off a chest I made of plywood, and remade the doors using the ready glued up boards.(had to get it off to school for my kid)

see that pic of that coffee table, my dartboard was still next to my old work table. I didnt have much wood then, and had plenty of time to practice my dart throwing, since I didnt spend 1/4 the amount of time playing with wood.
Kinda addicting.
 

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That is a sweet looking table! Y'all should be done proud of yourself!

I haven't tried tapers yet - yours look great! Take your time and read some on how to best finish that table. Don't be afraid to spend money on the finish, this is the expensive part, but it is worth it to use a good finish.

Congratulations!
 
By jove, I think he's got it. Lookin' good Allen. As far as your statement "But I want to experiment with cheap wood." The LOML brings me lotsa junk wood from her work. I mill it down and use it to make proto-types. This is made mostly from old pallets. The drawer front and lower stretchers are made out of one of those boards they deliver party-size sandwiches on. With a few style changes, the "keeper" pair will be out of ash and ebony but, this let's me get a feel for how I will do the joinery and such.
 

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walnut stain, 2 coats of rub on satin poly, not a favorite of mine, I like shine,(but I like rub on poly) but after a light sanding, Ill rub on one more coat.
done.

(my daughter already told me I can practice and make her one longer as a coffe table, and deliver it to her in buffalo)She loves her daddy.
 

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