2 small tables-end grain lamp/end table, small storage coffee table

Lookin good Allen.

ATTAH Boy Allen and you even used some junk to make your first one,,see yu can teach a ole dog new tricks

your welcome allen, happy to be of help.

that said WATCH hands larry, not WASH hands...

moving along here. The first mistake I made was using particle board for practice. Anything cuts it, and it isnt warped or even small twists that can happen in a large solid piece.(Im beginning not to like any of the white woods anymore)
My jig had a flaw in it, I cut the back support too wide, couldnt clamp too well, so I ran it through the bandsaw since the blade was all set on the TS.(glad I didnt listen to you guys that told me Id never need a bandsaw, I use it all the time)
Then my second mistake, and I thought it was the blade, was I used the wrong blade, didnt make a difference on the particle board.
I used a ripping blade, it burned the wood, although it cut good.
I switched up to a nice freud crosscut blade, what a difference a blade makes.
The first board had a cup, and when I tried to recut one side only, since I didnt clamp it right, I messed it up more.
I left it alone now, Ill have to mend it up by hand.
Id like to send the pic to someone, dont know how to send pics in PM.
Im sorry about dragging on here with this, but the walk through and PMs have helped me more than anyone would imagine.

second picture, the messed up corner, Id hate to have to recut a panel.
Third pic shows how nice the corners came out compared to the one I let slip and tried to recut.
I have the door panels cut, but wont cut them down or raise them till I figure out exactly what I want to do with the doors.

I gotta tell ya, I feel kinda like beaming today, like I had a kid, my first raised panel, amazing the joy it can bring to do something Id never thought Id even try.

Allen, what if you raised your blade high enough to cut out the bad spot in the middle picture. You might need to slightly change your angle maybe a 1/4 to 1/2 degree to keep your reveal the same but you could do a cleanup cut on all 4 sides. you might want to think about a zero clearance insert so you dont have to worry about the panel falling between the blade and the insert.

allen, i agree with allan about the cleanup cut. just a shade shallower on the angle, and just a cat hair (that's called fine measuring larry ) higher with the blade, and you'll be ok. i usualy use the insert that came with my saw allan, but what i do when i cut panels, is to have clamps at each end, and that leaves me free to guide the panel.

Ill give it a whirl in the morning.
I was just going to use a block and sand, sand, sand.

you been listening to larry again allen?

allen levine said:

Ill give it a whirl in the morning.
I was just going to use a block and sand, sand, sand.

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no allen listen to the other alan and even that burro dan guy agrees too

Dan Noren said:

you been listening to larry again allen?

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and hey i was gonna tell him the same thing but i had to go get sum supper so i didnt wither away abd my back up guy alan keep him in shape and i would never tell him to sand .sand..thats for folk with nothing else better to do like them minsota folk

it worked, I lowered the angle to 12.5 degrees, instead of 14, and I raised the bit half turn handle.

this is it, because of the slight warp and the original cut, one corner is thinner, and the line is ever so slightly off, but with stain and sanded out, I dont think it will be noticable. thanx again, shoulda pm'ed me so everyone doesnt know how stupid I am.

allen levine said:

it worked, I lowered the angle to 12.5 degrees, instead of 14, and I raised the bit half turn handle.

this is it, because of the slight warp and the original cut, one corner is thinner, and the line is ever so slightly off, but with stain and sanded out, I dont think it will be noticable. thanx again, shoulda pm'ed me so everyone doesnt know how stupid I am.

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now why would we want to do that this way we can feel equal,,you just took the heat for us is all..we knew yu had broad shoulders

don't feel bad allen, just think how boring it would be if we didn't make any mistakes with woodworking. mortises and tenons that fit perfectly the first time, boards off the planer so smooth they wouldn't need sanding, and we would only have enough waste left over to turn only half a toothpick. mistakes are how we all learn, you, me, even larry

dont feel bad, Im having a wonderful day. My baby is finally coming home from Buffalo area, she graduated. Ive been hanging decorations, and planning a party.
I woke up knowing what a good day it was going to be, but then I went out into the garage, and finished off the panels and fitted them into the frames.
Still having a good day, got a little sick first thing this morning from my meds, leaned over my fence, cause I love my neighbor, left him a present, and proceeded with the frames.
So what did I do wrong? Seems there are slight gaps, the panels dont sit exactly flush on all four inside frames.
I didnt put any spacing rubbing in the frames yet, but the panels(lousy maple, all it does is warp) seem to be slightly off and arent going to be flush where I cut the little groove to fit into the panels.
Look at the right top of the pic.last pic

again, Im not looking to complain or whine, I undertook this project knowing I might not match the skill level it takes, but I like to try new things. After this adjustment help, I wont bore anyone with the problems Im finding, Ill wing it, thanx to all for the help.

allen they are going to be a littel smal for your frames for movement..and to help in the gap you see is to smooth out the transition to a gentle slope from edge to the beging area on the raised part..dont have a step at the edge of the frame allen smooth transition..

thanx for the quick response, going back to smooth over that edge, and sand down everything. maybe taper a few inches of legs, maybe even put some gel stain on maple tonight.

moving on, setting the breadboard ends.
need the drill, 1/2 inch bit, 1/2 inch bit stop, 1/2 inch dowel, trim saw.(and coping saw, but I couldnt find mine, so I just held the drill carefully and widened the outside holes only)

Center peg will be glued in place, outside pegs will only have glue at very end, only glued to walnut, to allow for birch top to move, cause move it does. Alot.
I cut in an inch or so on each side of the top so it can expand and contract and made the mortise cut on the walnut end wider than the tops tenon.
I also cut the breadboard end around 1/16 th wider on each end so when the top expands, it doesnt go past the ends, Id rather have it the other way around.

if anyone remembers, I had all kind of problems with warping of the top, couldnt not cut the tenon straight on one side, ends overlapped the bottom almost 1/4 inch.

look at the last photo, no more overlap. Thankyou Mr. Bienlein, a simple tip makes the table just look that much better.
Ofcourse, throughout the couple of weeks of constant moving around and bumping into the corners of the top, I have myself to blame for the edge cracks and will have to live with it. Hopefully, with stain and finish, the slight offs wont be that noticable. Its very difficult to move around in confined space and have room to hold table tops.

(I made a small 3.5 inch taper on the legs, only because I like the way tapered legs look. It pays to build a leg taper sled, its simple, and can use it over and over again just need to pull out 2 screws and readjust)

You are quite welcome Allen. I can't wait to see the finished product

with a little antique maple gel stain(minwax), the seam is unnoticable on the sides of the top where I fattenned it up.
moving along, setting it all aside to dry for a couple of days so I can start fighting with partial assemblies.

IM not as thrilled about walnut as I originally thought.
It seems to have quite a stubborn personality.
Edges seem to crack easily, maybe Im just handling it too much, and not being careful enough.
Im reluctant to recut any stiles as I know all were cut together and one single one will probably never come out exactly same size.

I wont junk this project, but I do believe on design alone,its turning out to be the ugliest piece of furniture Ive ever seen, and I designed it.
I have learned alot of new technique.
My wife prefers I make another top with the end grains, use the legs I cut for this table, and cut some new aprons.(I wont, Im more stubborn now than the walnut)
Im not sure if the constant temp changes 30 degrees on some days, and constant high fluctuation in humidity is making working with it that much harder.
Im hoping to make some big gains this week, assembling alot of it.

breadboard is done, ofcourse with all the headaches Ive had with this tabletop, I think if the base comes out decent, its time to just recut a new top and start over.
When I was cutting the ends of the top to accept the breadboard, I purposely tilted the handsaw so I wouldnt cut the top at an angle that would make the top look off. I cut the angle too large, and now there is a bit of space on the side of the table, bottom doesnt matter, havent figured out how to correct this yet. Sorry about some of the poor pics, trying to keep the camera still.
The only other problem, or mistake, was that on the side where Im putting doors, I dado'd the insides to accept panels, forgetting this side wont have panels. Idiot mistake. I cut some 1/4 inch strips on the bandsaw and glued them into the center stile to see how it would look, Im not going to recut the walnut rails. I also had a small piece of the center stile chip off at the end, when I glued it up, so I cut a sliver of walnut, and tapped it into the space with a mallet, Ill let it dry good, then sand it and see how it looks.