Maple Table

My newest commissioned project is a medium size Soft Maple table. The customer wants clean, straight lines and simple unadorned look.

 

Sample pieces made for finish color selection

 

Lumber sorted and rough cut

 

Leg pieces planed and glued

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using winding sticks to ensure no twist is present in the legs.

 

The next few photos show mortises marked, walls sawed and bored out.

 

 

Jointed and glued top

Tapering legs

 

Sawing, then trimming tenons with a router plane

Mortising Button holes for fastening the table top

Pegging Joints with Miller stepped dowels after glue-up

Center support dado cut and fitted

Glue-up in work

Leveling skirt

Top put on temporarily to check flatness 

Easing edges

Prepped for dye by sanding, raising the grain, then re-sanding

First coat of dye. I will dye the rest of the under side later, as I wanted to make sure the first coat was adequate on the main surfaces to avoid any tone mismatch with a second mix.

Buttons made to hold the top on and allow for seasonal movement

Dye done

First top coat. The streaking is normal.

0000 steel wool was used between coats of Arm R Seal. I used a large magnet, then a paper towel with alcohol to remove any traces of metal. 

Three top coats on the frame, four on the top so far. I initially used a lamb's wool pad for application, but switched to an old T-shirt pad and block sanding at 600 grit after the third coat (on the top), as I was not getting the finish I expected. The frame is done, should be the fifth and final coat on the top today.