My first furniture project was Ana's Tryde Coffee Table. All along though, the goal was to learn enough to be able to make a dining room table. I love the coffee table, and I love Ana's Farmhouse table plans, but I was worried about getting food and stuff stuck in between the table top boards.
So I decided to embark on the adventure of learning how to make a solid table top that I could rest on top of Ana's base design. The result is below, and although it took about 6 months of learning, practicing, and prototyping, I am finally done!
Because I made a solid top, I was able to skip the support beams on the base, which hopefully reduced the weight a little bit.
I don't have a blog, but I added some additional comments in my Picasa Album.
Estimated Cost
$600 total -- The 2 inch thick ash was expensive -- and still half the price oak!
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
For the stain, I used General Finishes Medium Brown. It is similar to Minwax Special Walnut, which I used on my pine coffee table, but it looked a lot better than the Minwax on the Ash. For the finish, I used Minwax Polyurathane, thinned 50% with mineral spirits (Paint thinner), and wiped it on with old t-shirts. No brushing required (which means no brush strokes), but as it is thinner you need more coats. I have about 3 coats on the bottom of the table, 4 coats on the legs and base, and about 7 coats on the table top. After much research online, it seems that the general wisdom is that if you want a satin finish, you should use the gloss for all coats except for the last 1 or 2 coats, and that is what I did. 2 satin coats on top, and 1 satin coat on the base. The reason is that the satin has "flatteners" in it, and that if you do all coats with satin, it could get a little cloudy. Hope that quick summary helps.
I bought Minwax paste finishing wax, that I plan to run on the top within the next week. I was told that helps protect the polyurathane, and gives it a nice rubbed look. I tried it on a test piece and although it looks good, I didn't think it made a huge difference in looks.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate
Comments
Crystal_thenewgirl (not verified)
Thu, 12/22/2011 - 11:52
Solid Top
You said you prototyped and practiced, but what did you actually do to make it a solid top????
claydowling
Thu, 12/22/2011 - 13:53
Panel Glue Up
He did was is known as a panel glue-up. They aren't terribly difficult once you've done one. The first one is exciting though. My technique is a bit simpler than what he used, but everyone needs to adapt a method suited to their available tools and knowledge.
If you want to try something like this, check local sawmills and timber suppliers first. adidas30, around here (Ann Arbor, MI), I can lay hands on a single slab of oak or walnut big enough for that table for half to a third that price. The bigger challenge is finding a friend with a big enough truck who is also strong enough to help me shift that beast. Still, what you paid is way less than what you'd pay to buy a table like that.
adidas30
Wed, 01/04/2012 - 10:46
Crystal: Take a look at the
Crystal: Take a look at the blog link in my post. It links to a picasa photo album that shows a few of the steps along the way. Clay is exactly right. Now that I have done one, the next will not be so bad. It took a long time to learn how to do it right the first time, but it was really fun and extremely satisfying.
Clay -- I'm jealous. I felt silly spending so much on the Ash, but it was half the price of the oak. I think the ash was around 4 dollars per board foot, and the white oak was 7.80 per board foot. Good lumber yards are hard to find in DC. I had to venture over to MD.