This was my first wood project... ever. But I didn't want to dish out the $500 for the back-saving store pedestals. This thing is big and sturdy. I have a few random comments below that may help out others with my little experience.
- Lowes does not cut 4x4s. Only 2x4s. Also, call Home Depot to make sure their saw is working before you grab all the wood on your cart :)
- Careful about adding trim to the outside of the pedestal (by outside I mean with left/right side, as opposed to the front). That extra piece of trim will increase the width of your table and it may not fit in your home's spot.
- Wood Putty is ok but cannot be sanded and always stays soft. Wood FILLER on the other hand hardens. I used this extensively to help spiff up my poor trim job. Especially the corners.
- Speaking of poor trim job, I was told after the fact that you should clamp down the trim before you nail. Everytime I tried to nail a piece of trim it would wiggle out of place.
- When wood glue drips, it becomes hard to sand and leaves a mark under the pain it not cleaned up well.
- I didn't know what a countersign drill bit was, but when I dished out the Hamilton for one I found out that any ole drill bit may have sufficed. I'm gonna need some clarification on this, but I ended up pre-drilling almost all of my holes because my electric drill was not powerful enough to screw into the wood.
That's about it. It was a fun first project, but I definitely could've used a few more helpful details, or at least someone who knew something about wood to point out how little I actually know!
Comments
yurra-bazain
Sun, 07/14/2013 - 01:35
Congratulations!
It's amazing to see all that you have learned on your first go at building! You've done a great job; have you been bitten by the building bug now? I know I have! =D