I ended up bringing in the base and assembling that this past Monday. I did not glue the mortise and tenons due to the size of the table I want to have the ability to take this apart if needed. I fabricated some aluminum braces to hold the apron to the legs. I also made some wooden braces to keep them square. I wanted to give it a few days to cure in the house before I clamp and screwing the extra corner braces.

I was trying to figure out when I would be able to get some friends to come help me carry the top into the house and yesterday while my financial planner (we all need help in this market) was over he offered to help. I didn’t know if we would be able to do it but we managed. The top must way well over 400 lbs. I don’t know for sure of the weight but 4’x10’x2” of ash is not light.

I still need to put the extra corner braces on and screw the top to the table but it sure does look good sitting in my dining room. I couldn’t be happier with it.

Here are some final pictures that I have taken. Sorry for quality. That is what you get with a Blackberry!

From Dinning Table

From Dinning Table

From Dinning Table

From Dinning Table

After cutting them I cleaned up the bottom of the mortises and then off to the tenons. Since I had to cut tenons on the 8’ long apron I took the opportunity to make a miter sled out of some scrap birch plywood and MDF that I had on hand. I also, finally, sprung for a dado blade. Ran to the local big box and picked up a Freud. I also had to make another zero clearance plate for the TS since I did not have one made for a dado blade. I have a Dewalt 746 TS and 1/2” MDF fits perfect for zero clearance plate. I ended up picking up some set screws and did not need them. I could not ask for a better fit with no adjustment needed.

Cut the tenons and dry fit the base of the table. Everything went together well. Two tenons were a little snug so I took a file to them to smooth them down a bit and they went in with just a little pressure.

Over the holiday I took a little time to test out the finish on the bottom of the table. I applied a coat of Sealcoat, two coats of walnut stain, another coat of Sealcoat and then just one coat of satin lacquer to see how the top coat would look. This was my first time spaying lacquer out of a can. I was happy with how easy it laid down and turned out.

The pictures also show how I connected the breadboard ends. I used a product by a company called ZipBolt. Given the weight of the table and breadboard ends, I wanted to have the flexibility to remove them if needed and also wanted to make sure that I could tighten then if needed. I was not concerned with the ability of seeing them from the underside of the table because you will really only see the center one as the legs will sit just below the end bolts.

From Dinning Table

From Dinning Table

From Dinning Table

From Dinning Table

From Dinning Table

It’s actually a little darken then in the pictures but the pictures pics up the tone right. I want it to be a brown tone with no red or orange.

I also put a few worm holes in to see how they would pick up the stain. I will have to do some distressing work on the table when it is finished being put together as I want to give it a rustic worn look.

From Dinning Table

I spent weeks trying to figure out what wood and what finish I would put on. I finally decided on ash after going through white oak, walnut, hickory and elm. The current plan is to stain it a chestnut. I really like the outcome of minwax gel chestnut but really hate the application of the get stain. Still researching if you can do something to the gel to thin it down. It just stays to think and tacky. I much rather wipe on an oil based stain.

I continue my research to find the right top coat/sealer. Whatever I choose will be non-yellowing and has to be somewhat durable since I have kids.

Pics will be placed in my Picasa album as I make progress.

I installed SketchUp on Friday and started playing with it to see what it could do. Very impressed with its ease of use and features.

From Dinning Table

From Dinning Table

From Dinning Table

From Dinning Table