nightstand bedside table #6: Finished

Really, really nice!!!!!

-- BUILT TO LAST WOODWORKS, West Blocton, Alabama

great build. great finish, and mostly great grain selection

-- making sawdust....

Simply beautiful! Wonderful choice of wood with clean lines, very nice!

-- Never board, always knotty, lots of growth rings

You did a very nice job on this project
like it was said above ….nice grain selection….
What finish did you use?

-- Life used to be soooo much simpler!!!!

Mot, spot on about the grain selection. For me grain selection can really make or break a piece. Sometimes you have to live with the hand you’re dealt but in this case I was able to cherry pick most of the pieces to get what I wanted. Notice I tried to get all of the flatsawn cathedrals pointed up. I picked the pieces with more figure and less of a pronounced cathedral for the top and shelf. I tried to get as much vertical grain as possible for the legs. And I tried to find pieces with very little cathedral for the rails. Notice I didnt post a pic of the left side, there’s a pretty bad grain reversal on one of the panels that doesnt look so good. Hopefully that side can go up against a wall :).

I planed all of the surfaces, no sanding at all, as much because I loathe sanding as much as any other reason. Then a couple coats of pure tung oil diluted to 50% with pure turpentine. Soak and wipe dry method. Let it sit a week to cure. A thin thin coat of shellac, sit overnight.

On the top add an additional seven coats of gloss polyurethane diluted to 50% with mineral spirits. Wiped on and wiped clean with a light sanding and 12 hours dry time between coats.