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Well I must say that this was my best "quick win" to date. It took me three days, plus several quick finishing passes.

I built this from a plan in Shop Notes, a magazine that I absolutely love. I was shocked when I found out how much Baltic birch costs. This was my first time working with it. $120/sheet is about 3 times more than anything I've bought to date. Needless to say I was very concerned and careful when marking it out and cutting it, even taking the kerf into consideration. I'm not the best with sheet goods, so this was a knuckle biter.

This is also my first foray into laminate. I went to Home Depot and found only black and white for solids at $42. I thought that was a bit expensive, also. So I found a local WilsonArt dealer and forked over $62. Way to save money, Todd. But I did like the color selected better.

For legs I used some 8/4 oak that I had and laminated them into 4×3 finished legs. They came out swell, until I dadoed the last one incorrectly. Every time I deviate from a plan, I hit an unexpected snag and that's what happened here. The plan called for 3×3, but since I had the wood I figured I'd use it and rotate the legs so they were wider towards the center. That's fine, but now they're directional and you have dado them accordingly. Idiot. I had to plug three dados because I wasn't about to start all over with that leg. Honestly, it's hard to even tell, so I'm happy. I just used cheap adjustable feet from WC, drilled up into the leg bottoms. I think they'll be OK, being barely extended for levelness.

The top was difficult. I struggled with trying to prevent blow out on the underside with little success. I just chamfered and sanded the underside - you can't see it anyway. I made a template for one row of holes with two registration holes to allow me to shift it over with each row. Well, if you're off by even a little on those registration hole it doesn't work so well! I was able to work around it, though. My 1 3/8" forstner lasted for maybe 3 holes (for the ends of the slots) and was so dull I had to stand on the drill and rock it aggressively. I suspect plywood and laminate are really hard on cutting edges? I came up with my own "system" for routing the slots because my flush trim bit has a bottom bearing and I didn't want to try mounting a template under the table and routing from above. So I used a clamping straight edge. I just registered each end with the bit up against the hole's edge. I had to be really careful to be perfect, going back and fourth until I felt like it was there. Then I routed it and made fine adjustments until it was perfect. Move it to the other side of the slot and repeated. Most of the slots really are close to perfection - better than I expected.

I wanted to experiment with lacquer, so that's what I used here. 4 coats. Probably not ideal for a shop, but it should be fine. Whew! The smell!

For the slot closeup I had to pick the worse one. Dummy. The jig saw blade (that I was MILKING) drifted at the end, just before it snapped. I was amazed by how a sharp blade - something with less than 40 hours on it - cut! ;)

There's another "pocket" on the back, which I didn't show. I really like the table design and think it's going to be amazing to use.

So now I need something to assemble. Oh, and some hold downs and clamps.

Gallery

Comments

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20,030 Posts
Looks great and will be easy to find in the shop.
 

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Nice work, your right BB Plywood can be pricey!!! We have all made mistakes no doubt. The key is you fixed them. Blondie gets mad if I point out little things I'm not happy with. Like my last post, some cutting board's I was a little disappointed with. This should serve you well and the laminate will help when you need to scrape the excess glue off. Nice post!

I too love Shopnotes, I have about 5 yrs now in binders and think it is by far the best woodworking Mag. out there.
 

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Great looking table. I keep trying to convince myself that I need to make something like this, but get too busy with other projects.
 

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Looks good, never built a project with $120 a sheet anything. What speed where you using on the drill press with the 1-3/8 Forstner bit? I run around 400/600 RPM with the larger bits with problem. I have inexpensive China made bits. Too fast and the chips can not clear the hole and cutter and the bits overheat or just can not feed.
 

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I have the same magazine and thought about making this table as an assembly/outfeed table.. Great job!!
 

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Nice looking table.
What issue of ShopNotes did that come from?
 

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Beautiful project and thanks for all the details. That was an interesting build!
 

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That is a great table
What are the dimensions? Looks 2×4

Jamie
 

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Hi all. Thank you for the compliments. To answer a few questions:

@Chris: how fast? Hmmm … I don't know how fast my corded drill turns. I'll have to look, but I could have cooked eggs on the bit. Do you think the problem was that I simply went too fast and didn't clear it out enough? I'll have to try that. These were inexpensive porter cable bits. Oh, and I held a calm facial expression when he gave me the prices. Tried not to look like an amateur. And felt just awful the whole drive home. $252 with tax for two sheets. I have some left over. I'm going to buy a vault.

@Jamie: The table is about 30" x 48".

@Steve: I will check on which edition tonight when I get home.

@Rob: This was a great plan. Well thought out with simple/effective joinery. I highly recommend it. The BB looks nice without edging, but woah! The cost!
 

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Thanks Tod, the beer threw my eye out. :)

Jamie
 

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Try the same 1-3/8 bit at 300 to 400 rpm and see if it cuts before you toss it. A slight filing of the edges should bring it back to life. I got lazy one day and did not slow my drill press down with a forstner and it did not cut well at all. I do not go above about 900 even with 1/4 forstners. The chips should be like shavings so they clear the hole. I also only plunge about 3/8" before raising the bit to clear the chips. Slow steady plunge pressure, keep the shaving forming and you are cutting well.
 

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Beautiful table for assembling projects.

When I lived in Illinois there was a kitchen remodler that would sell Formica at 0.30¢/sq. ft. cheaper than paint and I used a lot of it. One of my main uses was for kids projects as paint never lasted and Formica is washable too.
 

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Great job on this table. I'm curious as to what it weighs? It looks stout enough to assemble truck motors on it! I think you will love that Formica top. Glue pops right off and I write on mine a lot and it just wipes off with alcohol.
 

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Sweet job. It looks great and should serve you well.

Could you have used a hole saw instead of a forstner? I think at that size it might have been less expensive and been faster.

I'm a fan of Shopnotes as well. The DVD archives have some really fantastic jigs and fixtures to drool over.
 

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I'm a fan of Shopnotes as well. The DVD archives have some really fantastic jigs and fixtures to drool over.

So am I! I would like the time/money to build jigs and fixtures like those!
 

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@SteveW: This was from Vol 21 Issue 124 - Picture of a Router making box tails on the cover

@ChrisK: You'd laugh if you saw this bit now. The cutting edges look like rulers. I'll have to either buy a replacement or learn how to sharpen it. So much to learn!

@OldNovice: .30/ft?! I paid $2.60/ft! Boy, would I like to find a deal like that. I enjoyed the laminate and would like to use more of it. I think it there's probably even a place for it in jigs. Heck, I bought laminate snips that were $40 from the same place. So I balked at $40 for a SHEET at HD and paid $40 for the cutters and $60 for the sheet elsewhere. Interesting logic!

@gfadvm: Weight. It is indeed heavy! Two layers of ply for the top, 4×3 solid oak legs and the ply box. There's also two oak stretchers under the top that it's bolted to. I could easily handle either half myself when putting it up on the table saw/outfeed table, but once they were bolted I had to call my sexy shop helper out to help me take it down.

@Roger: I only have a few hole saws and didn't even bother to check if I had that size. I don't think so. Seems like that would be a whole lot less cutting, though. I should consider a set.

Thanks for all the great comments people! I really enjoyed making this table and I'd rate it about 9.5 out of 10 as far as my expectations. I wasted a bunch of time debating over my lumber choice for the legs. Seriously. Hours. Otherwise, it was a relatively quick win and I highly recommend it to those looking for an enjoyable project with a highly usable result. This has definitely set the tone for future furniture in the shop, both in color and quality. I'm already thinking of a kick butt router table with drawers.

Btw, I chose the red because it's the only way I'll have "Holly Berry" in my shop. I couldn't resist!
 

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Great table even better beer. I buy something that I had always assumed was baltic birch from a discount building supply for around $35.00 for 3/4" (actually a tad under 3/4) it has many thin plys and the top layer is super thin. This dealer told me he gets a good deal buy splitting a trailer load with a southern VT wholesaler. Since you are in Boston it seems like you could find something similar. I use it for all of my shop tables and tool bases as well as kitchen cabinet boxes.
 

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Nice assembly table! Just out of curiousity, was it Baltic Birch that you purchased, or Apply Ply? Apple Ply I believe is the American version of Baltic Birch, but in my neck of the woods, runs closer to what you paid per sheet. Down here in Northern FL, I can get 3/4" BB ply for around $55 for a 5×5 sheet.
 
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