My daughter’s birthday is fast approaching and I have had several ideas in the past month of what to make for her. I have gone from simple, to complicated, and now .. it’s somewhere in the middle.
Actually, since it will be a variation of the Challenge Table, it really should fall into the easy category but I’m not that naive or confident to think that I will whip this together with a frustration and challenge or two.
The first difficulty was deciding what to make it out of. Although she loves my rustic stuff that I have been making I know that her primary decorating taste is modern – with the black wood and clean lines. The other factor in this is that their current bed is pine. So do I go with pine and have it match now, or do I go with the more modern look and hope that they will buy a matching bed someday??
Option 1: use pine and keep it natural
Option 2: use pine and paint it
Option 3: use walnut.
I chose to use walnut.
I had originally thought that I would make it 12” square and just buy some lumber 12” wide. But alas, I ended up with some cheaper pieces that were about 4” wide and would need to be joined together.
I first ran the wood through the planer and jointer. I’ve used the planer before so that wasn’t a problem but the jointer was a first and no one around to give me tips. (Ok. so I could have gone back to TheWoodWhisperer’s Podcast and I think Giz. has done a blog on this as well .. forgive me if I have gotten the wrong name)... anway, I chose to “just do it” and I have no idea if I got it right.
Next step was to figure out what size the pieces would need to be to use my wood the most efficiently as well as try and get the pieces looking good. I spent a lot of time with pencil and paper laying out the plan. I think I did good. ... we’ll see. 
With pieces cut (hopefully to correct size) it was time to put the pieces together.
TA DA .. it’s DOWELMAX time !!! :)
Well this turned out to be the easy part (after I got the drill bit set up to the right height… somebody had been experimenting!!!) It was a matter of MARK IT (learned that lesson last time)... and zip, zip, zip… everything lined up beautifully and I now have the table top and two shelves ready to go.
Now I have to wait for legs—that involves the table saw. Rick’s department!
I’m thinking that this table might just look pretty good when it is finished. You will know—if it looks good, you will see part two of this blog. If it doesn’t… well… we’ll just let this drift off into LJ la-la-land.
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
14 comments so far
Diane
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450 posts in 557 days
posted 429 days ago
Can’t wait and see how it goes. Good luck. I hope it goes further than my macreme’ purse I’ll probably never finish. That jute was shedding too much, I found it everywhere.
I wish I had a chance to learn all this like you are and you are making some nice stuff too, I like making the practical as well.
Diane
-- http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/DMarcella/
MsDebbieP
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11423 posts in 595 days
posted 429 days ago
ewww….the shedding. that’s not good. Sounds like quite a mess. That’s too bad.
What are you going to use instead for the next purse??
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
WayneC
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5689 posts in 532 days
posted 429 days ago
Hmmmm. Perhaps you should start using the table saw with a sled. Does Rick have a sled?
-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov
MsDebbieP
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11423 posts in 595 days
posted 428 days ago
i have no desire to use the big bad machine…. and I have no problem being a female leaving a task for a male to do.
No sled and he has all 10 digits – as do I :D
haha
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Dick Cain
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4735 posts in 734 days
posted 428 days ago
I have a suggestion Debbie.
Make the table with Walnut, then on her next birthday, make her a bed to match.
-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
MsDebbieP
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11423 posts in 595 days
posted 428 days ago
oh Dick.. I do believe it was YOU who challenged me to move on beyond a box!!! Now, here I am tackling my 2nd table and you are already challenging me to start building a bed!!! lol
(That is a good idea.. .. wouldn’t that be a prized possession to pass on through the generations. I’ve said that many times to other LumberJocks but it never once flashed through my mind that I would or could make such an heirloom myself.) ..
I think I’ll stick with the tables ( my son-in-law’s birthday is next month, so I’m hoping that I can make “matching” sets.)
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Dick Cain
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4735 posts in 734 days
posted 428 days ago
Go for it Debbie !!!
-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
Bob Babcock
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1811 posts in 520 days
posted 428 days ago
You can do it Deb….every bedroom needs two side tables and a bed….:)......oh…and a matching blanket chest as well.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
Karson
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12412 posts in 835 days
posted 428 days ago
You also need a couple of easy chairs in the bedroom. A dresser. You’ll never get finished. LOL
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com
oscorner
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4576 posts in 745 days
posted 428 days ago
Don’t fret, Debbie. Even a 12” board isn’t 12 inches. You would have had to glue up boards to get a full 12 inches, anyway. That walnut looks good.
-- Jesus is Lord!
MsDebbieP
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11423 posts in 595 days
posted 428 days ago
why geez, guys.. why don’t I just build them a house??? !!
Thanks Os… :)
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
MsDebbieP
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11423 posts in 595 days
posted 428 days ago
back to the table
Legs are cut and now the frustration/confusion/challenges really begin as I figure out how to attach the pieces that I prepared yesterday.
It might be a very long day.
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
mot
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4835 posts in 471 days
posted 428 days ago
Atta girl! Do you have a sketch of what you are scheming? There might be an idea or two to help you decide how to attach the legs.
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
MsDebbieP
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11423 posts in 595 days
posted 428 days ago
4 legs
2 shelves
1 DowelMax :)
1 measuring tape with little lines on it.
is that sketchy enough?? :D
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)