Very first project - Train Table

Good job for just starting out.
I’m sure your kids’ll love it.
Welcome to LJ.

-- Eric

My son’s first table was two wooden saw horses and a sheet of 3/4” ply cut at the home center. We lived in an apartment at the time. I have found most wipe on/ off finishes to be fairly fool proof so far. I have used tung oil, BLO, and wipe on poly. For trains it certainly needs to be very durable or easily refinished. Of course depending on the age of the children playing, it needs to dry fairly non toxic as well.

-- Jimmy, Oklahoma "It's a dog-eat-dog world, and I'm wearing milkbone underwear!"

Welcome to Lumber Jocks. you did good. If you made your son happy, thats all that matters. Buy a book on basic carpentry and start there. Join a club or guild in your area if there is one. Maybe you know a friend with some carpentry skills, ask him to show you some tricks. The best way to learn anything is by doing, and it looks like you have a good start. Good luck.

-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com

I’m sure the kid will love it!

Congratulations on having the forethought to work around the precut table top. Few freestanding pieces have absolutely critical dimensions.

Many beginners end up stressed by stuff like this. They’ll have the wood dealer cut the sheet, and it’s off by 1/2” or so, or they cut one leg 1/2” too short. Rather than simply fitting the parts, they get tossed for a loop. You’ll folks on forums everywhere asking questions that demonstrate this. At one time, I was there, too!

Outside of identical cabinets or certain built-ins, most woodworking is about nicely fitting the parts to each other, not necessarily to an outside standard.

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Frist project very well done. nice straight lines, square corners, good dementions. So whats wrong with Elmers carpenters glue, this is whats its made for. Brass screws a very well thought out choice. You are one up on my first projects. I think that you have done very well. I agree wipe on for a finish I probably would choose poly. Kids do spill things and poly is really protective against that sort of thing. Advice, check this site every day to look at new projects, follow the blogs and forums, befor you buy looks at the reviews and ask, ask, ask. Welcome, your going to like it here.

-- RTB. "dumb animals are not stupid they simply can't talk "

“Outside of identical cabinets or certain built-ins, most woodworking is about nicely fitting the parts to each other, not necessarily to an outside standard.”

Translated as: “That’s not an oops, it’s supposed to be that way”. :) :)

-- Derek, Bremerton WA --

It’s not bad at all! Next time you glue, I’ve loved tightbond glues, and as for finishing, the trick is to take some scrap from the project, and just test on those til you get a process you like. For this, you might start with some Arm-R-Seal (made by General Finishes) which has tung oil in it, as well as other things, and maybe poly on the top of that for extra protection from the kids.

-- "That which has in itself the greatest use, possesses the greatest beauty." - Unknown Shaker

josh,

welcome to lumberjocks! glad you’re here and i’m sure you’ll enjoy it. that is a great first project especially considering your lack of tools. as for foolproof finishes, although it’s not great at protecting from spills, i have found Watco Danish Oil to be about as foolproof as there is. i’m also bad at finishing stuff and this oil is wipe on, 2 coats with 30 minutes inbetween the first and second coat, then 15 minutes after the 2nd coat you just wipe it off with a dry clean cloth and that’s it. and as long as the wood is sanded to at least 220 it doesn’t even raise the grain at all. so you’re left with a nice satiny smooth finish.

enjoy!

~isaac

-- "Who but a fool would discard seeminly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent engineering" -- Aldo Leopold

No need to apologize for any of this! It looks good.

I put many things together with Elmer’s wood glue and many of them are still in use. I use TiteBond now based on the recommendations of other woodworkers but in a pinch, Elmer’s works just fine!

For durability and easy clean-up, water-based polyurethane always works for me. I would consider staining the oak first to bring out the grain. As Will said, experiment with scrap from the project until you get the process right, then proceed to the table.

-- "Find out what you cannot do and then go do it!"

Wow! Thanks for all the feedback and encouragement, guys. This community/site rocks!

I’m going to check into both of the finishing recommendations…will probably buy some Arm-R-Seal and some Watco Danish Oil today and try them both on some scrap. Then I guess I’ll have to experiment with the poly…I understand that how you sand it between coats determines how it looks, correct?

Next question to research: Is poly non-toxic after it dries? (Thanks for the reminder, bayspt!)

Thanks again, all!

-- -=Josh - Gurnee, IL=-

good practical nice looking little table I like the train idea I am sure the little uns will love this regards Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

Joshua,
Welcome to LumberJocks. The train table looks fine to me, sometimes the plans in your head are the best type, I got a lot of them. You seemed to do a good job getting it out and built. As I was told on this site a little while ago, if its for your child they will love it and be able to boost about what their dad made for them. That is a great project.

Keep up the goodwork and look forward to seeing your future projects.

CtL

-- Chris L. "Don't Dream it, Be it."

“Translated as: “That’s not an oops, it’s supposed to be that way”. :) :)”

Absolutely! Woodworkers are fantastic at pointing out flaws to viewers who probably wouldn’t notice or care.

It’s amazing how many people will show off something they made, say… a coffee table. As the viewer takes it in, the first thing they say is “It’s supposed to be 21” high, but I cut a leg wrong, so it’s 20” high.” Or, “I thought the color was going to come out just a tick lighter, but I think this is OK…”

I think we should strive to to do the best work we can at the time we do the work, and continually improve, but not point out or proactively apologize for honest mistakes. <g>

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Is poly non-toxic after it dries?

Short answer, YES! Many years ago, when my son was born, I researched this for a finish on his crib. Even then (water-based polyurethane was not available then), the concern was for outgassing while the stuff dried. After drying, it was considered completely non-toxic. Toady, with water-based polys about the only thing you can buy, I can only believe the situation is better. Just allow thorough drying (1 week+) before turning your kid loose on it.

No supporting docs, I’ll research this later if I have time.

-- "Find out what you cannot do and then go do it!"

Bob Flexner has stated in books and magazine articles that ALL clear film finishes are non-toxic when dry.

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