| Project by jwicks | posted 1282 days ago | 1425 views | 14 times favorited | 12 comments |  |
 |
After completing a walnut end table, I decided to make 2 more. This time I used cherry.
I really like the size of this project since it doesn’t use a lot of wood and can be done in a relatively short amount of time. Yet it still provides a lot of opportunities to practice and improve on a lot of woodworking skills.
Here are some things I did differently this time around:
- I tried a different technique for cutting the tenon shoulders. Rather than using a dado blade I used a bandsaw to cut the cheeks after defining the shoulders on the table saw. I found it a lot easier and it required a lot less shoulder plane work doing it this way.
- Finished all surfaces with a hand plane. I only used sandpaper to cut some of the sharp corners. I am definitely going to be doing this more whenever I can. The final surface was awesome, and generated with only a few handplane passes, and I avoided the loud and dusty process of sanding which I dread. It made the final stages a lot more enjoyable.
- Used table top fasteners that went in biscuit slots in the aprons instead of making wooden buttons.
There are lots of other opportunities to practice or learn new skills, ex. the mortises could be cut by hand along with the tenons, the tapers by bandsaw, etc, etc etc..
The finish I used was Watco Danish Oil and 3 coats of Arm-R-Seal Satin.
-- Jon
| Pin It |
12 comments so far
leighty6
home | projects | blog
30 posts in 2122 days
#1 posted 1282 days ago
Very nice, I will take two.
-- Greg Leighty, Versailles, KY
woodworm
home | projects | blog
14104 posts in 1759 days
#2 posted 1282 days ago
Nicely made tables!
-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.
huff
home | projects | blog
2552 posts in 1454 days
#3 posted 1282 days ago
Nice clean design. Very nice.
-- John @ http://www.thehuffordfurnituregroup.com
a1Jim
home | projects | blog
87144 posts in 1746 days
#4 posted 1282 days ago
Very cool end tables.
-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/
LesB
home | projects | blog
899 posts in 1612 days
#5 posted 1282 days ago
The simplicity become elegant.
Have you tried cabinet scrapers. They do a great job of providing a smooth finish too.
-- Les B, Oregon
Beginningwoodworker
home | projects | blog
13225 posts in 1842 days
#6 posted 1282 days ago
Nice job on the end tables.
-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker
bruc101
home | projects | blog
526 posts in 1711 days
#7 posted 1282 days ago
Nice job and they sure look sturdy.
-- Bruce http://plans.testsitem3.info http://www.sawmillgirls.com
Dusty56
home | projects | blog
10513 posts in 1857 days
#8 posted 1282 days ago
Heavy duty , Built to last …I like the arched aprons…they add a bit of style and lightness to the tables
-- When did quiet and quite become the same word ? I'm guessing about the same time as your and you're did.
PeteMoss
home | projects | blog
186 posts in 1639 days
#9 posted 1281 days ago
Those look great. Especially sitting on that granite top with the shavings in the foreground.
-- "Never measure......cut as many times as necessary." - PeteMoss
RexMcKinnon
home | projects | blog
2590 posts in 1364 days
#10 posted 1281 days ago
Great end tables.
-- If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!
jwicks
home | projects | blog
54 posts in 1777 days
#11 posted 1281 days ago
Thanks all.
The tops on these came in at just under 7/8”. I stopped once all surfaces were flat and square. The top on the walnut table is just under 3/4” since that wood had warped/cupped more while drying and was thinner to start with.
-- Jon
jwicks
home | projects | blog
54 posts in 1777 days
#12 posted 1281 days ago
@LesB, Yes I’ve got some cabinet scrapers but so far I’ve mainly used them for dealing with areas that were difficult to plane without tearout. I recently bought a LV bevel-up smoother and that has pretty much eliminated any tearout I was getting. I haven’t tried it on any exotic or curly/figured boards yet but I expect it’ll do pretty well.
-- Jon
Have your say...