Mission Style Coffee Table

Beautiful. Did you do all the mortises by hand. I did a morris chair in the same style. Arts and crafts is probably my favorite style. Keep up the good work.

-- Jeremy, Saratoga, NY

Great looking table! I just love the look of QSWO. I’m sure the wife is very happy!

-- http://www.grandprairiewoodworks.com

Very nice table. I am a fan of arts and craft furniture and quarter sawn white oak.

Thanks for sharing.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Very nice job Joe.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Nice table. How thick is the top? Looks to be 5/4. On the glue up of the top did you use biscuits or just butt joints?

-- Max "Desperado", Salt Lake City, UT

The table is great. I’m making end tables and was thinking of this style for our coffee table, just not as wide. What is a custom mix of mixwax?

-- Andy Stark

Great looking coffee table, I like the oak

-- Mike, Bruce Mississippi = Jack of many trades master of none

Good job. I like it. Your finish job is excellent.

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

Great looking job! There is one thing that I noticed about the legs though.

The pattern is different on each side. I noticed that did turn them to make them match on the same side you are facing, which is good. To make this a lot less evident you could select the wood for the legs differently.

When you look at the end grain for the wood try to cut it so that the grain runs from one corner to the opposite corner. This will make the grain run straight on all four sides so they all look the same.

It’s something I learned a while back. Something to try on your end tables.

You can see what I am talking about here: http://lumberjocks.com/topics/2229

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Beautiful. You did a very good job on this.

-- Maplewood, MN

Great job Joe, one of the best mission coffee tables I’ve seen, the finish is very nice, not too shinny, and I really like the tone you came up with. Great advice from Gary as well, I didn’t notice the first look, but I have seen a video on FWW (someone from College of the Redwoods I think) talk about making legs like Gary’s Blog. But again, I didn’t even notice it at first. Guess we both learned something…LOL Good advice and a GREAT table. You couldn’t be persuaded to reveal you secret recipe could you?? :>)

-- Jim Hallada, Chesterfield, VA

Jeremy, Thank you. I cut the mortises using a combination of chisel and a router.

Max, The top is 1 inch think. I glued the top using butt joints. What are the pros/cons of biscuits/butt joints? Should one be used over the other?

Relic, The custom mix of Minwax is a secret mix put together by the guy I bought my wood from. At this time he holds that formula dear to his heart. I probably need to find another finish that I can reproduce.

GaryK, Congrats on your recent accomplishment with the contest. What a great looking box. The different grain patterns in the legs were something I had to consider. I’ll give your suggestion a try. Thank you.

Critterman, I would gladly share any recipe I had with you but unfortunately it wasn’t mixed by me. I know I’ve seen some other great looking finishes her at LJs I’m going to give a try.

I thank all of you for your comments. This really is a great community, isn’t it?

-- Joe Heskett---Illinois

Excellent job! I really like the finish in particular.

Ken

-- Making Quality Homes Better!