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Small Table - Australian Blackwood

Project by Don posted 574 days ago 724 views 1 time favorited 28 comments Add to Favorites Watch

Without making excuses for not being as active here as I once was, here is my latest woodworking project.

A good friend of ours, an accomplished artist, asked me to make a table to specific dimensions that would allow her to place it in her small housing unit.

I’ve been working on it off and on since mid January. Today, I finally finished and took these photos before delivering it to her.

Up ‘til now, I’ve used mortise and tenon joinery for this kind of furniture. But this was a perfect project to give my DowelMax a good test. I found it easy to use and frankly will be unlikely to revert to the traditional joinery again.

The wood is Australian Blackwood and the top is from the same 19mm (4/4”) sheets I used to build this project. The grain coloring is often quite spectacular as it is in this veneered sheet. This time I used the second side (not quite as spectacularly figured) as the surface. I felt it was more in keeping with the solid side-skirts and legs.

The drawers are constructed of first grade pine. I like the lightness of weight and color. The drawer faces are cut from the same piece that makes up the front skirt, so the grain matches.

The finish is five coats of MinWax Wipe-on Poly, cut with fine steel wool and Ubeaut Traditional wax leaving a satin smooth finish.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/


28 comments so far

View Lee A. Jesberger's profile

Lee A. Jesberger

3709 posts in 857 days


posted 574 days ago

Hi Don;

Good to hear from you;

Great job on this table.

The choice of woods is beautiful! I have some blackwood veneer I will be using on a project soon.

Still doing small wooden boxes?

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

View griff's profile

griff

897 posts in 639 days


posted 574 days ago

Very nice looking table, Like the design and the finish very well. Thanks, enjoyed it

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

View Don's profile

Don

2590 posts in 1054 days


posted 574 days ago

Thanks, Lee.

Other than the Changing table (the project prior to this one), this is the only piece I’ve made since Christmas. I’m still a lover of small boxes and will get back to making them after two other commissions I’ve got lined up.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/

View trifern's profile

trifern

7890 posts in 645 days


posted 574 days ago

That is a beautiful table. Great job.

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

View GaryK's profile

GaryK

9496 posts in 866 days


posted 574 days ago

Great looking tabel Don! Looking forward to hearing more from you.

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

View Douglas Bordner's profile

Douglas Bordner

3415 posts in 941 days


posted 574 days ago

Lovely table, Don, with your usual attention to detail. The continuity of grain across the front apron and drawer fronts is very cool. Glad to hear from you.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

View Dick, & Barb Cain's profile

Dick, & Barb Cain

6989 posts in 1177 days


posted 574 days ago

I’m glad to see you back Don!

A beautiful straight line design, & as usual a perfect finish.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

View Grumpy's profile

Grumpy

14852 posts in 729 days


posted 574 days ago

Great piece of blackwood Don and beaut table to boot.

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

View Dorje's profile

Dorje

1768 posts in 874 days


posted 574 days ago

The wood is great – I really appreciate the touch of using a single board for the front as Douglas pointed out! That’s a really nice touch here…

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

View Scott Bryan's profile

Scott Bryan

19998 posts in 699 days


posted 574 days ago

Hi Don,

This is a nice table. You did a nice job on the design and construction.

It has been a little while since you have been on here. It is good to see you back.

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

View motthunter's profile

motthunter

2079 posts in 676 days


posted 574 days ago

i love the wood. great work. what does blackwood sell for in Australia? Can you conver it to US dollars? Do you buy it in board feet there or int he standard cubic meter?

-- making sawdust....

View snowdog's profile

snowdog

806 posts in 860 days


posted 574 days ago

it really does look great, tel us what the wood costs? That is one of my biggest inhibitors to wood working. Not the actually amount (the hard dollars) but the fact that since I am new to detailed work I am hesitant to waste that much money learning. I know it is not a good reason to not try something and I will get over it this year. I need to man up get r done.

Don great work again :)

-- "so much to learn and so little time"..

View tenontim's profile

tenontim

1319 posts in 622 days


posted 574 days ago

Nice table, Don. I like the design and that’s beautiful wood.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

View CharlieM1958's profile

CharlieM1958

7459 posts in 1096 days


posted 574 days ago

Don, I would call this a very beautiful, somewhat-larger-than-average small wooden box with legs. And I love it!

I’m glad to hear a man of your skills speak well of dowel joinery. I use it all the time, and it is so easy I always feel like I’m cheating!

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

View jockmike2's profile

jockmike2

7222 posts in 1124 days


posted 574 days ago

Have missed you Don, Well done piece. Sure don’t look like a box though. LOL. Glad to see you back. mike

-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com

View CedarFreakCarl's profile

CedarFreakCarl

562 posts in 931 days


posted 574 days ago

Great table Don! Don’t be a stranger….......there’s been lots of small boxes posted!

-- Carl Rast, Pelion, SC

View Cedrus's profile

Cedrus

67 posts in 591 days


posted 574 days ago

Beautiful. Period. The design mixed with the wood choice make this table pop! Australian Blackwood with it’s reddish tinge and brown areas really likes tung oil-give it a try sometime.

Cedrus-British Columbia

-- Cedrus of British Columbia

View Rob's profile

Rob

112 posts in 807 days


posted 574 days ago

Great job, Don. Love the Blackwood.
Good to see you back.

Regards,

Rob

-- http://www.damnfinefurniture.com

View Karson's profile

Karson

25271 posts in 1278 days


posted 574 days ago

Don. Some beautiful Local woods. When I saw the heading blackwood, I was thinking of African Blackwood that is used for bagpipes. More like ebony. That is some tasteful wood you have there.

Great looking table.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

View Bob Babcock's profile

Bob Babcock

1808 posts in 964 days


posted 574 days ago

Very nice Don. Great to hear from you.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

View Bradford's profile

Bradford

783 posts in 700 days


posted 573 days ago

OK, OK, OK, we’ll go back out into the shop and build something. It’s just hard when LJ’s like you keep making such great projects, thus our time spent viewing, commenting, looking through old photos to find that lost project. We are out of here…thanks Don. welcome back from the dust(saw).

-- so much wood, so little time. Bradford.

View Joel Tille's profile

Joel Tille

214 posts in 1122 days


posted 573 days ago

Nice table Don, I like the variations of colors in the grain.

-- Joel Tille

View BobR's profile

BobR

137 posts in 862 days


posted 572 days ago

Well done Don. Blackwood is one of my favourite timbers. I have found that care needs to be taken when routing; and a drum sander is often better than a thicknesser to avoid tearout. Figure matching can also be a problem. I also like the pulls on the drawers.

-- Bob

View Bill's profile

Bill

2562 posts in 1039 days


posted 569 days ago

Don, a great looking table for a box man (or anyone for that matter). Nice work and glad to see you back with us.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

View brunob's profile

brunob

1465 posts in 1047 days


posted 569 days ago

I used my DowelMax on my last couple of tables – I sure wouldn’t go back to any other joint.

-- Bruce from Central New York

View DAN 's profile

DAN

6393 posts in 860 days


posted 568 days ago

good to see you are still active. table is very nice. material is exotic !

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever

View Steffen's profile

Steffen

251 posts in 913 days


posted 550 days ago

Nice grain pattern Don…I like the table…Don’t give up on traditional joinery…

-- Steffen

View Dusty56's profile

Dusty56

3389 posts in 566 days


posted 474 days ago

Look at this beautiful box with long legs on it !!! hahahaha great job and wood choice : )

-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .

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