Since the desk is so simple in basic design, I was thinking I’d do something just as basic. We decided on dimensions of ~76” h x 36”w x 12”d. Given the tapered legs of the desk, and the medallion inlay, we thought we’d duplicate the medallion, but I don’t know if I want to just taper very short legs at the bottom of the bookcase, or attempt some other type of design element. I’m beginning to play with sketchup on it, but nothing really pops yet.

So… All shelves? Some drawers? Maybe pencil drawers half-way, and a couple filing drawers? Hmmm…

I used a Rockler HVLP to apply the water based acrylic/urethane blend. The goal in my wife’s final choice was to keep the look of the wood as blonde as possible, and close to the wood.

Over the next couple days, the last 2 coats went on, and we finally have moved it.

But what’s taken time has been new discussion on the finish. After long planning to do an Arm-R-Seal or similar, my wife decided she wanted to keep the wood as light as possible. Since the oil would take it to an amber color, that meant either shellac, lacquer or water-borne acrylic/polyurethane.

After some samples were compared, we decided to go with General Finishes’ High Performance. It seemed to keep the closest color. Without building a deep film, which she wants it closer to the wood, I think this will be our best bet.

I’ve pulled out my Rockler HVLP (first time to use that!), and have raised the grain, sanded with 320, and getting ready to spray. Now, WHERE to do that? Hmmm…

The bow tie layout for the outside of the apron is done. I also laid out for dovetail keys in the corner of the table top and cut the ebony to be used for the inlay.

I used a router with a 1/8” bit to hog out the bulk. The lighting in my shop is ok, but not ideal. I used this cap from Lowes with LED lights in the bill to give me almost “line-of-sight” lighting to the router bit.

I switched to a 1/16” bit to get as much of the corners as I could, then cleaned up with a chisel and Xacto knife.

I used a very small file to do some final straightening and clean up of the dovetail key mortises.

The inlay pieces were glued in, using blocks with wax paper again. Once out of the clamps, I started looking at an issue I had at the corners of the table tops. You can see in this photo how the corner broke on the edge of the table because of the grain direction. It happened on both ends of the table, one end was worse than the other.

I was much more pleased with the apron bow tie on this one. Using the 1/16” bit to get into the corners made cleaning it up much easier, well worth the time to change bits for the ease and quality of the mortise.

Progress… Here are some views of how it will come together.

A sample with one end shellac, one end Arm-R-Seal

My wife is in need of a desk, but we wanted something simple. She said she didn’t even want a drawer. So we measured, and started on a couple boards.

The boards had some twist. I spent a lot of time getting that out.

I tried ripping one board on the bandsaw, then jointing one of the rips. I have the Jet benchtop 10” jointer/planer combo. While it did the job, it left me with a very tapered board.

In the process, I also made 2 hand planes and got a floor full of very cool shavings. I actually enjoyed that so much that I spent a couple weeks flattening boards as much as I could on one side and then planed them to thickness.

The final table top came out to about 5/8”.

The table top will have a natural edge on it.

I used a straight edge to give a general straight front edge…

Completed the layout for table top size using that established front edge…

Cut it close with a circular saw and straight edge, then flush trimmed it.

Next, I began milling up legs and aprons. I’ll be using Mortise and Loose Tenon joinery. I laid out the joinery on the legs, and got everything milled to final thickness.

I also decided to add some something different to the back apron – both in hopes that if it turns out really well, it can face the room, and if not, it can face the wall, but always be there as an attempt at some inlay.

Notice the ebony and curly maple square in the middle of one of the long aprons. It was routed on both faces and each edge. The ebony bookended the maple on the face, and a 3/4” strip across top and bottom.

I flushed it up with a card scraper, but left it bowing out just a little. Something no one will know without actually feeling it with their hand, but a detail I wanted.

Starting on the inside of the apron, I laid out the inlay – a bow tie with a very narrow middle. I actually was going for point to point but just couldn’t keep the mortise right. With the medallion (I don’t know what it’s actually called for something like this in the middle of an apron) slightly bowed, I couldn’t just put the router on the face of the apron without it being unstable, so I laid/clamped a couple 2×4’s down on either side and used them as router rails. While it worked, they were too thick. Next time, I’ll use something JUST thicker than the work piece.

I considered making or buying a template for the design of the inlay, but wanted to try it without it. I have the Inlay Kit from Rockler with the collar and bit. I may still go that way on the outside, but who knows.

I used a utility knife with a fresh blade (my marking knife just broke a tip off!) to outline the area. Then used a 1/8” router bit to excavate most of the mortise, finishing up with chisels.

I did a custom fit for each side of the bow tie.

I glued in the inlay…

An hour later, I removed the clamps (done with a block and wax paper)

After cleaning up the squeeze out, I let it sit for another hour, then started flushing with a card scraper.

The final product wasn’t too shabby, but I’m glad it was on the inside. It’s not perfect.

Well, that gets me current. I had wanted to start this project blog at the beginning, but just didn’t get to it. But I’m getting close to the end. So far, things are going according to the adjusted plan that developed as I began working on it.

Well, not completely true. I started with a sketch up of something different. But because of some wood movement issues I would have, adapted to the simple desk.

But I hope the wood itself – which is anything but simple – will be enough to make this and interesting piece.

Thanks for stopping by…

Also on the haul were 2 slabs that would make a great bar or even other beautiful natural edges. The wide boards are 8’ long, the slabs are about 10’.

But maybe the best find were these sister boards from another tree a couple weeks before …

Although these are only 4/4 boards, I plan to resaw them to get at least a couple extra slices from each.

Here’s the really sad part: We thought these were the only 2 boards like this. The day I picked up the big boards, another customer had found a third. It was easily as beautiful as these. {sigh}

Oh well. I hope he has some great ideas for that board!

That stint seems to be done for now. I am beginning to feel rested, and have put the last coats of finish on the table tops and have some work on bases to go.

So, off I go – only this time it’s really only on weekends we don’t have softball…

And for those who trudged through my last set with me through the blog, I’m doing this one right – Walnut and Tiger Maple for the inlay… No experimenting with the stain recipe and process.

Here we go…

With that done, the table tops were attached using figure 8’s from Woodcraft. I don’t care for theirs as much as others, because they are not flat on both sides. But they seem to work fine.

Here are the final steps to completion

Prep:

• Sanded all parts before assembly to 220 (hoping the higher grit would help with blotch)
• Sanded end grain on angled cuts to 320
• Burnished the end grain to close it and minimize the stain absorption.
  • Even though most of these are not seen – against the wall – I still wanted as uniform color as possible.

Finishing:

• Sealing:
  • Sealed before assembly
  • 2 coats 1/2 lb cut Sealcoat
  • End grain got a 3rd coat
• Stain
  • 1 coat – GF Gel Stain – Georgian cherry
    • This coat was left heavier than I actually anticipated, but no harm, no foul
  • Poplar is incredibly blotchy, and despite the seal coats, there are places where it is simply flatter grain that was difficult to cover as well as other spots.
    • I put 2-3 “rubbing coats” on these flatter face grain areas to blend them in. I did not want to lose the grain, but didn’t want a really stark contrast
  • 1 coat – GF Gel Stain – 1:1 Georgian Cherry / Java *Protection
  • 4 coats Arm-R-Seal Glossy
    • I had samples of Gloss, Semi and Satin. Lynn picked Gloss.
    • 2 coats undiluted, wiped on – this helped build a finish quickly
    • 2 coats 1:1 diluted, wiped on for a smooth, clean top coat.

I think that’s it . . .

As to the fine details, I would like to take time, but just can’t. For a prototype, it’ll do.

Even with some of the lessons learned regarding the mask, there were some places the stain was able to sneak under the over-laps, but some more where it didn’t.

Next – I have to put the second part of the stain recipe on the larger base, and tone the smaller base a bit darker. Will probably have that same adjustment on the larger base

But overall, they’re coming together. For what was to be a prototype, not bad…

And yes, it’s more work than most will think poplar is worth. That’s ok.

HOWEVER: I got greedy, and I’m paying the price for it.

I tried to pull the tape up with the stain still wet. In some places, it pulled the stain in a string onto the maple inlay. Not much, but some. So I stopped, will let the rest of the table set, and on the second one, I’ll just wait.

Patience, I keep small amounts of it around here, somewhere. Think I’ll stop and dig it out…

What I learned so far:

1. Gel stains are good because the do cover so evenly
2. Gel stains cover so evenly over waxy or de-waxed shellac – Norm’s process doesn’t work here
3. The 1/8” masking tape does well to cover the inlay during staining, but comes up easily afterward. (Thanks again, Marc!!!)
4. Stain must be worked into the edge of the tape, but this leaves excess stain along side of the tape – a very thin line that will be noticeable if not removed
   1. It’s difficult to use cloth or rag to remove the excess stain without leaving an “edge” along side of the tape where too much stain has been removed and the finish is “lighter” than the rest of the workpiece.
   2. The tip of an exacto knife will clean the edge, but you have to be careful you also don’t pull/scrape too much away, as it can leave a distinct lighter line along the edge of the tape. (don’t know if this would be very visible unless REALLY looking for it)
5. Pulling the tape off, you’ll see that there is still a bit of a hard line at the edge of the tape, we’ll see how this fares out
6. The tape MUST overlap in the corners, if not, you end up with a line across the miter
   1. I suppose you might be able to miter the tape, but that would be difficult to get exact
   2. This has to be done with care – you want the tape to be tight against the inlay right up to the mating corner tape, and THEN go up and over. Otherwise, you’ll end up with stain under the tape in the minuscule gap where the tape “slopes” up from inlay to top of the tape on the mating corner.

About noon today, the stain should be about dry, and I’ll look more closely at that edge along the inlay, and see if there’s work needed there.

I’m hoping the exacto knife will keep there from being a raised edge that might have to be worked. If that DID work, then I’m ready to start with the Arm-R-Seal wiped on.

• Sides of inlay groove – where the stain got into the grooves – soaked into the exposed end grain. This has created an “outline” in places along the inlay.
  • By the way – the darker “discolor” is only mineral spirits not quite dried

The top is sanded back down to 220. Used mineral spirits to whisk off last of dust.

• 2 coats of 1/2 lb cut dewaxed shellac as a sealer for blotch.
  • This also has to be done to the parent table base before staining
• Carefully coat the inlay with waxy shellac to prevent stain from sticking to the inlay
  • This will have to be tested on working sample
• Glue inlay into second table top (nested)
  • Flush
• Seal top (base pre-sealed before glue-up to aid squeeze-out clean-up)

Using a corked caul with plastic to prevent sticking to it, I glued in the maple. But once the inlay was in, I had squeeze out that even with tape down, is giving me some extra work. Example – some of the squeeze out was pressed by the caul into the bare wood in a very, very thin layer. This won’t just “pop” of the way a bit thicker layer would from the stained surface. It’s thin enough that it’s in the pores of the wood.

Also, in trying to flush the inlay I have already marred the stained surface in several places.

Next – try to figure out how best to proceed…

Realizing I have another table top that has no shellac sealer, no stain, and no inlay glued in yet. I may try Norm’s approach on the that one.

But solving the first (and larger, main) table top will dictate how to apply the finish on the second and on both bases to make sure the finish matches.

What I hadn’t expected was the difficulty of getting the gel stain even near the tape, and in attempting to do so meant accidentally pulling some tape out while wiping and still getting some stain in the groove, and in other places almost gluing in the tape as the stain dried. My lack of experience here I’m sure contributed to the difficulties. But at this point, I’m not sure how to proceed.

I only did one of the two table tops. If I screwed something up, I wanted to learn from the mistakes and correct it going forward. As you can see in the pics, there is some uneven cover. I’ll be looking to see if it’s grain or pulling too much off. I saw it during the wipe-down, but couldn’t get it to recover correctly.

Can I fix that with a “spot” coat of GC?

I have one more coat (if all goes right) before top-coats. I’m using GF Georgian Cherry and Java gel stains. First coat is GC. I want this to be a solid base coat. Second coat will be a 50/50 GC and Java mix.

• Retape the groove but cut tape low to the surface to prevent pulling it out when wiping off the stain
• Glue the inlay – at this point, the sealer 1 lb. shellac and 1st coat of stain will protect the wood, and any squeeze-out should pop right off.
  • After gluing in, cover with shellac. I have purchased micro brushes to help make sure I get the whole inlay but not the table top.
  • Problem here – flushing to surface (which was part of the original discussion). Must not damage the surface/stain, and can it be repaired if so?

Other? Still thinking this over . . .

My wife likes this idea, so now, since we were going to have TWO corner tables for different spots, we are now having TWO NESTED pair.

How did recovering from a mistake end up in FOUR TIMES THE WORK?

(That’s how I explain it to her. To me, it’s 4x the reason to be in the shop to try to stay halfway on schedule. But don’t tell anyone!)

The hard part was the very short sides. I figured that out using a sliding fence and 90 deg stop and clamps to hold the table top in place. Worked like a charm. Then, I got smart.

Thinking I had the hard part licked, I assumed I’d be able to run the long sides along a tall fence on edge, and because I had plenty of length, I would be able to make these cuts in a straight forward manner.

But the termite gods were not to have any of it. The cuts were all different, and 2 out of 3 were not even straight along their length. In one place, the bevel reached all the way to the inlay, cutting just barely into it.

And no, I’m not posting pics of the damage.

Needless to say, the top is now useless until the inlay is cut away, and the top is resized to become the first NESTED corner table.

TAKE THAT TERMITE GODS! TO HELL WITH ALL OF YOU!!

{to all those proper, lady-like woodworkers, I beg your forgiveness for my outburst and language ;-) }

With the base glued up, time to prepare the top for finishing.

Will coat the inlay with shellac as Norm did on the Nest of Tables. Then seal coat the whole piece. The gel stain recipe goes on next, top-coated finally with poly.

Here is the top after leveling the inlay and scraping. With poplar’s grain, you can see where some is almost mirror smooth, and some is open grain. This is no sanding, just hand scraping.

Here, although the focus is on the scraper results, the inlay is in there.

Since my legs were all the same length, flushing the leg top to the apron now means the table top is not level (starting on a level surface, of course).

But I also want to be sure the legs are square to the top. Visually, you might see it if it’s not. At least I always spot a picture the least off kilter ;-)

I’ll adjust the legs by sanding the feet to bring the table back level.

Also, while flush trimming the top to a template, the 90 degree corner at the back of the table top chipped away, so that was cleaned up and fixed. No problem.