# Figured Maple and Walnut Coffee Table



## bohnsai (Sep 19, 2010)

*Getting started*

I figured I'd start a blog about a project from start to finish so other readers can follow my progress and hopefully learn from my inevitable mistakes in the process ;-)

I also wanted to show readers how to make complex furniture with limited tools and space.

So a little about the project: I sold my crappy yet still somewhat pricey plywood and veneer coffee table/end tables a little while ago on Craigslist and have been desperately needing to fill the void. My eventual goal is to not have any store bought furniture (sans couch, chair, and Very nice dinning room suite).

I saw a recent project on LJ for a set of tables I really liked. I liked the raised table top design and wanted to do something similar for my coffee table top.

The local(ish) lumber store had a huge sale this weekend and I found a giant board of birdseye maple that I just couldn't pass up. I was deliberating on whether to use cherry or walnut for the rest of the table. However, the lumber store had some gorgeous air-dried figured walnut with lots of sap wood on sale too. So that pretty much made up my mind.

So here's a couple of teaser shots of the birdseye maple top. It is still rough on the edges and the faces need sanded.



















and a close up of the figure.

So Step One: Rough Cut to length

I use AutoCad to create plans when needed. I then figure out how big all the pieces will be and then start chopping boards into more manageable sizes, usually no more than 4 or 5 feet long










I just use my old Dewalt Miter Saw. It isn't anything fancy but I do use a really nice 1/8 kerf Freud Crosscut blade and a zero clearance insert I made. 1/8" is HUGE for a cross cut saw but I've had tremendous luck with it!

I always cut about 1/2 to and inch more than needed as most of the board edges are still rough which impacts the square of the cut.

Normally for the next step I would plane the stock down to thickness using a planer but fortunately these boards are at least S2S and already fairly smooth on the faces.

Also, the maple is EXTREMELY figured and the walnut also exhibits some figure in it as well. For anyone that hasn't worked in figured wood, it does not plane well and you can get a lot of tear out. This will be my first experiment in birdseye maple and just from the look of it, I'm more than scared to try and surface plane it. Instead I will just sand out any rough spots and finish off with a scraper.

Step Two: Lets get some straight edges!

I do not own a jointer. I know, I know, but I have no room for one (nor cash as I keep spending it on wood!)

So to get straight edges I use a massive template bit in a router for longer boards and a sled for the table saw for shorter pieces. Since most of my boards are less than 4 foot long, I will opt for the table saw sled.

For edge glued pieces, I use the Freud Glue Line Rip. This is an excellent blade for getting supper fine edges with the table saw.

For starters, I just need a relatively flat face to put against the fence.

*More pics to come!*


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## Marc5 (Apr 1, 2009)

bohnsai said:


> *Getting started*
> 
> I figured I'd start a blog about a project from start to finish so other readers can follow my progress and hopefully learn from my inevitable mistakes in the process ;-)
> 
> ...


You scored some nice stock for the project. Please keep posting your progress.


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## mattg (May 6, 2008)

bohnsai said:


> *Getting started*
> 
> I figured I'd start a blog about a project from start to finish so other readers can follow my progress and hopefully learn from my inevitable mistakes in the process ;-)
> 
> ...


You don't want that maple, really. Give it to me!!!


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## bohnsai (Sep 19, 2010)

*2nd weekend*

So last week I left off getting a straight edge on all my boards to start out with.

The jig I use for the table saw is below. I got all the boards cut last weekend but just didn't get around to updating the blog until today.










So it figures that while thinking about this project during the week, I decided to change it a bit. It'll likely go through about half a dozen design revisions before I'm done with it 

Step Three: Panel Glue Ups!

I decided I was going to just use the biscuit joiner for everything on the this project, including the panels. I have a panel glue bit for the router but since I'm going to be able to see end grain on the top, I opted to skip it and just go with a flat edge.

Here is the top and shelf glued up for starters



















For the shelf I've added a maple strip to either side of the panel for and inlay looking effect. Now I haven't used biscuits on these piece yet as they will be bordered by walnut again.

I will note that once I get a panel clamped up, I will take it off the work table put it on end and move some of the clamps to the other side of the panel. This helps equalize the clamping pressure on the panel

After waiting most of the day for the glue to dry, I trimmed the shelf to size and put the other bit of maple edge. Yes I'm gluing face to end grain, and yes I know about wood movement. However, I have many tops like this, some 15 yrs old and never had a problem with the seasonal movement when using walnut and maple. Oak, that is a different story. Plus once I cut the biscuits for the final edge, it will be much stronger and resist movement better.










Step Four: Finish the maple top.

While waiting for the shelf to dry, I started working on the Birdseye Maple top.

First I took the belt sander to the underside and flattened it out a bit. Next, I trimmed it up using a crosscut sled on the table saw. Finally it started to look like a top.

This Birdseye Maple board had a couple of cracks and checks from drying, not surprising given the figure. Instead of putty, I used the super glue/sawdust trick to fill in the cracks. After waiting for the glue to dry I took the belt sander to the top.

Then I got out the cabinet scrapper and started to scrape it. And scrape it, and scrape it!

Finally, once it was flat, I took a 1/8 round over bit and treated the edge










Finally, since the maple top is going to sit about 1/2 inch higher than the walnut border, I wanted to add some thickness to it so the bottom edge of the walnut would be flush with the maple.

I was originally going to glue the top to a piece of 1/2" MDF but it already weighs a ton. Instead I cut 2" strips of MDF and glued those to the edge.










So tomorrow when it finally dries, I can start putting the walnut border on it.

I was originally going to go with keyed miter corners but I'm still a little worried about wood movement and wanted a stronger joint. So instead I'm going to go with a loose tenon reinforced rail and stile joint. I will copy this approach on the shelf as well.


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## bohnsai (Sep 19, 2010)

*Second Weekend part two*

I left off with the top being glued to some MDF risers. This morning I finish sanded it and put on two coats of lacquer. I will oil the walnut but I didn't want to Maple any darker so I figured I'd lacquer it so when it's all built up, the oil wont get into the maple top.

Step 5: Finishing the Shelf

I ripped the walnut border to length and laid it out to get an idea where to cut the biscuits. The center piece was a very clear piece of face grained walnut, so when I went to the lumber store to buy the edge boards (It was originally going to be maple) I found a really nice clear piece of quarter sawn walnut in the pile. I couldn't find any more so for the remaining pieces I took a left over piece of face grained board, and ripped two boards out of it so that they were mostly edge grain.










There is still some face grain showing on the ends but I think it still looks good.

My workbench is nothing more than a table saw extension (no space remember) which usually gets so cluttered while working, I have to take an hour or two to un-bury the saw when I need it!

To aid in biscuit joining, I use my wonderfully simplistic hold down clamp as a stop block. It is nothing more than a hold down clamp, piece of plywood, and a expanding miter slot bar from Rockler.










Next it's time to cut the grooves for the splines. The boards are slightly over 3/4" thick as they will need a lot of sanding later. To cut the grooves, I use a slot cutter on the router table. Instead of trying to locate the exact center of the board, I first measure 1/4" from the bottom and cut all the boards. Since I can only feed the stiles from one direction, some of the grooves will be above center, the others below. To correct this, I flip around the board and raise the bit so that the top edge is now inline with the groove. I then cut all the boards again, effectively widening the groove a bit so that there is 1/4" material on top and on bottom of the groove.










Next I cut the splines. No secret here, just a lot of trial and error making sure they aren't too thin, too narrow, or just the opposite. I then test fit the whole assembly (minus biscuits) and mark which splines go where.

And finally, I clamp the whole mess together, and by mess I mean glue everywhere 










And since I'm out of long pipe clamps for the moment, I'll call it quits until next weekend!


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## Porosky (Mar 10, 2009)

bohnsai said:


> *Second Weekend part two*
> 
> I left off with the top being glued to some MDF risers. This morning I finish sanded it and put on two coats of lacquer. I will oil the walnut but I didn't want to Maple any darker so I figured I'd lacquer it so when it's all built up, the oil wont get into the maple top.
> 
> ...


Thanks, I'm really enjoying this blog. I wish there was more of this kind of stuff on here. You are actually building something. Good job. Can't wait till next week.


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## bohnsai (Sep 19, 2010)

*Weekend #4 Finishing touches on the top and shelf*

Don't have a lot of time to write tonight but a picture is worth a thousand word right? So here are some progress pics of this week. Construction for the top is similar to the shelf: biscuits and maple splines.










Here is the bottom shelf wetted with mineral spirits.

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and detail of spline










Here I've used tape for the top so I don't have to mark the actual wood for biscuit locations










Here is a close up of some repair I had to do to one of the walnut top boards. There was a not so minor check on one end so I used a 1/8 kerf and cut it out, cut a sliver of walnut and glued it in. I also had an area of pitch showing so I hollowed it out and filled it with superglue and sawdust. It's a little difficult to see in this pic but in it in the bottom right corner. I'll take a close up when it is all done. Right now everything is just dry fitted.










Here is the top all glued up. Since the pipe clamps put a ton on pressure on the boards, they tend to bend a little, to counteract this, I used some spare board to stiffen the top. Once dry, it will be flat as opposed to curved.



















And here are some pics of the finished top.

Something I did skip mentioning here is that while trimming the walnut edges of the top. I ran into some issues with the router. The walnut is heavily figured which can be disastrous if not dangerous to use a router on. I always check the edges of figured (or any wood for that matter) for checks or splits, etc. However, that doesn't always mean there is a hidden split under the surface.

And I ran into that exact issue on one of the long edges. While using a flush trim bit, a huge chunk got snagged and got ripped right out of the edge. So I ended up having to trim about 1/2 off the edge. So instead of a 4 inch border I was left with 3.5. Disaster recovered and if I didn't mention it, no one would know and that is all that matter right?


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## dub560 (Jun 4, 2010)

bohnsai said:


> *Weekend #4 Finishing touches on the top and shelf*
> 
> Don't have a lot of time to write tonight but a picture is worth a thousand word right? So here are some progress pics of this week. Construction for the top is similar to the shelf: biscuits and maple splines.
> 
> ...


damn ..that looks great man
thank's for posting cause i'm always learning from you guys you know


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

bohnsai said:


> *Weekend #4 Finishing touches on the top and shelf*
> 
> Don't have a lot of time to write tonight but a picture is worth a thousand word right? So here are some progress pics of this week. Construction for the top is similar to the shelf: biscuits and maple splines.
> 
> ...


It looks great.

How did the superglue and swadust work for you. 
The last time I tried that with oak it turned the white oak to brown. I guess with walnut it won't be visible.


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