After two coats of a dye mix and numerous coats of satin wiping varnish, the Arched Aurora End Table is serving us well in our living room! I would like to thank Darrell Peart for his design and instruction. This was an incredibly fun project and a great learning experience. The table is made primarily of African Mahogany with ebony plugs. The handle is actually mahogany, but I dyed part of it so it would look like ebony. I thought it really needed this contrast.
And I am sure many of you will be interested to know the exact finish system I used for the table. I basically used a modified version of the recipe published on Darrell’s blog. Darrell’s mixture calls for 7 parts orange and 4 parts medium brown. I decided to try adding 1 part yellow in an effort to increase the highlights. There definitely was a difference on my test boards, but now that I look at the final piece its hard to tell how much of a difference it really made. The topcoat is 6 coats of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal Satin applied using the same methods I discuss in my DVD, A Simple Varnish Finish. Check out the links below if you need a source for these finishing materials.
Product Links:
General Finishes Water Based Dyes
General Finishes Arm-R-Seal
20 Responses to “Finished Aurora Table”
Totally Cool! Great finish. It really looks awesome.
Waw – Awesome result – wish i could go to LA to do a course like that – yeah – europe ***** :o) Naah just kidding – but i do order a lot in the USA :)
Great looking table, I love the style. I am curious as to how you did the drawer. Is there a way you could get a shot with the drawer pulled out a bit?
Marc,
What an attractive piece of woodwork! You should be proud of the result.
How did you achieve the form of the bottom rail? I am currently creating a frame with the same form and have used both a jigsaw and a spokeshave to create the curves and scrolls. I’m sure the method Darrell prefers is much quicker and predictable (bandsaw, perhaps?).
Cheers!
Hey Clark. Check out the blog series, “6 Days to Aurora” to catch some of the construction details. Should answer your question: http://thewoodwhisperer.com/6-.....ora-day-1/
WOW! That’s a beautiful piece. Well done Marc – I’m sure you’ll really enjoy looking at it every time you sit on that lounge.
Great job Mark! I really like the finish.
That thaang is freaking beautiful man.
You did a beautiful job on the table, Marc. The finish is attractive, but maybe slightly higher gloss than I would associate with Arts & Crafts style furniture.
I’m sure your experience on this project will add even more depth and character to your future work.
DD
I think the picture might be a little deceiving. There is nothing but satin on the table. In the light tent, things look a little glossier than they are in regular light.
Marc,
Great piece, from the pictures it looks fantastic.
My question is; if you have built this on your own with
A set of plans would you have came close to what you built
In class or
Were there special techniques to this project that only made it possible by taking the class?
Not knocking the class or instruction I feel it would be a unique adventure!
Well, I could have made a pretty close copy just by looking at a few good pictures of the piece. It would have taken me longer and many things would have been done without the use of a handy jig or template. But it really helps to learn the right way the first time.
The great thing about the class environment is that no matter what level you are, you can get something valuable out of it. The folks that are closer to the beginner side learn a lot about using jigs and specialized joinery. And a more advanced student might walk away with a deeper understanding of Darrell’s design theory and how he develops his concepts and ideas.
So for me, there were no surprising techniques. But I got a glimpse into a building style that was very different than my own, and that alone was worth the price of admission. Whenever I take a class, I try to temporarily forget much of what I know so that I can live in the instructors mind for a few days. Otherwise, my thoughts are polluted by “my way” of doing things. :)
Beautiful table Marc! Question on the finish: I’ve never worked with dyes before, so maybe this is something everyone already knows, but: do you just do one coat with the dyes, then apply the 6 coats of urethane over that, or is the dye mixed into each urethane coat?
Marc -
Great job. I am going to have to learn more about the Green & Green school of design.
Absolutely, Positively Stunning!
A beautiful, tasteful design and very well executed.
DD
Hi Marc,
Would you be open to selling me a full size template of the curved arches and drawer that you used when making the G&G Aurora table? I know this is a terribly unusual question and I sincerely Apologize if I offend you by the question. I obviously am extremely impressed with your talent and could not reproduce that kind of art on your own. This is also the only way that I know to contact you directly and I hope you will read and reply to me.
Thanks very kindly Marc.
Andrew Beard
no can do my friend. The design is not mine. You will want to contact Darrell Peart for something like that: http://furnituremaker.com/
Not sure he’d be willing to do it, but he’s the guy to ask.
Marc ..
Thanks for the quick reply! I completely understand — didn’t think about the author ownership issues. Anyway, you created a very beautiful piece of furniture! One question that perhaps you would be willing to answer is: Did you use a pore filler prior to the dye stains? Or did you just apply the stain w/o any filler? Thanks again Marc.
Andrew
No filler. I like a satin finish on these pieces so the open pored look is perfectly fine for me.