Kitchen Side Table – Project of the Week
This week’s project comes from Kevin. When he’s not begging me to live in my shop, he’s plugging away building projects in Girard, PA. He’s a part-time woodworker and hopes that some day he can make the leap to full time. Like many of us, he is self taught and learned most of what he knows from books, David Marks, and Norm. He’s been woodworking now for about 6 years. Let’s take a look at Kevin’s Table.
In Kevin’s own words:
I was approached by a friend to build a tall kitchen side table to act as a work surface, and to accommodate the occasional use of bar stools. The base was to be painted white with tapered legs. I chose poplar construction for the legs and aprons because it takes paint beautifully. The table top was to be red oak to match the existing cabinetry, but I wanted something special in the design. I went through some books and found a frame and panel design I liked. I changed it a bit to suit my needs and it came out great! The top was finished with a color-matched stain and 4 coats of durable polyurethane. Project payment included the best apple pie I’ve had yet made on the newly completed table.
Personally I have never tried a natural wood and painted project like this. Very cool! I am sure many of you will have the same questions I do about finish and construction specifics. So spill the beans Kevin!
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Wow Kevin – really great job! The gentile arc of the stretchers is a nice touch and the figure of the oak is incredible! Very well done :)
Nice looking finish on the oak. Did you use a grain/pore filler?
Jim / No. Va.
Niiiice! So what Marc said: How about some detail on the construction. Are those veneered panels? Don’t tell my wife you work so cheap. She’ll get rid of me if she finds out she can get the pieces she wants by paying with food. I told her it’d cost a shop and new equipment.
very beautiful, amazing piece. I am also curious about the panels, I don’t see any joint lines, is that veneer. Nice touch with the angled panels.
You are ready for full time.
Hey guys! Thanks for the great comments! Regarding the construction questions, the frame and panels are assembled with spline joinery and biscuited at the corners. Since I still lack a vacuum press, I had to rely on a local source that provides me with some quality plywood for the panels. (Note: angling the panels this way is pretty wasteful, but I really liked the look!) I did not use any pore filler Jim, just stain and poly. And Vic, the pie I got for this was a very nice touch, but I’m afraid I did also request some cash!!! :)
Thanks again everybody!
I love the table the especial the contrast of natural finish and the paint. Just one question, wouldn’t the two strechers (for a lack of a better term) be a concern for expansion/contraction w/ the plywood panels?
Thanks for letting us know you demanded cash. I will now sleep easier, knowing I’m not gettin’ the boot anytime soon.
Hey Vic, I’m really glad to hear your sleeping and living arrangements won’t be disrupted! :)
Pete, I think your talking about the two dividers between the three plywood panels. (I hope that’s right!) Expansion and contraction on these parts will occur mostly across the width, which should be minimal and won’t affect the panels. (There’s a rule of thumb here that I can’t recall it right now….1/8″ of movement per 12″ of width maybe? probably wanna look that up! It differs a bit based on species.) I could have further limited wood movement by using quartesawn red oak here, but since these parts aren’t very wide to begin with, there wasn’t really a need.
Hope I answered your question well enough! I try but I’m no Wood Whisperer! :)
Kevin,
That does answer my question. Thanks!
Kevin,
Really nice work! I like the contrast in color. I just finished a set of nesting tables that appeared in Wood Magazine. Like usual, I come to the finishing and freeze. I’ve tried following advice and the routine of a piano refinisher:dye stain,filler,glaze, sealcoat and finish,etc. I can not get the oak grain to fill and my color is all wrong. Maybe it’s back to natural stain and poly; usually works. Enjoyed your pictures. Any help from anyone on filling grain and staining would be appreciated.
Rich