11 – Arts and Crafts Table (4 of 4) – Finishing

Video - March 8, 2007

In the final part of this episode, I show you how to make a curved template for the bottom rails. I also discuss joinery, finishing, and glue ups. I also show you what I find to be the easiest way to attach a solid table top to a base. This episode moves fast so hang on to your hats!

Products Used

Festool Domino
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Discussion

Stephane Daigle March 9, 2007 6:39 am

Hi Marc,
I just wanted to point out a safety hazard I noticed on this video. While you were working on the router, a lace or string from you shirt was dangling quite close to the router bit as it was spinning.

Great site! I am learning a lot and itâ

Reply
Dan March 9, 2007 11:45 am

I love the table, but is it strong enough without a lower stretcher between the legs?

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Warren White March 9, 2007 12:42 pm

Marc,
I am really enjoying your videos! Each time I learn new things. They have become a very important part of my woodworking education.

I notice from this issue and your shop tour that you have a Jet 14″ band saw. I just purchased mine at our local Woodcraft. I bought the 6″ riser and would like your opinions on an aftermarket blade. I will probably just purchase one or two, so what do you recommend for general purpose use? If I do any resawing, what do you recommend for that?

Thanks again for a great resource!

Warren

Reply
thewoodwhisperer March 9, 2007 1:58 pm

Hey Dan. I do think the table would be strong enough without the bottom stretchers. It would be more like a dining room table that way. I see no major problems building it that way.

Warren:
For most of my work, I use Timberwolf blades:
http://astore.amazon.com/thewo.....0&y=0

Another brand that gets really great reviews is Lennox. http://www.lenoxsaw.com/

Either one will give you a premium cut whether for general use or veneer slicing.

Marc

Reply
nick March 9, 2007 2:55 pm

when pre-finishing a peice, do you just apply the first coat or totally finish the piece, then glue up?

Reply
thewoodwhisperer March 9, 2007 3:24 pm

I totally finish the piece. Sometimes after the glueup you might need to do a little touch up here and there but thats no big deal. This type of strategy doesnt work for every piece, but it can certainly save you alot of headaches when the final piece has lots of hard to reach places.

marc

Reply
Warren White March 9, 2007 4:49 pm

Thanks for the recommendation on Timberwolf blades. Can you make specific recommendations on which one (or two)? There are a bazillion choices there ;)

Warren

Reply
nick March 9, 2007 4:59 pm

i should have pre-finished this night table i made…glue squeeze out is no one’s friend.

Reply
thewoodwhisperer March 9, 2007 6:37 pm

That is a lot of blades on that page. :)

If you are looking to slice veneers, go for the 1/2″ 6 TPI. Some would recommend doing for 3/4″, but I prefer the 1/2″ since its more versatile. For general resawing, you can go with less TPI, something like 3 would be good. But I usually get 6 TPI and keep that in the saw. Changing blades is no fun. Kinda like cleaning squeezout. :)

Reply
Almerino March 12, 2007 2:30 am

I am a woodworker myself but I need your opinoin how can we bend wood for an item like the console table which has a curve apron rail.

Reply
thewoodwhisperer March 12, 2007 7:55 am

Hey Almerino. I will email some ideas.

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Skee March 15, 2007 10:55 am

Wood Whisperer,

I really enjoyed the episode, all 4 parts. Designing, milling, finishing, construction. It is all there. Excellent.

I did notice something of interest – you had a blanket under the piece as you did the glue up / assembly process. I figure this is to protect both the piece and the workbench surface. What a great idea! I had never seen this before, but it makes complete sense and makes me say “Ah, I should have done that years ago.” And I liked the south western theme of the blanket – great sense of place in your shop.

Winona, MN

Reply
scott b March 16, 2007 8:17 am

Been meaning to ask, in the intro segment to the show, you have a small bench (or possibly footstoof)… Have you posted that elsewhere, or is there any info you’d like to share on its construction? (here or over at Lumberjocks?) It’s a nice looking piece (one I’d like to try, and with all the veneered pieces leading up to it, it’s one I feel comfortable trying!

Thanks!

Reply
thewoodwhisperer March 16, 2007 11:21 am

Hey Scott. Thats a little child’s sitting bench (or foot stool) that I made as a prototype. The construction is primarily mortise and tenon but I dont really have much info on the details. It was a quick one-off type thing. I can email you as much detail as I remember, but I dont really have any pics or anything showing the process.

Marc

Reply
Ron Jones April 22, 2007 2:03 pm

Marc, great site. I enjoyed the 4 segments for the arts and craft table. Could you repeat the stages / coats of finish for the table. ie. Minwax stain and then . . .

Thanks in advance

Ron

Reply
thewoodwhisperer April 23, 2007 7:24 am

Sure Ron. The table was hit with the Minwax cherry stain first, followed by a coat of pre-catalyzed sealer (Sherwin Williams). Then a light 320 grit sanding. THen about 4 coats of Sherwin Williams Precatalyzed Lacquer.

Reply
Gui August 23, 2007 6:07 pm

Question from a novice woodworker – how do you stain the table top? Do you first stain one side, let it dry, then the other side? Or is there a technique to do top/bottom at the same time? Not sure where I would leave the table top resting without damaging the finish….

Reply
thewoodwhisperer August 23, 2007 8:14 pm

Hi Gui. I usually stain one side at a time. There is no easy way to stain both sides of a table top of that size.

Reply
Tony Carlisle November 30, 2008 7:02 pm

Mark,
I can’t tell you how much I enjoy your website, especially the video podcasts. I am kind of new to this type of woodworking, furniture making I have a small company located in Southeast Michigan. What we do is manufacture and install custom closets and commercial cabinets, countertops. I have a lot of equipment for that type of work, but not many for fine woodworking. Slowly obtaining tools. I have learned to not tcomprimise and purchase inferier tools. I’d rather save for the good ones like Powermatic.

I just completed viewing the series of videos on the arts and crafts table. It was great. Would love to have that domino….

I have learned so much from you, and i just wanted to thank you and Nichole for all of your hard work. You probably do not remember me, but I met you at the Atlanta 08 show. I remember pulling my wife over to meet you. Saying this is the guy who whispers to wood. It was a real big deal to me, and so cool to meet you.. You and Nichole were walking down an aisle and I recognized you even though you had Nichole’s name tag on. You told me that you wear it so no one will recognize you. It didn’t work, Ha, Ha,.. My wife, who was with me really got a kick out of that.

Anyway, I click onto your site daily, and look forward to many more of your great sense of humor, projects, instructions, and all of the other information you share.

The very best to you and Nichole. Thank you again.

Tony

Reply
thewoodwhisperer November 30, 2008 8:36 pm

Hey Tony! I think I do remember you guys actually. It was the comment about Nicole’s nametag that brought the memory back, lol. I am flattered by your comments. I truly appreciate it.
Good luck to you as you get deeper into the craft. And hopefully I’ll see ya around. By the way, if you are in the Atlanta area this coming weekend, I will be at the Roswell Woodcraft Dec. 5th and 6th. Stop by if you can.
Thanks again buddy!

Reply
Gary June 30, 2010 1:41 pm

Sorry if I did not catch it, but what wood was this made of? I think it looks great.

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer June 30, 2010 1:46 pm
  
  The wood is alder but has a cherry stain on it.
  
  Reply
Graham September 13, 2010 2:12 pm

Been following your wood whispering antics from across the pond for some time and apart from the strange foreign accent and terminology, e.g. jointers, inches, and egg-plants(?), I’ve found the videos to be very informative (for a relative novice like myself) and your presentation trully engaging. I feel inspired now to go out and build my first bird-box – well you have to start somewhere! The only problem now is my wife thinks you’re cute and has started hogging the computer so she can watch the show too :)
Keep up the good work…

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer September 13, 2010 2:29 pm
  
  Wow Graham. I’ll take a compliment like that any day of the week! :) you and your wife are welcome here any time. ;)
  
  Let me know how the bird box comes out.
  
  Reply
Jaze December 26, 2010 9:25 pm

A question on making the bottom rails: Why did you go through the time and effort of making a template for the curve? Since there were only two pieces, why didn’t you just mark the curve on the piece directly, and then follow the same steps that you used to make the template?

I could understand making a template for MANY identical pieces, but it seems to me that you made the same effort for 3 pieces when you only needed 2?

Reply
thewoodwhisperer December 27, 2010 9:30 am

Its a good idea to get into the habit of making templates for all your curves, because you’ll never know when you’ll need them again. And should I ever need to make another one of these tables, I have the template there and ready to go.

Reply
- Jaze December 27, 2010 7:38 pm
  
  Yikes, that seems like I’d be buried in templates soon. I already have a hard time finding places to put jigs…
  
  Reply
PK January 16, 2011 12:36 am

Quick question, well perhaps not so quick. I am just starting into fine woodworking i like the style of this table and am planing to make something similar but in dimensions suitable for a desk. So the question is how would one attach a table top without the use of fasteners. I really love the concept of creating furniture with nothing more than wood and some glue. Off the top of my head it would seem that having the cross members of the skirt have a little superior exposure and make a dado in the table top.

Anyway love the video for great hints/ideas on projects.

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer January 16, 2011 9:59 am
  
  Hey PK. You could always have the top connected to the base via dowels. As long as you allow for movement, you should be fine. Positioning them perfect is going to be a little tricky, but it can be done. If you secure the top into dados on the aprons, you need to figure out a way to allow the wood to move. If you glue the entire thing down, you will have problems down the line.
  
  When it comes to allowing for wood movement, in a solid top, I find it very tricky to avoid using metal fasteners.
  
  Reply
  - PK January 16, 2011 11:39 pm
    
    Ok, that certainly gives me a direction to head in the design process. Taking movement into account it seems that if only 2 of the 4 sides had a dado joint, on the sides that went across the grain, would allow for the lateral expansion of the grain. Perhaps this idea is short sighted. I very well may end up using the figure 8 fasteners. I just wanted to learn some of the options before making a decision, It’s fun knowing the why certain methods are better than others. Anyway thanks for the quick reply :D!!
    
    Reply
    - thewoodwhisperer January 17, 2011 7:20 am
      
      Well if you actually glue the entire dado across the grain, you’ll definitely have problems. You might try gluing only the center part of the dado, leaving the ends unglued, but you will most likely find your table cupping over time. Or I should say if you top decides to cup, the structure isn’t doing anything to prevent it.
PK January 17, 2011 7:15 pm

Hehe yeah that would be a problem. I guess for my own sanity and just K.I.S.S. I will probably go with a fastener like the figure 8 or try the dowel method. Either way I appreciate the input and I will be sure to post the results.

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Ross Ekberg June 29, 2011 11:31 am

Great build, Marc. It’s a nice lookin’ table. My next build needs to be something simple, yet elegant like this.

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jgreasy October 23, 2012 10:34 am

Hi Marc,

this series is great as i am about to start a table of my own. Thanks for keeping these older videos around to go back and reference.

When finishing your parts before glue up isn’t it a problem to get the finish on the shoulders of the mortise and tenon joint? Or is all the strength of the joint supplied by the cheek to cheek contact?

thanks,
Josh

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer October 23, 2012 1:00 pm
  
  Generally speaking, there isn’t much strength in that shoulder. Most times, I don’t even put glue on the shoulder as it just leads to excessive squeezout. The long grain to end grain joint just doesn’t have much impact on the overall strength. It’s all about the cheeks! :)
  
  Reply
Paul D December 26, 2012 11:36 am

Some day I will build my own table. Your really made up my mind. I am slowly starting to buy my tools, making plans and drawing projects. Thank you guys for inspiring me and as far as I can see so many others!

Reply

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11 – Arts and Crafts Table (4 of 4) – Finishing

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