95 replies to this topic

[Sandy is my wizard]

Looks like he spent a lot of time with it

[Ashe]

something to be said for working with your hands

[Sandy is my wizard]

I'm sure he would have had a few tools to make the job quicker

[sassmore4u]

i can't help it, he has beautiful wood

[Ashe]

hard wood is best.

[Zach]

So this may be a bit pre-emptive, but I'm bored and have pictures.

The most current project is a dining room table. My current dining room table was left behind in my house when I bought it, and has served well...but its a bit 70's, and I can do better. After doing some research, I decided to make it out of Mahogany - Khaya, or Africa Mahogany, to be exact. The main thing that made me choose that species of Mahogany is price - everything has a budget.

 DSCF0335_resized.jpg   341.81K   0 downloads  DSCF0336_resized.jpg   321.89K   1 downloads
 DSCF0337_resized.jpg   341.92K   1 downloads

It is made to expand to hold 10-12 people. I just installed the spreaders today, these pictures were taken a few days ago. Its not finished, I haven't quite decided how/what stains to put on, but like I said, I'm bored and have the pictures. I was tempted to make a butterfly leaf table, where the leaf basically folds out from a hidden spot inside the table, but decided that would be rather difficult - you have to build your own hardware for those most of the time. While not under a time constraint for this, I do have other projects that need to be done before early January.

[hungarianhorntail]

please leave that beauty either raw or clear varnish. the color patterns are beautiful. imho it would be a shame to stain that wood.

[Zach]

Raw isn't an option, the wood will constantly pick up and release moisture, eventually resulting in warpage - if something isn't spilled on it first. A clear varnish is an option that I've thought about, but stain (or at least the stains I like) will often bring out more grain and make the piece even more beautiful. Right now I'm considering clear varnish, clear shellac then varnish, amber shellac then varnish, or Watco's Red Mahogany stain then varnish. I have samples of all of those on my table right now, I wanted them to dry 24 hours before I decide or put another coat on them.

Whatever is decided, its going to need heavy protectant to shield it from foot, water, and other bruises.

[hungarianhorntail]

that's awesome, can't wait to see the finished product!

[The One]

that is a beautiful piece of workmanship, no doubt.

[LusciousWebb]

Looks pretty good..I surprising do miss doing wood working

[random]

can you make table?

[Zach]

I actually DID finish the table.

 DSCF0352_resized.jpg   330.72K   0 downloads  DSCF0353_resized.jpg   320.81K   0 downloads  DSCF0354_resized.jpg   334.6K   0 downloads

I finished it about a month after the previous post, October/Novemberish. Wanted to have it upstairs before taking pictures of it, but needed to shorten the legs...in order to do that, I needed chairs. I was trying to make chairs to go with it, and failed miserably/got horribly frustrated. I caved and bought four, to buy the other two later....my parents gave me the other two for Christmas. Finish is 2 coats amber shellac, 1 coat dewaxed shellac, followed by countless coats of semi-gloss varnish.

Since then I've made a box for the girlfriends Christmas present, a few picture frames, and a couple of cutting boards in a zig zag design. I forgot to take pictures of all of these. I might be able to get a picture of one of the cutting boards.

Next up is a toss up between a spice rack, end tables for the couch, a dresser, a bookshelf, an entertainment center....the damn list keeps growing. One of the first two though, probably.

[Zach]

By the way, the table expands 64 inches to accommodate leaves and expansion.

[random]

Now that, is a mighty fine table.

[Chobie]

awesome work