Super quick project- the wrap up

If you tuned in last time, I started a super quick project for my nephew. A toddler sized table. I had some salvaged wood from a scrap bin on hand that I chose for the project.  This is the wrap up of the super quick project.

When I left off I wasn’t sure what I wanted for the legs. I decided on tapers after all.

I drew several different tapers and had a hard time finding one that I didn’t find odd looking- this one looked the least odd to me so I went with it.

It was really easy to gang up all four legs for the cut since they were not very thick.

I decided to break out the hand planes at this stage to clean up the rough bandsaw striations.

And done.

I was happy to find I had planed nice and square without dipping at the ends. Personal win!

Though I liked the look of crisper edges I rounded them all over since this table needs to be toddler friendly.

I had planned to round over the legs everywhere but where the legs and aprons met- to keep a nice crisp joint- but it wasn’t meant to be. I lost focus and once one joint was spoiled I wanted them all to look the same.

Glad that my shop has some natural daylight, it really helps in identifying when I’ve sanded all the machining marks.

I know it’s taboo for some woodworkers but I experimented with wiping glue squeeze out with a damp rag- I find that sometimes I fail to get all the glue with a chisel once it’s dry and it leaves invisible spots that only pop out during finishing. I’m hoping this will speed up finishing- I’ll hit everything with a light sanding just before applying varnish.

The glue up.

Seems I really rushed my glue up as I needed to get home and didn’t realise I had the table twisted in the clamps. As a result the piece had two legs rocking.

I decided that my newly acquired scroll saw was the perfect tool for peeling off a thin amount off the legs. The cuts were silky smooth and straight. I got it leveled in two cuts- no further adjustments.

Like wise the tops of the legs and aprons were affected by the poor glue up I did. There was twist preventing the table top from fitting nice and flat. So I planed it off with my block plane in the vise…

And on the shooting board (end grain shmend grain). I had a sacrificial backer board to prevent blow out.

I drilled and glued two dowels into the aprons to hold the table top on.

I made sure the dowels were glued in the center of the long grain so that the wood could expand and contract freely.

I chose a simple premixed polyurethane/stain. This was my first coat. I then sanded it when it dried and applied a second coat. I’m calling it done.

So I ran into some problems with this project, and basically learned that I don’t do well when rushed, but it came around in the end and looks just fine.

And my sister can pick up this table on Tuesday- the finish should be nice and hard by then.

Thanks for reading!

Next I’ll write a little bit on fixing my table saw alignment, a couple of new projects on my work bench, and another post on projects I did at woodworking school.