End Tables Part 9

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Greg Merritt

Well as they say, “the best laid plans…”.  Friday I went to purchase the wood that I needed to make the tops and shelves for the end tables.  The first issue was that they did not have enough white oak in stock to fit my needs.  So I settled on some red oak.  It won’t make a lot of difference to the finished tables, but I do prefer white oak over red.  As I was paying for my lumber, the second issue occurred to me.   Continue reading →

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End Tables Part 8

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Greg Merritt

Well I only had enough energy after work to rub out one table base and add a coat of paste wax to it.  If you haven’t used this method with shellac, words nor photos will do it justice.  You have to feel the difference.  Smoooth.

After close inspection and given the high temperature and humidity yesterday, I should have thinned the shellac a little more than I did.  You’ll see in the photo that the shellac was not leveling out before it setup.  Not a huge deal just more rubbing with the steel wool. Continue reading →

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End Tables Part 7

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Greg Merritt

Today was a holiday.  Memorial Day to be exact.  So thank you to all of you who have or do serve in the U.S. military.

As for me I had two tasks that I needed to complete today.  Mow the grass and get three coats of shellac on the table bases.  After my morning  coffee I went out to the shop and burnished the milk paint with 0000 steel wool on all of the show surfaces of the table bases.  Then I wiped all the dust off of them and applied a sealing coat of shellac to every surface.  While that was drying I mowed some grass.  By now it was in the low 80’s here.  Then I took a break and drank a stout.  Then it was time for coat no2 of shellac and another stout.  Back to mowing.  Then a break and another stout.  Then shellac coat no3 and a celebratory stout.  Like I said in a previous post, the milk paint is now smooth and has a deeper color.  There will be a nice even sheen once the shellac is rubbed out and a couple coats of paste wax are applied.

So now the grass is mowed, there are three coats of shellac on my table bases and I’m low on stout.  All in all a pretty productive day.  Hopefully after work tomorrow I’ll be able to rub out the shellac with steel wool and apply a coat or two of paste wax and move them into the house.  Which is important because my shop is so small that I have to move the bases out in order to have enough room to work on the tops and shelves. I still need to buy some white oak and glue up panels for the tops and shelves, but next weekend should see these tables completed.

Part 6 Greg Merritt Part 8

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End Tables Part 6

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Greg Merritt

I almost didn’t post this.  I love using milk paint and am a little worried that photos from mid process will scare folks off trying it.  It’s kinda like showing a sausage making video right before breakfast.

I use real milk paint.  It comes in powder form and you mix it with water.  If its pre-mixed in a can it’s not real milk paint.  Since you mix it yourself, you can control the consistency.   Continue reading →

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End Tables Part 5

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Greg Merritt

OK, table base #2 is in the clamps.  Everything went fairly smooth today as I prepared the rails and fitted the tenons.  That was until I started to glue up.  I was running out of day and broke cardinal rule #1.  NEVER RUSH. Continue reading →

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Knotted Pull No. 2

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Greg Merritt

Knotted Pull No. 2 consists of a tack knot with a wall knot neck.  The tack knot will give you a more traditional round knob and can be tied with three, four or more strands.  Strictly speaking the tack knot is only called such when it is tied in three strands.  If you tie the same knot with four strands it is then referred to as a manrope knot. Continue reading →

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End Tables Part 4

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Greg Merritt

Just a quick dog and pony of table base #1 out of the clamps.  So far, so good.  Joint lines are all nice and tight and the base is square and sits level with no wobble.  I hope to have table base #2 completed and in the clamps by the end of the long weekend.  We’ll see how that goes. Continue reading →

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End Tables Part 3

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Greg Merritt

Managed to prepare and fit the lower rails for end table #1.  It’s glued and in the clamps.  The rails went, to my surprise,  just a smoothly as the upper rails.  Maybe I’m starting to get the hang of this woodworking thing.  Of course now that I’ve said that end table #2 to will fight me the whole way.

The only real moments of tension for this table base was the glue up.  I think its mostly just in my head though.  I prepare and have Continue reading →

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Knotted Pull No. 1

Posted on May 18, 2014 by Greg Merritt

As promised here is the instructions for creating knotted pull no.1.  This pull consists of four crown knots and one wall knot.  So it is just a simple combination of the knots that I have posted about thus far.  The only twist is that this pull utilizes four strands instead of three.  This is a nice pull for use on small drawers and cabinet doors.  The wall knot at the base of the crown knots can be installed to look like a square or a diamond by simply turning the pull during installation. Continue reading →

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End Tables Part 2

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Greg Merritt

My shop time has been limited as of late.  My day job mostly and, now that spring is here, there is three hours of mowing grass every week.  However I did manage to get into the shop for a couple of hours today and worked on the end tables.  I prepared the top rails for one of the tables and also was able to cut and fit the tenons.

Continue reading →

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