My First Project!

[Gary Lange]

My wife and I have wanted a smaller coffee table for the Greatroom as it is a small room and the one we have just seems to large for it. So I decided that I would build a coffee table as a first project in the shop. It is made from all Maple Hardwood except the drawers which are Birch. The drawers are all doveltailed and everything on this project is a first time for me from making the pieces of molding and drawing the design from a picture and project taken from the Woodsmith Shop.

[G Douglas Fowler]

For a first project you tackled lots of difficult tasks. It is always a good feeling when you finish and know that you conquered a fear that you couldn't pull it off. Bravo! One of my joys in woodworking is always trying to raise the bar with each project and learn something new. Keep at it.

[Todd Hoppe]

Wow! That is a nice first project! (You also have a really nice shop, especially for a guy doing his first project!)

[Dustin Keys]

Great looking first project!

Forgive the newb question, but did you make the feet or buy them? One of the first projects I'm going to do really needs round feet like that but I don't have access to turning equipment. I was hoping that I could find a source to buy them this time.

Thanks,
Dustin

[Gary Lange]

I bought those as I don't have a lath either. I think it was from Rockler.

[Todd McDonald]

Great job.

Please some pictures of your shop....

[Joe Shinall]

That's great Gary. You really nailed all your firsts. I agree with Todd, show us some pics of the shop.

[Gary Lange]

I will get some new ones and post them in the workshop forum.

[Leigh Betsch]

Great looking project! I want to see a pic of that Griz kicking out some dust.

[Jeremy Greiner]

It looks great, be it your 1st or 50th you did a good job.

[johnny means]

Gary, that's a very ambitious first project. You really did an outstanding job. I would say you really have a gift for the craft.

[Gary Lange]

I have to give some credit to the Woodsmith Shop as they were very helpful in the building of this project. The built one similar but much larger then the wife and I wanted so I looked at there design and modeled mine after it but made it smaller. I am really happy with it and just so you know those dark places are not really on the drawers I guess they came from the cameras eye. It took about a month to draw out the plans freehand and get all the sizes figured out, but once that was done it went pretty well. It even surprised me that I was able to do some of the things I did. I have to thank Porter Cable for the Dovetails as there jig made it possible with a little practice and experimenting on scraps I finally got confident that I could do it and they came out perfect. Thanks for all the good comments.

[Joseph D'Orazio]

Wow, thats very nice for a first project. Good job. Thats a lot better than what I am putting out right now.

[Ken Higginbotham]

Nice table. Are the dark places on the end of the drawer fronts planer snipe?

[Marshall Border]

Looks real fine Gary , it appears you have the touch , I know your already thinking about another project - most of us woodworkers are that way .......