Elliptical Ash Coffee Table

[Prashun Patel]

I made this for my sister. It's a replica of an Ethan Allen table, with some alterations.

It's ash.

She wanted it 'espresso'. So, I dyed aniline brown, then stained it with an ebony pigment stain, then shellac and finally Waterlox.

Comments and Critiques welcome!

[Paul Murphy]

Very nice! I hope you took pictures of your construction process, I'm guessing you laminated the apron?

[Lori Kleinberg]

Although I am not a fan of Ethan Allen, I think the table came out very nicely. I really like the color.

[lowell holmes]

I'm impressed. Geat table.

[Joel Wesseling]

Do you mind explaining your waterlox finish? which one and how you applied it. How much thinning etc.. Summary would suffice

Trying to get a grasp on finishes for speaker cabinets..

[Prashun Patel]

Thx for the comments.

Paul, I laminated veneer over a brick-laid core on the apron. The apron is a continuous ring, notched to accept the legs. The stretchers are halflapped in the middle. Loose tenons connect them to the legs. I tapered the legs on the jointer and used an angle grinder, spokeshave, a rasp, and ROS for the shaping.

I use Waterlox Original Sealer Finish (the original one - NOT the VOC compliant formula). I like it best because it applies out of the can with no thinning as a wipe-on finish. You can do the same with the full strength products, but in my experience Waterlox doesn't like mineral spirits that much; it seems to cause mild beading and separation on sfcs cleaned with ms that have not been fully evaporated. Also, the OSF has a nice deeper amber color that the other Waterlox products.

My preferred finishing schedule for a film finish using waterlox osf is:

Sand to 220
Color (if not coloring, sand to 400)
Wipe or spray on several coats of shellac thinned to 1.5#.
Smooth with 400.
Wipe on 3 coats Waterlox OSF. (Give 6-8 hrs dry time between each; I like it to be DRY before wiping each successive coat; the rag glides easier for me. YMMV).
Smooth with 600.
Wipe on 1 or 2 coats Waterlox OSF

That gives a thin, even finish.

If you want more protection, add a couple more iterations in between of 3-coats, sand with 400.

[Kevin Bourque]

Ash is one of the most underused, under loved, and under appreciated furniture woods IMO. Very nice table.

[Jeff Monson]

Very nice Prashun, the design of the legs looks great. I'll have to give ash a try sometime, I've got a very large walnut slab calling my name very soon.

[Joel Wesseling]

Nice Table

I Have to try the Waterlox as a wipe on.. Thanx

[Gordon Eyre]

Well done Prashun. Your table legs are always something to behold and this is no exception. Your sister is lucky to have such a skilled brother.

[Brian Brightwell]

Nice looking table. I have been using some ash lately. It kind of reminds me of a very hard pine.
What with the ash bore spreading, I may be cutting a lot of ash.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks for all the comments. This was actually deceptively challenging for me. The first apron I made cracked and I had to rethink how to connect the legs to it. Lining up the lower stretchers and legs and apron took some trial and error too. The two stretchers are half lapped, but they were then carved to create the curve. Doing that without ending up with brittle short grain tips took some effort too.

Oh yeah, being too cheap to buy a real router jig, I made a template. Routing the edge grain of ash led to some wicked tear out. Lesson learned, buy good trimming bits.