Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 22

Thread: Your underside

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Enchanted land of beer, cheese & brats
    Posts
    1,314

    Question Your underside

    How much attention (flat, smooth) do you pay to the underside of a table, of a drawer bottom, a panel that's not gonna be seen?
    I got cash in my pocket. I got desire in my heart....

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Houston TX
    Posts
    548
    I stop when flat, with light cuts with the grain with a jointer. No smoother.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Charlotte, MI
    Posts
    1,523
    As little as possible. Fore plane marks, spelching, tearout, its all fair game. No reason to get all fancy with it.
    Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
    Posts
    27,347
    Blog Entries
    1
    If it won't leave splinters in someone, it is done.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  5. #5
    I find that when someone is sitting at a table, they almost always rub the underside of the table top edge, just as much as they rub the top. People always rub the finish, they relish the smoothness and depth.

    This was pointed out to me by a long time woodworker a few years back, and I see folks do it whenever I show them a table. Consequently, I finish the underside of the top much like the upper surface, at least as far as the trestle, apron, or whatever, within reach of the hand.

    Otherwise, if you can't see it, or feel it, I don't worry about it, other than complimentary finish so nothing warps.

    Doug

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Mandalay Shores, CA
    Posts
    2,690
    Blog Entries
    26
    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Trembath View Post
    I find that when someone is sitting at a table, they almost always rub the underside of the table top edge, just as much as they rub the top. People always rub the finish, they relish the smoothness and depth.

    This was pointed out to me by a long time woodworker a few years back, and I see folks do it whenever I show them a table. Consequently, I finish the underside of the top much like the upper surface, at least as far as the trestle, apron, or whatever, within reach of the hand.

    Otherwise, if you can't see it, or feel it, I don't worry about it, other than complimentary finish so nothing warps.

    Doug
    I'm with Doug here. However, I've been told that in competitions, the backs, bottoms, etc... are judged as well. That's odd as most antiques are very rough in the non-show side. Don't get me going on their dovetails.
    Shawn

    "no trees were harmed in the creation of this message, however some electrons were temporarily inconvenienced."

    "I resent having to use my brain to do your thinking"

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Williamsburg,Va.
    Posts
    12,402
    Future curators might be frustrated with us. They use tool marks,etc. identify makers and glean date from them.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Posts
    6,393
    Quote Originally Posted by george wilson View Post
    Future curators might be frustrated with us. They use tool marks,etc. identify makers and glean date from them.
    This is a distinct possibility with your work, George - probably a strong likelihood.

    My stuff? No curator will be called in.
    When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Kent A Bathurst View Post
    My stuff? No curator will be called in.
    This goes for my work as well. However, I do smooth both sides of a table apron and the top that will lie outside it when assembled. The backside of the aprons is a newer development. I made a table that was not pleasant to lift a couple of years ago (sharp inside corners). Now they are smooth.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Charlotte, MI
    Posts
    1,523
    Quote Originally Posted by george wilson View Post
    Future curators might be frustrated with us. They use tool marks,etc. identify makers and glean date from them.
    I hope to confound the hell out of future curators....
    Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Enchanted land of beer, cheese & brats
    Posts
    1,314
    OK so have the underside be kindly to the touch, unless its gonna be in a show, then it better be shiny.

    If future curator's are looking at my furniture it will only be for a good laugh.
    Last edited by Judson Green; 07-02-2014 at 9:15 AM.
    I got cash in my pocket. I got desire in my heart....

  12. #12
    I'm in the old school 18th century camp like Zach. I leave tool marks on undersides and interiors but at least a couple of coats of finish get applied. I know that it has been proven that properly selected, oriented, and dried wood will not warp with finish on only one side, but I still can't break the habit of partially believing the old saw about finishing both sides to prevent warping.
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Enchanted land of beer, cheese & brats
    Posts
    1,314
    But both you and Zach wouldn't leave splintery mess on the underside of a table, right?
    I got cash in my pocket. I got desire in my heart....

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Charlotte, MI
    Posts
    1,523
    Quote Originally Posted by Judson Green View Post
    But both you and Zach wouldn't leave splintery mess on the underside of a table, right?
    I wouldn't because I've never seen a period piece left that way. A small wound from a splinter could cause big problems in a pre-antibiotic world, so you don't see things like that in areas that could easily injure the end user. I don't remember where I heard this, but it makes sense to me.
    Last edited by Zach Dillinger; 07-02-2014 at 1:34 PM.
    Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.

  15. #15
    I don't leave any splinters because that is not period workmanship, but rather just poor workmanship. Zach is right about infected wounds in pre-antibiotic days. My maternal G-grandmother Farley died of blood poisoning 5 days after cutting herself with a kitchen knife back around 1900.
    Dave Anderson

    Chester, NH

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •