Ok, in the last week I installed a nice wall-hung bookcase in the girls' room as well as raised the beds so under-bed storage bins could be used. I also installed new lighting so that each girl would have their own "local" source of light for reading as well as general room light and put in an Arc Fault breaker just for good measure. With the dresser moved over under the new shelving there is a nice space between the beds and lights that was calling out to me..."Build something to go here!" So I did. Consider this yet another "spontaneous project" whanged out from available materials, just as the shelving was.
This table is relatively small at 16 1/2" deep by 37" wide and 28 1/2" tall...perfect for things that young girls do in front of a mirror. Just coincidently, there is already a mirror on the wall right above where the table will go! Sheesh! The legs are poplar milled to 1 3/4" square and the rest of the framing is scrap plywood. The top is black walnut off the property...a panel I had in the rack that was originally intended as the bottom interior "shelf" for an aborted sideboard project. It has a little bit of sap in it and is not particularly grain matched, but it really does look nice anyway.
Construction was what "A-the-younger" (the younger of the two girls we are adopting) termed "Frast, Papa, Frast!"...pocket screws. Yes, this is a "wham, bang, thank you mam" project. I started it at 3pm and put the last color coat on the base at 9pm tonight. Over the next few days, I'll spray on a few coats of clear finish on the base and already-oiled top to complete the project.
Pics:
- That space between the lights and beds is where this puppy is going to go
- All the components were cut, milled and made ready for assembly. Those poplar legs were a good testament as to how quickly the changeover between jointing and planing is on my MM machine as I actually did a few iterations to take one 4' long 1 13/16" thick board and turn it into four 28" long, 1 3/4" square (and smooth) legs. The rest of the material was just plywood scraps ripped to width and cut to length.
- Pocket screw construction was chosen because of the speed it offered
- Since I was mating 1 3/4" material with 3/4" material, I just used the bench and the WonderDogs to clamp the legs and front and back aprons
- Same for assembling the shorter end-aprons to the already-assembled front and back assembly