Lousy pics of my first "real" project

[Michael Adelong]

Hello everyone. I've been working on my first piece of furniture, so I thought that I would share my progress so far.

I apologize for the picture quality. My camera is not very good. My shop is in the basement with 4 only regular bulbs for lighting, so it always looks like a dungeon in the pictures. It's really not as dark and dingy as it looks. I stuck some plywood from the crate my bandsaw came in behind it for tonight's pictures. (BTW: You guys post some nice looking pictures. Can anyone recommend an economical digital camera that takes better flash pictures for posting than these?)

Last night, I started glue up of the grid assembly (first 2 pics). In the FWW article, the author glued the 6 blocks in between the 3 grid runners, and then ran the whole assembly across the table saw to cut the notches that rest in the notches in the arched stretchers. Is it just me, or did this procedure look unsafe? I opted to clamp all 3 runners together without the blocks to cut the notches in the ends. I'm sure it was more work, but it felt safer to me. I glued in 3 blocks last night, and 3 more along with the last runner this morning.

Tonight, I glued up the base. I took the clamps off briefly to take the last 2 pics. The grid assembly is just sitting on the arched stretchers for now. I'll glue and screw them in place tomorrow morning when I start work on the top. As you can see, I had to "load test" it for sturdiness - It'll be fine.

Advice from this newbie to other newbies. A clear, flat work surface is a must for this sort of thing. Working on anything else seems to cause shop rash on all of the parts. You just can't help dropping a leg onto a clamp sittiing on the work surface every now and then. DAMHIKT

Thanks for looking,
Mike

[Corey Hallagan]

Looking pretty good there Michael. Looking forward to seeing it done and finished!

Corey

[Alan Turner]

Nice looking piece. What is the grain orientation on the spacers in the stretcher assembly? The monitor on the shop PC is not great. Looks like you got a good tight cut on the trough mortises.

[Frank Chaffee]

Michael,
I am considering becoming a novice woodworker, and I am admiring the curves and lines in your furniture piece.
As to your photographs, they are very good.
I would certainly cut the notches as you did as it is foolish to tempt fate.

Frank

Alan, you need a better monitor in your shop.

[Roger Bailey]

From what I see it looks great to me. The joints look square and tight. When you are finished with it, you can sit back and proudly sit a cold one on top.

[Michael Adelong]

Good morning. Thanks for the comments and support. Is it normal to wake up on your day off and the first thought in your head (after coffee) is to get into the shop? My woman is going to start hating this hobby prettty quickly...

Alan, don't adjust your monitor. That's what I meant about "lousy pics"... The grain in the grid blocks runs vertically with the growth ring lines runnng perpendicular to the grain in the stretchers. They are supposed to be made from offcuts of the grid stretchers themselves. I cut the raw lumber to 36" when I started making the grid parts because I didn't see the note about the extra length being used for the blocks until it was too late. The stretchers are 34 1/4" long. After cutting the ends to 45*, there wasn't enough offcut left to make the blocks. I just used the offcuts from a different part. (I was thinking of putting a PC in my shop. Has the dust caused any technical issues with yours?)

Two of the through mortices are "perfect" by my standards. The first 2 that I did are ok, but will need a little more sanding to make me completely happy with them. The last 2 came out much better. I'm still learning to feel comfortable using chisels on visible parts of a piece. They are an easy tool to screw up with.

Question for all - When I pared down the wedges in the tenons, a couple of them had a little tear out. I plan on finishing the project with BLO and Waterlox (I think - never used it before - anyone have a better idea for a top coat). I was thinking of filling the tear out in the wedges with some of that Minwax colored putty. I have a small jar of both light and dark colored putty around from filling nail holes in the trim in my house. I could mix up the correct color and fill in the holes after the BLO cures. Is it OK to do this before I apply the Waterlox, or should I finish the entire table first and then fill in the holes with the putty? The holes aren't that big - a pencil point will go in about 1mm - diameter is about 2 pencil lead thinknesses. I may be able to glue in some small chips and sand them flush, so I might not need to worry about this. I'll know shortly.

Frank, you are at the same place I was last spring. "Considering" ww as a hobby. You're just one step away from driving home on a Saturday afternoon with a table saw in the back of your truck. From that point on, hang on to your wallet. :P
Thanks,
Michael

[Jim Dunn]

Mike I like both the design and exacution of the lower stringer. Your wife should be happy with your new hobby as it looks like she'll be getting the benefits of your labor.

Jim

[Frank Hagan]

I like the piece a lot ... but then I'm partial to Craftsman style furniture anyway. I think you made the right decision on cutting the stretcher notches; even if it was OK to do it the way the original author stated, if you think of a safer way, and work through it in your mind before committing wood, fingers and fate to the saw blade, then you've made the right decision!

I'm no expert on finishing, so take this with the appropriate grain of salt. I have always used the soft putties last, as a filler for small defects after I have put the finish on. That's for the putty kind that really don't ever cure, which is what I think you have. The problem I have always had with any filler I use before finishing is that after the final finish is put on, the filler isn't the same color. Sticks out like a sore thumb to me. Using the soft putties after finishing at least gives me the chance to work on getting the color right.

[Jim Becker]

Nice work. The through-tenons look great, too. I look forward to your follow-ups!