Cherry coffee table (pics)

[Dave Shively]

Here is a cherry coffee table I just completed. This one is for use in our home
and it's about time I made something for us. The dimensions are 17H x 21w x 48L.
The finish is BLO with a top coat of Pre-Cat lacquer, which brings up a question for
those of you that use BLO before a top coat, especially on cherry. How many of you
can really tell the difference of using and not use BLO? I personally can't really tell
much of a difference if any at all. I'm going to take a cherry board and do an
experiment with half BLO and then spray on a topcoat to see what I get. Has anyone
ever tried this?

Dave

[Corey Hallagan]

Wow, that is really nice. The queen anne legs look great too! Nice job.

Corey

[Mark Singer]

Very nice desin and crafstmanship!

[Doug Shepard]

Very nice looking table. I usually end up with a much darker color after the BLO than what you got though. Did you thin the BLO a lot? Maybe you just got some much lighter colored cherry than what I normally find around here.

[John Timberlake]

Very nice piece. I personally like the very traditional furniture such as Queen Anne. Like the finish on the cherry. Will look even better as it ages.

[Sam Chambers]

How many of you can really tell the difference of using and not use BLO? I personally can't really tell much of a difference if any at all. I'm going to take a cherry board and do an experiment with half BLO and then spray on a topcoat to see what I get. Has anyone ever tried this?

Dave, I'm by no means an expert, having built just one project using cherry. I had the same questions as you, so I did a sample board. I could definitely see a difference on the portions using BLO, and I liked the color it gave me. I think you're going about this the right way. Do some experimenting and see what you like best.

Oh, and very nice job on the coffee table! I love the Queen Anne style.

Good luck!

[Dave Shively]

Thank you for the comments.

Doug, No I didn't thin the BLO and the cherry was all heart wood. I will still try my
little experiment though.

Dave

[Rick de Roque]

Table looks great.

Rick

[Jim Becker]

Very elegant piece, Dave! Beautiful.

(I do think that the BLO makes a difference, but I also do a coat of shellac between it and the top coat...try various combinations in your shop on scraps to find what works best for "you"!)

[Hans Braul]

Nicely done Dave. Lovely lines and great craftsmanship.

Hans

[Bruce Page]

Beautiful table Dave. I would love to see a picture of it after a couple years of ageing.

[Rick Doyle]

Beautiful table Dave. I would love to see a picture of it after a couple years of ageing.

Dave - ditto for what Bruce said! Looks great!

[David Rose]

Dave,

Nice job!

I've done three different samples with BLO and without. All were with super blonde shellac as the topcoat/final coat. Two pieces that I did, I figured were a total waste of time (for adding BLO) after the test. Then for some reason, the third piece made quite visibly more depth. The cherry was from different batches, but from a local miller who buys mostly local trees. And the different batches had definite color differences due to the sun. Since the samples were done at different time, I didn't pay attention to which was darker to start with.

My tests were very limited. But I suspect that every different batch will show a different reaction. You won't hurt anything by hitting it with BLO. If it helps, you would miss out if you didn't do it. If it doesn't, you didn't waste too much time or material.

I am putting together a top for a blanket chest in cherry right now. I think I will slap on BLO... just in case.

David

[Travis Porter]

That is gorgeous!

[Greg Salata]

Stunning for sure.