Pool table light project

[Fred Voorhees]

Fabricated this red oak and walnut inlay pool table light fixture over the weekend and finished up with some final sanding today after work. Still needs to have the on/off push button switch installed in the top and the rest of the brass screws and finish washers to hold the top on. They will all come after it has its finish applied over the course of the next week. As much as I have liked finishing oak with polycrylic over the past few years, I think I want this fixture to have a bold and glossy look to it and I think polyurethane fits the bill for that.

The first of two pictures details the underneath "goings on" which features a simple four foot long two lamp florescent fixture that was picked up at the Orange Box for roughly fifteen bucks. I believe it uses the newer T-12 tubes.

The second picture pretty much details the project as it will hang from the new barroom cieling over the brandy new eight foot pool table, which is still a bit away in the distance.

[Jack Hogoboom]

Fred,

The pictures seem to be missing....

Jack

[Fred Voorhees]

Blame that on silly me Jack! Hit the wrong button. They are up now. :)

[Jack Hogoboom]

Looks very, very nice. I hope the kids keep their pool cues away from it....

I have used Waterlox on other projects to get a glossy finish. It still manages to keep that "hand-rubbed" look, but the more coats you put on, the glossier it gets. Recommended by Frank Klausz himself. Might be worth a try, especially for something so nice.

Enjoy.

Jack

[Christopher Pine]

Be sure to post pictures when it is finished and hanging! :) Nice work!
Chris

[Jim Becker]

Lookin' great, Fred!

In lieu of the "evil poly", consider an alkyd- or resin-based varnish. They have a nice warm color on the wood without the "plastic" look that polyurethanes sometimes exhibit. Pratt and Lambert #38 or Sherwin Williams "Fast Dry" varnish are good choices as is Waterlox.

[Fred Voorhees]

Lookin' great, Fred!

In lieu of the "evil poly", consider an alkyd- or resin-based varnish. They have a nice warm color on the wood without the "plastic" look that polyurethanes sometimes exhibit. Pratt and Lambert #38 or Sherwin Williams "Fast Dry" varnish are good choices as is Waterlox.

Thanks Jim. I'm off tomorrow (Tues) for the rough electric inspection and should have lots of extra time to check out one or both of those products as well as the Waterlox. Will let you know how it turns out.

[Bruce Page]

Very nice Fred! I built a similar one for our table a few years ago (not nearly as nice as yours), but after a couple of months the florescent light flicker drove me nuts! I ended up buying a fixture that uses incandescent lights.