Milo Jewelry Box and Monkey Pod dining table.

[Matt Uchida]

I recently finished a few projects and wanted to show them off. I had done small crafts but never anything that really needed precise measuring and cutting so a table was a big first step.

First a jewelry box made out of milo wood. I got some scraps for free and planed and cut them to get the maximum size box I could. The divider tray is just 1/8 inch plywood covered in velvet. It was a nice lighter purple in the wood but the oil made it a little darker. Unfortunately only one side and the handle got some of that great light streak on it. I used tru-oil gunstock oil.

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Next is the Monkey Pod table. It is a 3 inch thick cross cut of an interesting tree. Two trees grew together and fused making for interesting patterns. Dark rings with a bit of contrast and where the trees fused its light with nice flame. I actually bought two slabs that are right next to each other. The other will be a computer table. I worked the natural edge a little bit so that the wider diameter and smaller diameter will fit together to make a larger table for parties. Kind of like yin-yang sort of thing. Also you can see there is some horizontal grain where a branch was cut and the tree grew over. I filled the crack with casting resin and sanded till it was pretty clear. Learned some lessons about filling voids too. The light wood on the leg is the outer sapwood from a branch that gave great contrast. The legs are cut from boards of monkey pod wood.
I finished it with Watco Danish oil, and thinking about whether I should apply a wax to it. Thoughts? Also you can see some rather large pores. Not sure if they were from the saw blade or naturally occurring fissures but they did not fill with the oil. I made a a sluree with the oil and the saw dust but it did not fill all the pores. I guess I am kind of stuck with them. Main thing is I dont let water sit inside of them I guess.

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This is the relatively identical other table that is not yet finished.

http://usera.ImageCave.com/eyeeatingfish/woodwork/P1020625.JPG

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[John Keeton]

Both are very nice projects, and turned out beautifully!! The milo looks a lot like mahogany, and the monkey tree is striking. In the future, you can mix coffee grounds with epoxy before sanding to fill the voids.

I love the flowing character of the table.

[John Thompson]

Nice job Matt... I love that monkey pod top as the double tree grain is really nice. I had a stump from a sweet-gum once that had a two stem base as that.. very interesting what mother nature can provide.

[Jamie Oren]

matt,
do you live here in HI?

[Matt Uchida]

Yeah I live in Hawaii.

I found that the casting resin did penetrate the wood and I had to sand for a little while to get out the stain from that. Will epoxy mixed with other stuff not soak into the wood? Th end grain sure contributed to it soaking in I am sure.

Can I get advice on a final finish? I have read about the thinned down rub on poly urathane but not sure if that is what I am looking for. It pretty much a really smooth satin finish and I dont want it too glossy. I havent any experience with waxes or polishes but I know watco makes one.

[Van Huskey]

Both are very nice, like both woods, neither of which I have worked with.

[Zach England]

Is it just me, or does that slab look kind of like ET?

[Frank McKinney]

Now that you mention it, it does look like a battered ET....cut on the left side, bruise on the right, one eye closed...:p

[lowell holmes]

Are the grounds from brewed coffee or just roasted coffee?

[Matt Uchida]

As you can see for the monkey pod table it has a not that shiny satin finish after many coats of oil and wet sanding with 500 and then 600. I wish it were just a little bit shinier. It is baby bottom smooth, just not as shiny as I would like. Its rather dark so I am thinking with it being slightly more glossy it will pick up and reflect light better.

So I was thinking of using a single layer of that thinned down wipe on polyurethane, but dont want it looking too plasticy.

But then I had an idea, what about tru oil gunstock finish? I have used it before and its great. Many layers will make for a shiny piece and will build up a finish that is glossy and you dont even feel wood anymore, one layer will bring out the color and grain but will not look like a poly urethane.
So I was thinking maybe a single layer of that stuff over the top of my well dried danish oil applications might give that little bit of extra protection, fill some of the pores and bring out a little bit more sheen.
Its expensive so I would not use it for the whole table but for just the top coat I know it wouldn't use the whole bottle.
The jewelr box on the top has the tru oil gunstock finish. The lid has about 4 coats and I think the sides have 3 coats. Just for a reference.

Thoughts?
Thankyou

[Tony Shea]

What about a laquer finish and you could control the sheen with the rubbing out process. I have finished a bunch of stuff in shellac and laquer and really enjoy the control I have over the final sheen of the finish. I would go with laquer being that it is a table top and believe it to be more resiliant to wear. Just be prepared to get a nice workout during the rubbing out, it's like waxing your vehicle 4 or more times depending on the sheen desired. To get to a gloss on that top would be like a weeks worth of weights. But that is all in fun IMO, I enjoy the workout as well. Someone with more knowledge in table tops could give you better advise about a finish though. I have never done a dining table and don't know how either of the two finishes would react to constant moisture. Some research on the net would give you a better understanding as well.

Others have seem to have nothing but great experiences with Waterlox. I have no experience with it and don't know how durable it would be for a table top. But one of these days I plan to buy some to try out. It seems as though its' becoming increasingly more popular by the day. It also can produce an amazing sheen from what I've seen posted.

I know what you mean when you say the plasticky feel and look of poly. I rarely use the stuff. I actually have a sour spot about poly and think it ruins the look of beautiful furniture. If it was me I would look elsewhere. Maybe a water based poly would be different as I've seen good results with it. General Finishes has some decent water based poly's that I might try sometime. But again I can't recomend it as I have not experience and don't know about its wear ability. Good Luck and sorry for the rambling.

[John Michaels]

Very nice!! I love the grain on the table.

[Khalid Khattak]

Dear Matt Uchida (http://sawmillcreek.org/member.php?u=62758):
I am really impresed by the work you have made and like the grains on the table... I know how happy womens/girls when you gift them jewellery box..

I made one for my wife a couple of months ago and she was very happy :) This is not to jijack your thread but i was so happy to watch yours jewellery box and could not control myself to added mine too..Mine is not beautiful like yours because i made it from dirt cheap Mango wood...
Hope you will not mind.. Keep posting the pictures...

[Matt Uchida]

Mango can be a very nice wood. Im surprised how dark that wood got. Often mango is light colored wood.
Love the CNC machining... it was CNC right?