Walnut Dining Room Table and Chairs Completed

[Brent Ring]

Well, after 10 months, I finally completed the dining room table and 6 chairs project I have been working on. I actually have 2 more chairs to finish, but the LOML wanted it done for my daughters graduation party 3 weeks ago and so I finished that. We can actually use it as is and only need the extra chairs for larger gatherings, so I have a little time on those.:)

Finish is a thick seal coat of clear shellac, followed by about 12-14 coats of 50-50 Waterlox and Mineral Spirits, wiped on with blue shop towels. I did brush a couple of coats on the top of the table itself.

I have posted the build of the chairs on another thread found at http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1400278#poststop
I started with the top, and then built the legs and supports.

It was a lot of fun and I learned tons. LOML is ecstatic with the results.

Comments, questions, critique, and advice all welcome.

[Brent Ring]

More photos coming shortly!

[Brent Ring]

More pictures

[Brent Ring]

And some more pics....

[Brent Ring]

Now for a couple of construction photos of the legs.. I was really pressed during this time and did not take photos like I should have - sorry.

[Van Huskey]

Gorgeous!!!

[gary Zimmel]

I can see why your wife is ecstatic about the table and chairs Brent.
Great work on this one. Thanks for the extra shots.

[John Thompson]

Beautiful table.. very clever design Brett. She (.. and you) should be proud but you have opened a can of worms as far as future requisitioning. Lot of work involved on this with the chairs.. lot of work.

Very well done...

[Baxter Smith]

What a great set. One of a kind for sure!

[Ben Hatcher]

Nice work, Brent! You should be very proud of these.

[Garrett Ellis]

that looks AWESOME. seriously good work. the wood is just beautiful.

much respect for doing it all in 10 months... would probably take me at least twice as long!

did you come up with all the designs (leg attachments, drop leaf slides, etc) yourself? i may have to steal some ideas.... :D

[Ted Calver]

You did yourself proud on this one Brent! They are beautiful.

[Dave MacArthur]

Much respect! Love the look--rustic, walnut, wrought iron... what's not to like?
Whenever I see someone who's worked through not just ONE chair, but a whole set... wow. Lotta work, good job!

[Bill Wyko]

Absolutely georgous work. Bravo!!!

[Steve Kohn]

How about more pictures, but this time on how you built the chairs?

[Brent Ring]

How about more pictures, but this time on how you built the chairs?


Steve,

Check out this thread. - http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...00278#poststop (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1400278#poststop) I show a bit more about the chairs here.

[Brent Ring]

that looks AWESOME. seriously good work. the wood is just beautiful.

much respect for doing it all in 10 months... would probably take me at least twice as long!

did you come up with all the designs (leg attachments, drop leaf slides, etc) yourself? i may have to steal some ideas.... :D


Thanks Garrett! I cannot claim originality to all of the design. We saw a similar table in a local furniture store. It had a center lazy susan out of marble, which my wife did not want, and it would have added some more time. I took some pictures and rough measurements from both chairs and table, but ended up changing both to meet what we wanted. The seats are very much my own design. I did most of it in sketchup, but I am not too proud of the drawings in their current status. I eneded up making a few templates out of mdf.

If I have one piece of advice on chairs, it is to make a prototype and then sit on it, and have as many people as you can sit on it as well. Also figure out your table dimensions and test the chairs out against that as well. You can then determine whats most comfortable. I have had many sit on the chairs and comment on how comfortable they are. We recently had some company over to play some games, and I was very comfortable for the 2+ hours I sat in my chair. Some chairs you sit in you just can't wait to get out of. These seem to be a bit more comfortable. The seat carving jig makes a big difference, and give flexibility.

[Stephen Ash]

Brent, beautiful job on that table and chairs. I know chairs are very difficult to make, and especially so for a set of 6. The finish on that walnut looks gorgeous.

Anyway, I actually have a 'furniture store' version of this table, and I can tell you from experience that you made a good call on omitting the lazy susan. It's an unnecessary interruption in the table surface, and it's a huge crumb-collector. Also, small children (especially my 4 year old boy) are unavoidably attracted to it and cannot resist climbing up there to spin :D

Nice job!

-Steve

[Harold Burrell]

All I can say is "Wow!"

[Keith Harrell]

This is a beautiful table and chair set. I look forward to reading the construction tread. Outstanding work.