Hand tool learnings

[Phil Mueller]

A lot of hand tool firsts in this small hall table. Hand sawn to rough dimension, planing tapered legs, router plane for inlay, coping saw, dados with saw and chisel, planing chamfered edges, shooting, file work, first mortise and tenon joinery and first shellac finish.

The top is a piece of Koa given to me by a neighbor, base is cherry with mahogany inlay.

A good bit of learning.

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A few "learnings" along the way. Most to do with the inlay.

Got lazy and ran the router plane through the far end...chip out, not to mention could have been a better fit for the inlay.

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Needed to spend a little more time smoothing out the curve....and a few other spots where a bit more planing or sanding would have helped.

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Can't tell from the photo, but the back left leg is slightly angled in...either off kilter shoulder, or less than square leg, or ?

All in all, a great project to get me a little further up the hand tool learning curve.

[Brian Holcombe]

Looks nice Phil! I'm enjoying the subtle glow of the shellac finish.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Looks awesome! I love that top. Well done.

[Prashun Patel]

Congrats. I love hearing about others' mistakes. I can so totally sympathize with that. Looks great.

[Joe Bailey]

Looks Great Phil

By exposing a few flaws, you've no doubt helped more would-be-woodworkers than you know.

[Jim Koepke]

That top is amazing, I wouldn't want to put anything on top to distract from its beauty.

Are flaws are glaring to ourselves, usually unnoticed by others.

Great piece of work.

jtk

[Mike Cherry]

Great looking project! I'm curious how that Koa was to work by hand.

[Phil Mueller]

Thanks all. It is a pretty amazing piece of wood. If truth be told, it was close to S4S when I got it, albeit quite filthy from years in my neighbor's garage. The table was designed around it, to minimize what needed to be done to it. Cutting to length wasn't difficult. But I spent a laughable amount of time slowly working the edges from every direction.

Mike, this picture may answer your question...a little too aggressive.

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After this happened, I chickened out and went with a lifetime of sanding. Chamfering that edge was a career in itself. I did plane a good deal of the chamfer, but returned to sand paper when I got close.

[Mike Cherry]

Thanks for the close up! I suspected it might have proven difficult!

[lowell holmes]

How did you do the beading? I suspect scratch stock. Looks good.

[Pat Barry]

Everyone makes mistakes. I think you should step back a bit and take in the beauty and not focus so much on a few discrepancies. I think its very well done project - material selection, design, proportions, finish, etc. Very very nice.

[Matthew Hills]

Everyone makes mistakes. I think you should step back a bit and take in the beauty and not focus so much on a few discrepancies. I think its very well done project - material selection, design, proportions, finish, etc. Very very nice.

Snapshot of the finished product, and then every blemish photographed in loving detail, with the lighting just so...
Definitely a woodworker.

Looks nice overall. What would you do different with the router plane?

Matt

[Phil Mueller]

Thanks Lowell. The inlay is 1/8" cut from thin stock purchased at Rockler. I used a router plane with guide attachment.

First scribed both sides with the knife cutter
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Used the 1/8" iron to remove down to about 3/16"

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Cut the inlay pieces with the router knife/guide and trimmed with an upside-down plane

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Glued it in and smoothed it with a block plane

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[lowell holmes]

I see, it's inlay not beading. It looks good. In the photo's I was seeing beading, but now I see it is inlay.
It's a nice looking piece.