Made my first coffee table, how did I do?

[Adam Herd]

I made this coffee table for some friends. It is made out of ash. The rails are held together with my first ever mortise and tenons. The top is attached to the rails using a pocket hole jig and screws.
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[Bill Adamsen]

Nicely done especially on the relatively complicated corner tenons. It looks very sturdy. Keep chugging along!

[Frederick Skelly]

You did good Adam! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Fred

[Ralph Okonieski]

Very nice. I like the style and wood/finish choice. Well done.

[Rick Potter]

That is a great first table. Interesting you used Ash, since I have a bunch, and am trying to figure out what to make with it.

[Raymond Fries]

Looks real nice. Enjoy it always...

[marty fretheim]

Good Job Adam, looks like it'll be in the family for years to come.

[Adam Herd]

Thanks for all the compliments! One thing I'm am kinda disappointed about though is the top. As I was sanding I noticed there were still some planner marks, dents and some chips in the top. I tried sanding them out but they were to deep. So I tried using my old Shelton number 4 plane a friend found me at a garage sale. I'm guessing since it is a number 4 it is a smoothing plane. The plane really only works at a certain depth. Any shallower and the iron won't touch the wood any deeper it tries to take an 8th of an inch off for some reason. I put some marks in the wood when trying to use the plane and found it it was set to deep. I thought I was able to sand most of the marks out, then I put the stain on and every knick, dent, scratch, scrape, and imperfection started sticking out like a sore thumb. Any advice on getting a perfect surface? I was thinking maybe I need to get a better and bigger plane like a number 5 that could take off a little more then the number 4 to get those marks out easier. I definitely do need a high quality plane over all. Also how can I avoid runs and drips with polyurethane? My tech teacher in high school once told me not to let my brush go over the edge. I hope that makes sense. Problem is my brush would go around the corners. For instance the legs of the table are 1.5 inches thick but my brush is 2 inches wide. So I when i push the brush on the leg some of the bristles over hang and touch the other side giving me runs and drips. I hope that makes sense.

[Nick Decker]

Use wipe-on poly. No runs, no drips and best of all, no brushes.

[Matt Day]

For tearout on the top there are a lot of things to consider, especially for a relatively new woodworker which it sounds you are.
First thing, when jointing and planing you have to read the grain to reduce tearout. I think about how petting a cat/dog works only in one direction and how much restistance there is going the wrong way.
Next, you need a well adjusted machine with sharp blades.
Next, sand through all the grits (80, 120, 150 for instance).

As for the hand plane, there is a whole world of information about that. Sounds like your plane needs to be fettled (adjusted) properly which is a thing in itself. I'd steer away from the hand planes for now.

Waterlox and Arm-r-seal are good forgiving finishes for wiping or brushing - have the right size and type brushes though.

[Jim Becker]

Looks sturdy to me! Nice work.

[Mike Null]

I like your design and choice of wood.

[Phil Mueller]

You did good Adam! One thing you can do to detect dings and such is to wipe the surface with denatured alcohol. It will show where imperfections are. The alcohol dries quickly and doesn't affect any finish you apply. I've made it a habit to wipe all projects prior to finishing...because I've certainly been in your shoes when "surprises" show up when the finish goes on.

[Tom Sontag]

As opposed to Matt (above) I would steer you directly TOWARDS learning how to tune and use a hand plane. It is a very satisfying skill that will advance your craftsmanship faster and further than mastering a belt sander.