Walnut Hallway Table

[Eric Sizer]

After finishing my roubo bench a few months ago, I finished my first piece of real furniture -- a hallway table at the behest of SHMBO. It is made of walnut, with hard maple drawer sides and gaboon ebony drawer pulls. She felt it looked a little more "modern" with the front designed like this, so against my better judgment and worries about not having anything but a narrow apron on the front of the table, I went with it. Hopefully it will hold up through the seasons, and being a hallway table should only see light use as far as the drawers are concerned.

Dovetails are hand cut and first time I tried dovetails other than practice on some scraps, had a few mishaps in there you can see. The finish is a coat of boiled linseed oil wiped on, followed by 2 coats of lacquer. Overall not thrilled with how the finish turned out, but satisfied enough. Any feedback is appreciated!

In its final location plus some close ups:

[Mel Fulks]

That's a fine first effort. Nice design and well chosen grain matches. Onward!

[Joe A Faulkner]

Very nice work. The dove tails look great, especially for a first set. You should be pleased.

Is there a 3/4 back that is as wide as the side panels that is mortised and pinned into the legs? If so, I think your joinery will hold up just fine. How did you attach the top?
Is there a web frame with dust panels under the drawers?

In way of constructive feedback, the edges to drawers and top look pretty sharp. You might consider softening those ever so slightly on your next build.

I agree that the long front drawers without a divider gives a more contemporary look to the piece. I'm curious how the drawers are fitted. Are there any guides underneath or are they more or less riding on top of runners that are flush with the apron?

Congratulations on completing a very nice piece of furniture. I'm sure it will bless your family for decades, if not generations.

[andy bessette]

I like it.

[Yonak Hawkins]

..Very clean looking, Eric. Sharp.

[Jim Becker]

That's a fine looking project! Great work!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Exellent! Incredible for your first piece of furniture!

[David Utterback]

Beautiful work. Dovetails look great. The top appears to be book matched walnut. Did you re-saw a thicker piece? Thanks for sharing.

[George Bokros]

Looks great. Nice grain matches and attention to detail. You should be proud.

[Randal Blair]

those dovetails and pins are art for me! great job.

[Eric Sizer]

Thanks for all the comments and feedback!

Joe -- Yep the back is as wide as the side panels and M&T and pinned into the legs. The top is attached with Z clips. The drawers ride on little guides with rails that protrude slightly above the front apron (I used puzzle pieces as spacers when lining everything up, placed between the drawer face and the apron). I did not put any dust panels under the drawers, other than the rails that they ride on there is nothing under the drawers.

I'll try softening the edges on my next project, which will likely be a captains bed with storage drawers. I'll probably use some plans for that so if anyone knows a good plan for a captain's bed please share!

David -- The top is not book matched, but it is from the same long piece of 4/4 walnut. I used a nice piece of 8/4 for the legs but it wasn't quite in the budget to buy another piece of 8/4, it was like $13 per bd ft. Decent wood seems expensive here, and believe it or not Woodcraft was a bit cheaper per bd ft than the local place.

[Carl Baker]

Beautiful work! Dovetails and pinned M&T ends are wonderfully done and as others said, excellent job matching the top. If this is a first attempt, I am really anxious to see what you do next!

[Von Bickley]

Beautiful table...

[William Fretwell]

Eric, lovely table; splendid first job. When I finish walnut I use smoking hot BLO put on with very fine wire wool & tongs then wipe off really well. Leave it a few days then repeat, I find after the second coat the colour really has depth. I apply a coat a week for several weeks. I apply a final coat of Tung oil at room temperature. If you apply BLO at room temp then the penetration will be poor. I would strip off the lacquer with alcohol and start again. You will really see a difference. Every few years you can re-apply the hot BLO so the lacquer really just gets in the way.

[Yonak Hawkins]

William, this sounds like a recipe my woods prof would like. I wonder about applying with steel wool. Would, say, cheesecloth work just as well ? Ever since I had a problem with steel fibres getting embedded in an open-pored wood one time I've been shy of that technique.

[William Fretwell]

You only apply with the steel wool as it's so hot, don't rub it in with that. Yes the steel fibres can be present but with closed grain they just wipe off.