Cherry Kitchen Table

[Jason Tuinstra]

It seems like forever since I've posted anything. Most of my time has either been in the church or in the wood shop trying to get this table done.

Well, here it is. This is the third table that I've made with this general look, but this one is the biggest. It measures 60" square, but with the two leaves, it adds another 40". It should seat twelve quite comfortably.

All the hardware came from Lee Valley except the leg hardware, which came from the local borg. The finish is pre-cat lacquer. Due to the size of the project, I didn’t use BLO like I normally do. Hence it’s not quite as dark out of the gate.

The Performax got quite the workout on this one!

Thanks!

[Jim Becker]

Beautiful table, Jason!!! A big'un, too!!! That's a "multi-turkey" meal table!

[Larry Fox]

As usual Jason, it looks outstanding.

[Greg Cole]

Jason,
I like it, I like it alot. Simple, elegant and useful.....
What is the marking that is on the inside of the apron in one if the pics?
And are you making chairs to match?

Cheers.

Greg

[Jason Tuinstra]

What is the marking that is on the inside of the apron in one if the pics?
And are you making chairs to match?

Greg, thanks.

I was just contracted to build the table. I don't know what their going to do for chairs. At this point, 12 chairs doesn't sound like much fun. :D

The marking is a brand that I use on all my pieces - I then sign and date the piece. Here's a link from a few years ago when I first got it: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=8812

Thanks again.

[Karl Stewart]

Great looking table; clean lines. Help out a newbie...what is 'pre-cat'? BLO? and if it's not too crass [LOML's favorite adjective for me] what would you charge for such a project? and is there perhaps a simple rule of thumb for calculating? [like 3x's cost of material covers overhead, profit and tool wear & tear]

I'm not interested in a career change, but like many here I think, I have been asked about making a chest, or a table and have no idea what's fair.

Thanx

Karl

[Jason Tuinstra]

Sorry about the short hand.

"Pre-Cat" refers to "precatylized lacquer." I buy mine from Sherwin Williams. It's a fast drying finish which provides a high level of protection. Great stuff. I shot the whole table multiple times in a couple hours. Can't beat it.

"BLO" is short hand for "boiled linseed oil." I normally put a coat of oil on cherry to add a bit more depth to the color of the cherry.

Regarding price, I charged $1500.00 for this piece. I don't know what others would have charged, but I figured this was in the ballpark. I figured material + 4% and how much I thought I would need for the time I thought it would take. With this, I came up with a proposal for the buyer with various prices for various options (no leaves, one leaf, two leaves). When they settled on what they wanted, they gave me a third down to start construction and I got to work.

Because I normally just build for my family or friends, the business side of things is new to me. I try to be upfront and honest: this will not be cheap. If I can't scare them off :D I put a proposal together and get to work.

Thanks for the question.

[John Branam]

Very nice! I really like the look of the cherry.

[Jay Knepper]

Fine job, Jason. It's got to be hard to make a such a great looking aircraft carrier!

A couple of questions:
1) Is the leg hardware to reinforce traditional joinery or is it for knockdown legs. For a table that size I'm guessing the latter.
2) How did you do the long shallow curves on the aprons? Make a template and route? Or cut, fair, and perhaps use the first apron as a template for the remaining aprons?

[Roy Wall]

Beautiful work Jason!!

That puppy took a lot of "hold down buttons" for the top!

I'd like to pass the potatoes across it:cool:

[Don Bullock]

That's a great looking cherry table Jason.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Jay: Funny you call it an aircraft carrier. I built it for a guy who lands on them for a living. He should feel right at home calling the ball on final approach for dinner :p

The leg hardware is for the legs to come off. A nice/necessary feature that the one I built for my family, ahhh... well... doesn't have. Grrrrr... it should make the next move pretty tricky.

The curves were drawn by simply marking the center point and then bending a piece of wood as a template to draw the curve. Bandsaw, sand, call it good. Nothing fancy.

[Darrin Davis]

Looks great! I was wondering why you decided to go with the grain for the top in that direction. David Marks says that wood can expand and contract up to 1/8" per 12" of width. With that length of table how much is the top going to move? I've never worked with cherry before, maybe it doesn't move that much.

[Zahid Naqvi]

Nicely done Jason as always, interesting that you chose to orient your boards along the width, that is the end grain is along the longer dimension.

[joe pezza]

jason, very clean and elegant looking piece. seems to me your price was moooore than fair. win win deal.
Question? do you have a spray area, or do you generally rub out the finish? what type of gun? interested because i am begining to move in that direction?

thanks joe p

[Glenn Clabo]

As always sir...excellant work. Simple but elegant is your style...and I love it.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Darrin and Zahid: The clips holding the table top in place allow for plenty of expansion and contraction, so that's not a concern. I'm curious about your suggestion of reorienting the boards. I've never seen this done in an expansion table before. If this were a trestle or a drop leaf table I would agree. But with an expansion table, I don't think it would look good to have leaves mating at their end grain. I think it would call attention to the fact that the grain doesn't match. To me, that would be unsightly. Perhaps you could explain if I misunderstood seeing as how you both thought it should be done this way.

Joe: I use my garage to spray which is the same place I do my woodworking. I just cover everything up and go to town. I rub everything down with steel wool between coats as needed. I use a cheap Porter Cable hvlp gun that I got a number of years ago. I replaced the plastic cup with a stainless steel one. I haven't seen any need to upgrade at this point. If you have a small air compressor, you might need something bigger. I used a small pancake one for quite some time, but when it couldn't handle the bigger projects, I had to upgrade.

[Charles Jackson III]

Nice table! u did a good job on it.

[Tom Hamilton]

Another great piece Jason. Congrats. Best regards, Tom

[Gail O'Rourke]

Jason,

This is a gorgeous table and very timely as I have cherry acclimating at my house for clients dining table. The color is gorgeous. I did let my client know that they shouldn't leave placements on the table round the clock... so they don't get any squares on their table. Will they leave the leaves in all the time? What do you think about them not aging the same pace? (storing the leaves in a closet and having the table out in the open).

Great work.

[Bruce Page]

I never pass by a Tuinstra post and I’m never disappointed. Beautiful work, again.

[Mike Null]

Great looking table. Just as a price comparison I purchased a very similar Ethan Allen table about 12 years ago for $1,000. I'm sure yours is a better table and given inflation your client should be very happy.

[David Cramer]

Ever since I joined SMC, I get so motivated looking at your posts/pictures. Your Shaker furniture is outstanding. From the execution to the finish. Highly motivating for a rookie like me, since you started woodworking only 10 short years ago.

I just found one of your Shaker cabinets in the back of a Fine Woodworking Magazine this morning and then this evening, I find this post. I have it in a stack and don't remember the month, but it was in there for sure. I am one of those guys who rips his magazines apart every 6-12 months or so and saves what he wants in a labeled file and discards the rest. I save all of the Gallery shots in the back of the magazine and I believe you've been in there twice, but once for sure. Again, great job Jason and thanks for the motivation.

I look forward to your next project. Until then, carry on sir!

Dave

[Peter Pedisich]

Jason,

That's a beautiful table, thanks for sharing.

Pete

[Don Bullock]

Jason, the table is beautiful. I really loke the look of cherry. It's becoming one of my favorite woods.

[Mark Singer]

Jason,
Wonderful work! Really well thought out in every way!

[Jason Tuinstra]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. You all are very generous!

Gail, I built this table for a family of three - the table with no leaves seats 8. The wife wanted the leaves "just in case" which I totally understand. The whole time I was sanding, though, I was thinking, "Man, all this work flattening these panels just for her to put them under the bed never to be used!" :p

Their room is not big enough to keep the leaves in, so they'll always be a bit off from the rest of the table's color. I guess that's just the trade off with using cherry.

[Brett CoughlanAus]

Jason outstanding work as usual (still working on a shaker tin cabinet of my own - will get there one day). You guys are lucky to have that beautiful cherry over there, costs me an arm and a leg for a few boards.

[Warren White]

I have been wondering what you have been up to, and as usual it is fantastic! I appreciate looking at the beauty and simplicity of your workmanship.

I really wish I could spend more time in the workshop/garage, but for some reason I seem consumed with other things. Just finished work in our bathroom; some sheetrock replacement, new tile floor, baseboards, and painting. (Had to paint it three times....my 'pale yellow' turned out DeWalt YELLOW...sigh)

Again, my friend. Just beautiful. Your pilot friend will be pleased for years to come.

My best to you and your family.
Warren

[Jason Tuinstra]

Brett: Good day! I'm sure you'll be able to find plenty of good OZ wood or some of that fancy Kiwi wood - I forget the name of it right now but it has a nice cherry color to it. I remember seeing it there when we visited. Nothing like the real thing though :)

Warren: good to hear from you again. Hope you and your family are well. We're leaving on a three week vacation in about 20 hours so the shop will be closed for a bit. Sounds like you've been busy though. That's the kind of work I'm no good at. I'll stick with furniture... for the sake of my house and future resale. :p

[Art Copper]

Beautiful work! How long did it take to build this fine table, Jason?

[glenn bradley]

Looks great Jason. When's dinner?