When its all new

[Adan Madrid]

Hello SMCers,

I discovered the joys of woodworking approximately 4 years ago. Here are some pictures of my very first project. I made it out of cherry using plans I downloaded from the net. At the time, I only had a contractor table saw, a plunge router and a card scraper. And of course the basic tools one would normally expect to find in garage.

It took me 4 months to make because I had to read books, ask for instruction and borrow tools and visit other established shops to complete many parts of the table.

Not having the right tools, and not knowing better, I removed the saw marks from all four sides of each tapered leg by hand with a card scraper and I loved every moment of it. I guess when its all new, the love of the work carries you through.

I have enjoyed reading the many valuable discussions on SMC and have been inspired by the great work posted.

P.S. - 4 years later, my shop is now nearly complete and it takes much less time to build stuff. :D

[Rob Russell]

Hello SMCers,

Not having the right tools, and not knowing better, I removed the saw marks from all four sides of each tapered leg by hand with a card scraper and I loved every moment of it. I guess when its all new, the love of the work carries you through.



Adan,

Nice table!

FYI - there is nothing "wrong" about hand-scraping cherry to achieve your finished surface. Scraping leaves a surface where the wood pores are open and there is no fuzz from sanding and, as, such, leaves a cleaner surface for your finish. Most people sand because it's easier, not because it leaves a better surface.

Rob

[Mark Singer]

Excellent work! Scraping is faster actually if the scraper is well tuned. Great project first or not!Nice photos.

[Rusty Hughes, Indy]

Very Well Done! Thanks for posting the pics.

[Jim Becker]

This one of my favorite table designs, no matter what the size or length. Great job!

[Alan Turner]

I like the table; quite Shakerish. I used to eliminate the saw marks on tapered legs with an edge sander. It is fast and accurate. I now use a hand plane for this work, and the time is similiar, but the result is far superior. Did you taper only the insides of the legs?

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

Adan
Very nice
Keep up the great work.
Daniel

[Jason Tuinstra]

Adan - hey another Shaker style piece. I love to see it. Your table looks great. I love the lines on Shaker furniture. Thanks for sharing.

[John Miliunas]

Gee Adan, I *do* have a pretty well-equiped shop and it would *still* probably take me four months to turn out something that nice! Very well done! Now, how about some pics of your shop as it stands today?! :cool:

[Terry Quiram]

I say anyone that can sharpen a card scraper can damn well do anything he or she wants. :D :D Nice table. I would say your experience with a scraper went well.

[Adan Madrid]

Adan,

Nice table!

FYI - there is nothing "wrong" about hand-scraping cherry to achieve your finished surface. Scraping leaves a surface where the wood pores are open and there is no fuzz from sanding and, as, such, leaves a cleaner surface for your finish. Most people sand because it's easier, not because it leaves a better surface.

Rob

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the tip! OK I like my scraper more now. If I could only get a good hook on it? :)

[Adan Madrid]

Excellent work! Scraping is faster actually if the scraper is well tuned. Great project first or not!Nice photos.

Thanks Mark! :D So how do you properly tune a card scraper?

[Adan Madrid]

This one of my favorite table designs, no matter what the size or length. Great job!

Thanks Jim! I like the design too. . . it's very cherry :p

[Adan Madrid]

Gee Adan, I *do* have a pretty well-equiped shop and it would *still* probably take me four months to turn out something that nice! Very well done! Now, how about some pics of your shop as it stands today?! :cool:

John,

Thanks for the compliment. I now enjoy working in a more equiped shop with more book knowledge and practical woodworking experience. What a great hobby! I am currently installing duct work for an Oneida cyclone dust collector I recently purchased. I promise you pictures after the installation is complete :)

[Adan Madrid]

I like the table; quite Shakerish. I used to eliminate the saw marks on tapered legs with an edge sander. It is fast and accurate. I now use a hand plane for this work, and the time is similiar, but the result is far superior. Did you taper only the insides of the legs?

Alan,

I here you on the hand plane. Its definately now my first choice too. I would now use a Lie-Nielsen #4 And yes I did taper all four sides. :p

[Mark Singer]

Adan,
I can show you about scraper tuning the next time your in the area. Love the table. I use a plane to remove machine marks....a scraper on jointed seams on tables etc. , but there really are no rules its whatever you get used to. It is fun to try different techniques and sometimes you stumble on a real winner. That is the beauty of experimenting and being open to different method.