I've never actually used tiger maple as a primary wood in a project, which is weird because it is my favorite figured wood! I've been wanting to replace a small table in our front hall for some time now. When I saw the plans for this table on my Woodsmith DVD, I knew I found the project. The overall dimensions are 45"x15"x28", which make it perfect for its use in our hall. I wish my photography skills were to the point that you can really get an idea of how clear and deep the finish turned out...
Table1.jpg
Not only was this the first time I've used a figured wood such as this, but its the first time I've had to hand-shape a component for a project. The legs splay out just enough to give it a more elegant look. It's final placement is going to darken the cherry pretty quickly...
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I absolutely LOVE the striping!!!
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To achieve the finish, I first wiped on a heavy coat of Transtint/alcohol, dark maple was the "flavor". I used sanded it down with 320, then wiped on a coat of BLO. I wasn't originally going to go with this step, but I'm glad I did. It really made the cherry pop. I then wiped on dewaxed shellac, followed by four coats off General's gloss Arm-R-Seal. A coat of paste wax later, and here we are...
Table4.jpg Table5.jpg
I really took my time on this project, and I'm pretty happy with the end results. Thanks for looking!
- Keith
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Originally Posted by Todd Burch
), I've got about 18 hours into it. I had to re-do the frame that wraps around the top maple panel. The underside of that frame has a deep cove on it that was to be milled at the table saw. I really wasn't happy with my first effort, so I scrapped it and tried again. Glad I did! Much better the second time around.
