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Thread: Dining table advice

  1. #61
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,675
    Looking good. Corner braces can't hurt if done right.

    As to the top, if you're not happy with the surface, continue to work on it with very sharp hand planes and a scraper...or a lot of sanding...whatever works.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  2. #62
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Houston, Texas area
    Posts
    1,308
    Quote Originally Posted by Zac wingert View Post
    ... And the top is horribly wavy. I don’t have a jointer..
    Zac, If you prefer a flat top (rustic, wavy tops are popular nowadays), another option is to find a local shop with a large wide belt sander and pay them to pass your top through a few times... It's OK to get help on something like this when you don't have the right tool.

    Like Jim said, hand planing is also another option but a good, large flattening plane will cost more than contracting out the flattening. However, you learn new skills and have the hand plane in your box for the next project.

    You did a nice job on the M&T, so doing some hand planing could be fun, but if your grain is 'every which way' then planing (hand or machine) may be frustrating. Like working with chisels, planing seems to be an acquired set of skills (sharpening then planing) that I haven't developed yet.

    Anyway, the table is looking great. I think you made the right choice on the M&T approach, it will keep you smiling for decades every time you use the table. FWIW, I'd also do corner braces. Every large table I have ever owned has had them. Seems like a proven design choice for longevity.
    Last edited by mark mcfarlane; 07-19-2018 at 12:08 AM.
    Mark McFarlane

  3. #63
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Location
    Hilo, Hawaii
    Posts
    208
    Blog Entries
    1
    Again, thank you for the help. Making the mortises by hand with a hammer and chisel really wasn’t as impossible as I thought. Just a lot of patience and practice pieces. I went through most of my poplar scraps practicing. I’ve been on other forums and such for other hobbies and received a lot of negative input when I’m asking for advice to improve. I appreciate it.

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