hickory top - farmhouse table

[Bob Riefer]

A friend asked me to build her a table for her cabin in the Poconos, and really wanted a "rustic, farmhouse table" look.

Initially the goal was to use reclaimed barn wood, but she balked at the pricing of that material.

Instead, I showed her some hickory from the local semi-retired sawyer and she really liked the "character" of the wood.

Little did I know at the time that hickory is so heavy and hard to work with. I literally will have to replace my miter saw blade, table saw blade, jointer knives, and planer knives as a result of this project. But, I followed various woodworking publications' instructions on how to properly do breadboard ends, and ended up with a top that she really likes. I purposely left as much "interest" in the top as possible, highlighting knots and grain and discoloration. I used a scraper and copious amounts of sanding to make the top smooth to touch, but also including some dips and dives that you might find in reclaimed lumber.

The base is poplar, chosen mainly for price because it was to be painted per customer request. Mortise and tenon all around. Subtle tapers on the sides of the legs facing the long side of the table, and square on the short side. She wanted "chunky" base but I didn't want it to look like a pair of bell bottom jeans.

The drawer was my first try using the Keller 1601 dovetail jig that I just purchased, and it was a successful attempt. I built drawer runners out of scrap poplar saved during the project. The drawer runs in and out smoothly and sits centered. The paint is dull finish - she asked me to "weather" it, but I convinced her that the top has so much character already, let's not rush "patina"... let the base get hit with some skis and wet boots for a few years and you'll have all the character you want.

Anyways, I know this sort of project is a piece of cake for all y'all (seriously.. you are all my idols.. not kidding at all) but this was a fun skill builder for me, where I had a chance to be a bit artistic to meet demanding client requests.

(and, on an hourly basis, I surely lost money... lol... but for me, that's not the point)

Anyways, please be kind with your critiques - I'm really trying hard :-)


hickory table 1.jpg

hickory table 2.jpg

[Clark Hussey]

What a beautiful piece!

[Jim Becker]

That looks really great!!!!

[Lee Schierer]

Your table looks great. It will last for years.

I'm curious though, I've built a queen size platform bed with a bookcase headboard, two large dressers, a desk, a bookcase, a 2 drawer lateral filing cabinet and a storage cabinet all from air dried hickory. I have yet to wear out a saw blade or jointer knives. What saw blades are you using that wear out building a table top?

[Phil Mueller]

Very nice, Bob. I think it looks great. Thanks for sharing!

[Mark Rainey]

Solid table Bob. Nice color combination.

[Jim Matthews]

You have completed something your family will use.
That's more than most of us can claim.

No one can ever take that from you.

Kudos

[Frederick Skelly]

Nice job Bob! That will look great in her mountain cabin!
Fred

[Keith Outten]

Looks like you you provided just what she was asking for, a beautiful farm table.
Nice work Bob.

[Bob Riefer]

Thanks guys! Things turned out as expected, which is a big win on the learning curve. I'd become pretty adept at "saving" projects to overcome mistakes along the way, but this time around no saves were needed. lol


Lee - you asked about my comment that the hickory seems to have dulled my tools... here's what I can say for sure:

The straight knives for my dewalt lunchbox style planer were near ready to be swapped out when I started this project, and by the end, there were 2 visible nicks in the knives. So, that could have happened by hitting any knot in any board, or even a spot of glue when I was working on the table legs (where I laminated a few smaller boards together to achieve a beefier leg... cleaned as much glue off as possible, planed to perfect). My typical process is to find the thickest piece and take a tiny nibble off that, and check that all other pieces can pass through too... then I give about 1/3 of a turn on the crank wheel for each subsequent pass until all are even. My last couple passes, I turn the wheel less and less as I sneak up on final dimension.

The straight knives on my dj-20 jointer were nearly new at the start of this project, and now will need to be swapped out as they are producing grooved results now. The boards still get flat, but now with a stripe. I was initially taking 1/64th cuts which was dreadfully slow work, so I went to 1/32nd passes early on in this project. Again, any knot on any board, or the slightest bit of dried glue could have caused this... but it just seemed funny to me that both happened within the same day (after years of doing the same types of steps and never having a 2-nicks-in-one-day event before).

I think in both cases the typical straight knives for these sorts of machines are high speed steel.

My table saw blade is nothing fancy, just a diablo that recently came back from being sharpened by Dynamic Saw. By the end of this project, even cuts through the poplar were "chattering" a bit vs. the usual "like a hot knife through butter" experience. I swapped out for another blade, and cuts were once again smooth as can be. The old blade sits flat so I don't think it has been warped. Again, this begin within one day of the other two nicks occurring, so it had me thinking about the hickory as potential culprit (and no potential glue issues in this case).

The miter saw... I'm probably exaggerating on that one... I was due to replace my 20 year old saw and had the 12" bosch glide sitting in the corner waiting for its turn. The arbor bearing on my old saw needs replaced and my kids are showing an interest in woodworking, so I figured I'd upgrade my setup, repair the saw in my spare time, and someday one of them could have a free saw of their own. So, the hickory not to blame there (but it was good for my initial story :-)

One last item, not sure if it matters or not... This hickory was kiln dried (vs. air dried which you had mentioned Lee). Shrug, that doesn't seem like it would be the difference but figured I'd mention just in case.

With all this... what's your analysis?

[Lee Schierer]

I typically use a Freud glueline full kerf ripping blade for rips. I use a Freud LU82M for cross cuts. All my hickory is cut on a Craftsman 113.298720 table saw (1 hp). My jointer is an old 6 inch Delta Milwaukee with HS knives. I have a Delta lunch box planer, but I haven't used it for hickory.

[Jamie Buxton]

One possible source of knife nicks is gravel embedded in the ends of boards. If the boards were standing on end on a gravely shop floor, or on a driveway while being loaded on a truck, they could have picked up contamination. To avoid this, I cut the ends off boards before I do any milling on them.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Great looking table. I am a big fan of hickory. I just don’t like working it, but I love the look. Your table is a beauty. Nice job.

[Bob Riefer]

One possible source of knife nicks is gravel embedded in the ends of boards. If the boards were standing on end on a gravely shop floor, or on a driveway while being loaded on a truck, they could have picked up contamination. To avoid this, I cut the ends off boards before I do any milling on them.

Good thing to look out for, thanks for the tip. In this case, the lumber came from a nice heated pole barn with concrete floors. Nice a clean (no gravel), at least by lumber shop standards :-)

[Bob Riefer]

Great looking table. I am a big fan of hickory. I just don’t like working it, but I love the look. Your table is a beauty. Nice job.

Thanks Joe! I love the final product, but agree... I don't plan to use hickory again if I can avoid it. Maybe use some of the scrap to make a mallet or handle.