Pedestal Table: Completed!

drw

Donn
Corporate Member
I finally put the last coat of finish on the table this weekend! Now all that remains is to get the table to my daughter's house in Jacksonville, FL. All things considered, I am very happy with the final result. I don't think I want to build another BIG project anytime soon (or ever, I am getting too old to manhandle large projects).

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The finish schedule is a bit different than I typically use. Since the table was made for my daughter, I told her to find a finish she liked. While she was making a decision, I sanded the table to 220 and used a Timbermate slurry as a grain filler and sanded again to 220. As it turns out, the schedule she chose used a grain filler mixed with stain. So, in addition to the Timbermate filler the schedule is a follows:

1) 2 parts Old Masters grain filler to one part Weathered Oak Stain (Minwax), applied with a brush, allowed to sit for 20 minutes and excess wiped off and dried for 24 hours.
2) A second coat of stain applied, allowed to sit for 20 minutes and excess removed.
3) After 24 hours of drying, I began applying wipe-on poly (Minwax). The first two coats were gloss, all subsequent coats were satin finish. In total the top has 8 coats, the other parts received six coats.
4) I sanded after every second coat with a 1000 grit sanding pad and a Festool finish sander. ( I really like this approach, it does a great job of removing nibs but you don't worry about sanding through the finish.)

Not sure what I will be building next, but it will be a smaller project!
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In recent days I have made good progress on the table. I was able to purchase some nice 5/4 QSWO from Scott Smith (thank you, Scott) for the tabletop. The table is so big (8'x42") that I built the top in sections. The top consists of seven 6" wide boards; I used dominos to secure the three boards on each side of the table. Putting a three-board section through the drum sander wasn't too difficult; once that task was completed I secured the two outside sections to a center board (dominos), so I ended up with a total of seven 6" boards on the top. Since the top was too big for me to manhandle through the drum sander, I smoothed the center board seams with a hand sander. Certainly not as efficient as the drum sander, but with patience and persistence everything blends nicely.

Originally, the two outer boards were over 8" wide, which I cut down to 6" and "folded" the 2" cutoffs under the table...thus, the 1" table top looks to be 2". I did the same on ends. (The top is now much too big to handle, but I have young neighbors). I have a little more sanding, but the next big phase will be to apply the finish. My daughter, who asked for the table, is coming up from Jacksonville, FL to supervise/approve the finish work.

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Dee2

Board of Directors, Vice President
Gene
Staff member
Corporate Member
looking good! Happy finishing!
 
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Phil S

Phil Soper
Staff member
Corporate Member
Great job. May i ask what your planned finish schedule is
 
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Charlie

Charlie
Corporate Member
That's looking great. But I still like segmented turning better. Much lighter to handle. Lol.
 
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Melinapex

Mark
Corporate Member
Donn,
Looks beautiful! Two questions - how did you cut the corners of the parts you folded under the table - I couldn't see well in the pics but I am guessing they are cut at 45 ? Or did you do each side and fit the two ends? And second how is the top connected to the pedestals.
 

drw

Donn
Corporate Member
Great job. May i ask what your planned finish schedule is
Phil, in all candor I do not know how it will be finished, it all depends on what my daughter wants. Knowing that she is very particular in her likes/dislikes, I told her that I would build the table; but, before I applied any finish, she would need to come up for a few days so that we would try various finishes on some sample boards.
 

drw

Donn
Corporate Member
Donn,
Looks beautiful! Two questions - how did you cut the corners of the parts you folded under the table - I couldn't see well in the pics but I am guessing they are cut at 45 ? Or did you do each side and fit the two ends? And second how is the top connected to the pedestals.

Mark, the corners are not mitered; I simple cut the long sides and folded them under the top, and then cut the ends to fit. I used a 1/2" roundover bit on the top and bottom edges, so the corners do come to a point that gives the appearance of mitered corners. (Hope the job is going well, but we do miss you at the monthly lunches!)
 

drw

Donn
Corporate Member
Mark, I forgot to address the question of attachment. As of the moment, the top is not attached, but the plan is to use 1.25" lag bolts through the top stretchers (1"x 2") into threaded inserts on the underside of the top. The top stretchers are shown in the picture below. You can see that I have already drilled three holes in each stretcher.

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danmart77

Dan
Corporate Member
Donn a couple things to consider: If your daughter is a bit picky, you need to get some samples ready for her to choose from on arrival. Guessing as you go does not work well. I spent years trying to guess what customers really wanted and finally just prepared examples and I would duplicate. Easier.

While you are waiting for her arrival it would be wise to wet the surface down with a moisten cloth with some water. Don't flood it but get all the small whiskers to rise. Sand and do it again. If you plan on using a grain filler its ready for that.

That's a bunch of surface to prepare so get to work amigo.
 
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Richo B

New User
Richo
Donn, That's a great looking table. Your shop layout is also very impressive. To me it looks very similar to Ernie Miller's.
 
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JohnnyR

John
Corporate Member
Beautiful table Donn. Make sure those holes are elongated to allow wood movement which shouldn't be too much since it's QS.
 

agrieco

anthony
Corporate Member
Tremendous! Looks awesome! Love the 'arch'? detail on the stretcher between the pedestals.
 

gritz

New User
Robert
Mark, I forgot to address the question of attachment. As of the moment, the top is not attached, but the plan is to use 1.25" lag bolts through the top stretchers (1"x 2") into threaded inserts on the underside of the top. The top stretchers are shown in the picture below. You can see that I have already drilled three holes in each stretcher.

View attachment 188815
How will you compensate for movement? The described approach sounds like a pretty solid attachment.
 

drw

Donn
Corporate Member
How will you compensate for movement? The described approach sounds like a pretty solid attachment.
Robert, the attachment is solid, while I do not overly tighten the lag bolts, I do not intentionally leave any play. That said, because the holes are slightly oversized (1/16") there is some room for the bolts to move with the wood. I have only made one other table top of a similar size and so far (seven years) wood movement has not been an issue (I would note that this table has resided in Quantico, VA; Paris Island, SC; Camp Pendleton, CA ;and Fort Leavenworth, KS ...so, it has experienced heat and humidity changes). I should also note that both tables are made of quartersawn white oak, which no doubt helps minimize the problem of wood movement.
A really big positive side benefit of drilling oversized holes, in addition to the wood movement problem, is the advantage it provides when it comes time to line-up the holes with the threaded inserts!
 

LocoWoodWork

Steve
Corporate Member
Robert, the attachment is solid, while I do not overly tighten the lag bolts, I do not intentionally leave any play. That said, because the holes are slightly oversized (1/16") there is some room for the bolts to move with the wood. I have only made one other table top of a similar size and so far (seven years) wood movement has not been an issue (I would note that this table has resided in Quantico, VA; Paris Island, SC; Camp Pendleton, CA ;and Fort Leavenworth, KS ...so, it has experienced heat and humidity changes). I should also note that both tables are made of quartersawn white oak, which no doubt helps minimize the problem of wood movement.
A really big positive side benefit of drilling oversized holes, in addition to the wood movement problem, is the advantage it provides when it comes time to line-up the holes with the threaded inserts!

Made my first table at the PISC wood hobby shop in '88, drug it around the globe since then and still using it.
 
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