Now, the finish I chose to use is a straight off the shelf, wind wax, oil based stand and on top of that, I used my pre-catalyzed sealer and then I sprayed on the pre-catalyzed locker on top of that, let us say about four coats on top of the sealer. It gives me a really nice, thick finish. It is a semi-glues finish or whatever first medium rub look and it turned out fantastic. It is going to be really durable and I think the customer is going to be really happy with it.
Just a quick note about finishes and stains, a lot of times people or smaller companies, they like to experiment with different finishes. It might be easier for them to just grab some pigments or dice or stains off the shelf, it makes things together and make their own custom colors. And I guess I can sort of see a reason for that if you really just want to be dependent on you and to keep coming back to you because you are the person who made this exact finish.
When I think a lot of times, people like to keep this mystery around the finishing process and I think that is too good. I think you really better off going to home depot if you can find the color you are looking for on the shelf, why not do it that way? This way, the customer can reproduce this color if they need to. I know they are going to come back to me anyway, I am not concerned that I am going to loose this job. The construction speaks for itself so I am not too worried about the color, I just want to make my life easier so all I have to do is put a note on my notebook that this customer use this particular mean wax stain and I know I can always get it, and, it is always going to be the same consistency unless they make a major product change.
So, when you are picking your finishes, it is good to experiment and it is great to be able to color match and I got plenty of pigments and dice. I could have reproduced this color using the stuff I have in my shelf. But, in the long run, it is a lot easier for me and for them if I use something that is commercially available.
Now, since I use the domino for all of my joinery, I have the option to actually put more than one tenon per joint. So, in fact, that is exactly what I did, I put two per joint, which means that the glue up is going to take a little bit more time and I am not going to have as much time to get the glue distributed on all this pieces.
So, imagine, you know, you got this four slots into the rails then the rails is going to the legs, if you are using regular yellow glue, there is really no way you are going to get all that done especially if you have two tenons per joint. That is in sane. So, what I actually did was pre glued my tenons into the mortises on each piece so that I could just sort of assemble things together and I do not have to worry about inserting the loosed tenons into place.
And, before I do the final assembly, I am going to actually prepare just like I did with the other pieces and pre-glue this little domino tenons into place. So just put a little glue into each mortise. The great thing about a joint that fits as tight as these joints, you do not really need a whole lot of glue. It is just so much perfect wood surface to wood surface contact, long grain contact that a little bit of glue is going to go a long way in this cases. So, and you will see I actually can only get the tenon in so far with finger pressure and I have to give it a few tops with the hammer. Now, it is a tight fitting joint.
Now, I have to say, the domino is a fantastic tool and since my initial post in the previous pod cast about the domino, clearly there is, you know, a lot of attention given to a tool like this because it is new, it is doing something that we have been doing for years but it is a lot faster and there is a price attached to it that a lot of people are concerned about. All I can say is if it is not your price range, it is an awesome tool, well worthy investment and it is going to save you a lot of time. If it is not, clearly there are other ways to get the job done and we have gone over quite a few of those. Few folks have brought into my attention some of the systems that I did not even mention that are even lower cost than either one of this systems like, I think the Leigh FMT and the woodrat just to name a few. Now, just go over those and you will find some information on them.
Personally, I do not know a whole lot about them because I usually go for the older school methods for the most part. So, there are other ways to do it. But, I got to tell you, if you do have the funds and you are interested, Domino is a great way to go.
As you can see, the final glue up requires some creative clamping. Just an FYI, I wind up at a more clamps below these to get more even clamping pressure along the joint. In order to attach the table top, I am installing figure aid fasteners. This great little do dads will hold the table down securely but still allowing the solid wood top to expand and contract with seasonal changes and humidity. I use a three quarter inch force in a bed to draw a flat bottom recess for the fastener.
Notice how the location of the recess will allow the fastener to swivel back and forth. I simply pre-drill, drive the screw and we are ready for the next one. In order to attach the base to the table top, I place the table top upside down on a soft surface. I keep this guide in my shop solely for this purpose, I highly recommend getting one. Actually, there is my buddy Chris from Chicago, now he is internet famous. I checked to make sure that we have the exact same spacing at each corner. Once the base is in position, I drive the screws through all of my fasteners and into the table top.
Well, what do you think of our arts and crafts table? The color is exactly what the customer wanted and the finish is right on. Now, the proportions are pretty much what we expected to. I guess it is really how it should be. That is the value of using a program like sketch up to plan your projects. We already knew how the piece would look in 3D space so there are no surprises when the table is finished.
Now, I hope some of you will be inspired to make a table like this for yourself. And remember, do not ever feel that a particular project is beyond your skill level. Challenging ourselves is how we grow as woodworkers and actually, sometimes, the best way to learn is trial by fire. So, dive right in and just give it a shot.
So, if you have any questions or comments or if you have questions about this table in particular, please feel free to email me at thewoodwhisper@gmail.com. And, for some great articles and tutorials, check out our website at thewoodwhisperer.com.
Now, I am sure many of you have noticed the addition of a few sponsors to our website, this is really great news for the show and it allows us to keep pumping episodes on nearly a weekly basis. So, be sure to show them some love and check out the links that I have provided. Now, if you will excuse me, I got a table to deliver.
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