Table Progress

This weekend was 3 days of almost non-stop work on the table. I cut the cross braces and started to work on attaching the legs to the table top. Because of the weight of the table top, I wanted the legs to be removable so it would be easier to relocate when we eventually move. I decide to use a strip of wood on each side of the table leg and have a bolt run through all 3 pieces. It is hard to describe but requires a hole to be drilled though all 3 in the same location. This proved hard to do. I had already attached the 2 cross pieces before realising the drill would not fit into the space. Out came the crow bar to pry them off, then off I went to cut new ones as the old one were destroyed in the process.

After struggling for a couple of hour to get holes that lined up on all the pieces and were straight, we went over to Tom’s grandfathers for help. I though he would use his drill press and quickly bust out the holes but since I had already started; he helped me do it manually with a vice and a drill.

Once that was done I spent Labour Day doing final sanding and even put a coat of stain on the legs and underside of the table. Unfortunately it looked terrible. The stain was so dark that all the grain of the wood was lost. It seemed pointless to buy expensive wood then finish it so you can’t see it so next weekend I guess I will be removing stain.

And now we know: always test stain and don’t bother buying expensive wood if you plan to stain it really dark