# First Project: Coffee Table



## DeputyMike (Aug 16, 2008)

This is my first real project (since high school anyway!) from my new shop. Solid Peruvian Black walnut coffee table. My plan is to build every piece of wooden furniture in my house, in time of course! Let me know what you think...


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## joasis (Sep 15, 2006)

Nice work!


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## ESCANABAJOSH (Jun 28, 2008)

thats somthing to be proud of! good job.


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## Joe C (Nov 8, 2007)

VERY VERY NICE Deputy Mike. Keep it up!:thumbsup:


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## John in Tennessee (Jun 11, 2008)

That is nice...


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## smitty1967 (Feb 24, 2008)

holy cow Mike!! 

not bad for a cop....

Hey, do you know what cops and firemen have in common? 

yes: yeah, I have to say it...)

they all want to be firemen!!!

:laughing:

Seriously, though, great job on the coffee table. Show us some of your other work when you get to it....

smitty


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## hands made for wood (Nov 2, 2007)

The table looks awesome! I will say you inspired me to make one myself :yes:


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## joesdad (Nov 1, 2007)

great lines in that puppy...nice job.


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## Maveric777 (Jul 30, 2008)

Very nice Mike!


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## DeputyMike (Aug 16, 2008)

Thanks for all the input guys! I think I am going to move onto bedroom furniture since I have a boatload of rough cut red oak from hurricane downed trees courtesy of Hurricane Fran. I found two different guys selling it and got it dirt cheap. That walnut was expensive so I will be waiting to do the tv stand and end table!


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Dep Mike,
Being a retired firefighter I have to agree with what Smitty said. Nice job on the table. I like the taper on the legs and the fit on the drawers. Make sure you put a doily or table cloth down before you load that thing down with doughnuts. LOL.
Mike Hawkins:laughing:


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## jdixon (Nov 21, 2007)

Very nice! I love the clean look of the table and the tapered legs are outstanding! Keep the pics coming of the new projects.

John


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## toddj99 (Jan 1, 2008)

Very nice table. What did you use to finish it?


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## DeputyMike (Aug 16, 2008)

Thanks again for all the input.
FirehawkMPH: I agree, that was a good joke! The drawers fit so close because the whole panel assembly came from one board, I ripped the top and bottom off, and then I chopped the 2 drawer faces and the 3 spacers from the remainder. I then reassembled the apron in the exact same order, so when the drawers were installed, all the grain looked almost like the original board. Minus the saw kerf of course!
Toddj99: I used Cabot's Rub On Poly, quite a few coats.


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## fionatx (Jul 19, 2008)

Very nice table !


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## Jdurg (Sep 7, 2008)

Wow! VERY nice! The more woodworking I do, the more I wish I held out and saved up a bit longer before buying my house. (No garage and real workspace place aside from a part of my basement which I think I will have to turn into one!  )


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## themechanic007 (Aug 6, 2008)

Jdurg said:


> Wow! VERY nice! The more woodworking I do, the more I wish I held out and saved up a bit longer before buying my house. (No garage and real workspace place aside from a part of my basement which I think I will have to turn into one!  )


I sold my wife on letting me build my clubhouse...errrr umm workshop in the basement to cut down on the dust in the rest of the house...hehehe

Very nice table, glad they didnt shoot the deputy......


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## Conner (Sep 14, 2008)

Very nice. Do you have a fully-equipped shop or are you acquiring tools over time? What tools did you use for the coffee table?


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## DeputyMike (Aug 16, 2008)

*my shop*

I've been slowly putting my tool 'collection' together for a few years now. My shop is pretty well equipped I think. I don't have extraneous pieces like dust collectors, etc. but I have the basics. My latest edition was a dedicated hollow chisel mortiser. I used it along with my table saw and planer to build the coffee table. I had never even used a hollow chisel mortiser before, but it was so easy that I just set it up, did one test hole, and went right on ahead and cut my mortises in the legs of the coffee table. And I got mine off of ebay for under 200 shipped (craftsman). I highly recommend that tool to anybody! I think the only other tools I used were a hand drill and my random orbit sander...


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Great job. The design is fantastic. Simple, yet stylish. Is it your own design? If that were at my house, the drawers would already be filled with junk that doesn't have a home anywhere else.


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