# First ever build thread



## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Watching you all have fun with these build threads, I decided to take the leap and throw my self in the deep end. I will warn you now, this one may have significant stretches of time between updates, but I'll do my best to get this done in a timely manner. 

I have been saving this piece of bubinga for several years now, waiting to get to this project.








I will make 2 small occasional tables, approximately 15" square on the top and 30" tall. The tops and rails will be bubinga and the legs will be curly maple from a local (5 miles from me) guy with a portable mill. 

First step today was jointing 1 edge of the bubinga to a reference point. I started to lay out the cutting scheme and realized why I hadn't started this project earlier...I need to get another piece of bubinga :wallbash:.






I realized that I used some of this board for the edging around a chess board I built and never got back to the hardwood store to get another piece. I hope they have some with nice figure like this.

Next thing I did was start to joint a piece of 8/4 curly maple just so you can see the figure. [/ATTACH]. The legs will be 1.5" square and taper to 3/4" on the two inner faces. That's all I had time for tonight. I hope to get to the lumber yard this week to get another piece of bubinga. Thanks for looking. Stay tuned...


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

This is getting interesting. if the build threads keep coming we'll have to start our own UTUBE channel... :laughing:


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Nice, looking forward to this one!

~tom ...it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt...


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

That's what I'm talking about. Way to jump in with another build thread. I love these things, both posting them and reading them. Please be sure to include any goof ups, as it teaches us hammer heads how NOT to do things. I'm really looking forward to seeing this one through its different stages. Great work so far.
Good luck with the project.


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

Really looking forward to this one! As Ken said, I too LOVE build threads! It keeps interest and makes going on this forum each day exciting to see where everyone's at on their pieces of art 

Good luck! :thumbsup:


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## CasinoDuck (Jun 15, 2011)

:thumbsup:


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## Texas Sawduster (Apr 27, 2009)

*Cool !!!*

More projects.... :thumbsup:


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

I can't get to the hardwood store until tomorrow, so I decided to work on milling the legs. First I flattened 1 face on the jointer.






Next I placed that flat face against the jointer fence and machined the edge. Now I have a flat face and edge that are square.






I've gotten in the habit of marking my reference face/edge so I remember what goes where when I start planing and cutting.






NOw to the thickness planer. Took them down to 1 and 33/64 inches (pic doesn't show the number well).






This will allow me some room to smooth with hand planes when all milling is done.


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Beautiful wood. Putting my chip on the table for this one! :thumbsup:


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Here they are after going through the planer, original flat face and square edge with the newly planed face parallel to the other and square to the reference edge.








Here are the legs cut to width and given one light pass at the jointer to remove saw marks.








Total time in shop this morning: 1 hour
Total time on project: 1.5 hours

Thought I'd also show you my high tech dust collectionand disposal system. Planer







Jointer







Disposal








Thanks to all for the kind comments to date. More to come, but probably not until Sunday.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

I love build threads too. I like being along for the ride and coming back to see the reveal of another step completed. It's almost as if we're involved in the process. And, by walking along with the builder, ideas, tips and methods are shared back and forth. It's the next best thing to being there in person.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

SUNDAY?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I can't wait until Sunday!!!!!!!!!!! sigh. Great work thus far. I'm enjoying this one and have been picturing in my mind what it will look like. We will see if I am anywhere close. Keep up the fantastic work. Oh, and I love your high tech d/c for the planer. :laughing:


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

I like build threads as well. I like the wood choice already. Can't wait to see more keep em coming 👍


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Hahahaha! I'm loving the dust collection system! That belongs on thereifixedit.com.

Looking forward to seeing this come together, thanks for taking the time to document it.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

The project is looking good. The dust collection is coming along nicely also. Soon you'll have nearly all the different types of domestic dust collected.


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## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

This is cool. I always like seeing rough cut after it's surfaced.


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## tcleve4911 (Dec 16, 2006)

Thanks for taking the time to share the process, Dusty.
...and thanks to all of you who have posted their tutorials.

I've been trying to post my progress of working on my shed. It takes time just to build the thing nevermind that it takes time to stop what you're doing, take a picture, finish what you were doing, load the pics into the computer, organize it into a story line and then describe what we're looking at.....and then respond to comments and posts from us.....

It's a lot of work and it does not go unappreciated......to all of you...a huge thanks.:yes:


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## Taylormade (Feb 3, 2011)

Brink said:


> This is cool. I always like seeing rough cut after it's surfaced.


Yeah, me too. Sadly, that's one of my favorite parts of any projects. You never know what type of grain you're going to see underneath that rough cut... it's like opening a wrapped present.


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## Longknife (Oct 25, 2010)

Chaincarver Steve said:


> I love build threads too. I like being along for the ride and coming back to see the reveal of another step completed. It's almost as if we're involved in the process. And, by walking along with the builder, ideas, tips and methods are shared back and forth. It's the next best thing to being there in person.


+1. I'll be following this with great interest.


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## FiveOneSix (Sep 26, 2009)

*im down with it...*



Taylormade said:


> Yeah, me too. Sadly, that's one of my favorite parts of any projects. You never know what type of grain you're going to see underneath that rough cut... it's like opening a wrapped present.


+1...especially when resawing for a bookmatch!

cant wait to see more. :thumbsup:


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## desertforest (Aug 6, 2011)

very nice. will be following the build.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Ok, so I couldn't keep Kenbo waiting until Sunday for more progress :laughing:. Went to the candystore today and picked up another very nice piece of bubinga.








I took some time to carefully examine the leg blanks for the best face and the second best face to maximize the figure of the grain. Don't want that hiding on the inside of a table leg. 








Squared one end at the miter saw and then cut them to length with the crosscut sled. I mounted a stop block on the sled to 30 inches to keep them uniform length.








Just what I need, more turning blanks :blink:








I didn't feel like I had enough time to start the tapering and mortising of the legs today so I switched gears a little and cut, jointed, planed and glued up the tops.








Gonna be 2 sweet looking tables, even if I say so myself!

Time in shop today: 1.5 hours
Total time on project: 3 hours. May or may not have a little time to work on this tomorrow. Stay tuned.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Coming along nicely. Can't wait to see then with finish on them.


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## Icutone2 (Nov 4, 2011)

Hello, Looks like a great start!
Lee


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

2 beautiful sunny but cold days here in the Pacific Northwest, so I didn't get a lot done on the tables. Had a holiday bazaar yesterday and washed/waxed the truck this morning. So here is what I got done today. LOML got a bonus and decided to use part of it to do something nice for me and surprised me with a set of new Woodriver handplanes (pics tomorrow). I have been wanting to start doing more work with hand tools, so here is the end results of my first real attempt at handplaning a table top.














Not bad curlyque for a first time, eh?

Here is the top after planing (and just a little 180 grit) wet down with some DNA to pop the grain.









Now for a little audience participation. These two tables will have "floating" tops that will rest on the top of the legs. There will be a small portion of the outer edges of the legs removed at the tops to add to the shadow. The rails will be placed far enough down from the top edge of the legs to leave a fair gap. I've roughed out 4 possible rail shapes and would like you all to help me decide which one to use. We'll call them 1-4 from top to bottom. Majority rules.







Let me know what one you like best.
Remember, these will also be bubinga.

Thanks guys, and that's it for today.

Time in shop today: 2.5 hours (about 1/2 of that cleaning, sharpening and setting up the planes)
Total time on project: 5 hours.


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## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

#4 I love a cloud lift


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

The build is going great and I appreciate you not making me wait until Sunday. :laughing: I'm torn between #3 and #4, but if I had to make the choice, I would choose #4. I just think that it will give a better "float" look than the others. Ultimately, the decision is yours, but #4 would be my choice. Looks great so far and congrats on the new planes!!


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

#4 would me my pick. Nice job with the planes.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Cool man, how'd ya like the feel of making those curyques?

I'd have to say I like num 4 as well. What type of legs is it going to have again?

~tom ...it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt...


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Thanks for the kind words and the votes. #4 it is. I was leaning that way already as I've done similar tables before with something like #1-2. The legs will be tapered on the inner 2 faces. Making curlicues with the hand planes is fun (and just a little frustrating yet at this point) but it is something that I've been wanting to learn for a while. Kinda like a woodworking bucket list. :laughing:


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

There all nice but I guess it's #4 good job on the build


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

*Back at it.*

So between breaking down these 3 large hunks of burl, a couple of commisioned pieces and getting some stoppers done for my holiday shows, I finally got back to the tables.

I got the aprons/rails/whatever you call them planed to thickness, boring and routine so no pic.

Then I started working on the legs. First step was to mark out where I wanted to trim away some of the top of the leg, creating a tenon of sorts on the top of the leg.








Here is my miter fence set to make the cheek cut. Since it's not a through cut I'm ok using the miter guage with the stock against the fence.








Next on to the tenon jig to finish the cuts.








Here is the finished (almost) top of the leg. A little chisel/plane work will clean that up nice.








The tops will be attached to these nubs with some figure 8 washers.

Next I marked out the mortises.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Next it was time to taper the legs. I find it easier to do this now so I don't get confused and taper the wrong side.








Normally I would make a jig like this but I had a Rockler gift card and a coupon for 20% off so there it is.

Here are the legs all tapered.








I goofed on the first one, not realizing that the top of the jig was not fully secured and had shifted a little when clamping the work piece down. I'll trim that square and cut a thin piece to glue on there...hopefully be almost invisible when finished. :wallbash:








Also just realized as I am typing this that I did indeed taper the wrong faces (I wanted the tapers on the inside of the legs on the mortised sides, but instead did the outer faces). At least I was consistent so I'll just pretend that I meant it to be that way.:blink:

Time today: 2. 5 hours
Total time: 7 .5 hours


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## troyd1976 (Jul 26, 2011)

awsome build bro, but umm ya'll if we are going to keep track of time on these builds im going to either have to continue avoiding doing one myself, or remove the beer fridge from the shop...:huh:


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

*First ever build thread - re-energized*

Ok, so I got sidetracked with holiday bazaars and wood swaps but it's time to get this one back on track.

Busted out the mortising attachement for the drill press and mortised the legs. I should have done this before doing the tapers on the legs, but a little shim held the piece level.














Once the machining was done, I sharpened up the chisels and cleaned the mortises by hand. Also cleaned the "tenon" on the top of the legs.








When I was cutting the taper, you might remember I had a little "oops". Well I marked a straight line and chiseled that clean and cut a patch from the taper offcut and glued that in place.








Got out the low angle block plane and cleaned up the legs from saw and pencil marks (all except the one being repaired). I'm liking this hand planing thing.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Here's a pic of the repair piece.








While waiting for the repair to dry I decided to cut the aprons to length.








I also re cut a template for the aprons (sorry no pic yet) but decided to buck popular opinion and went for the bowtie look as I think it works better with the design than does the cloud lift. But more on that later.

Time in shop today: 4 hours
Time on project in total: 11.5 hours

In case you're wondering, the wife and I don't have family in the area and due to last minute plan changes my family decided to go south rather than north for the holiday.

Hope everyone is having (had) a Merry Christmas.


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Looking good. Beautiful wood.

Sent from my iPhone using Wood Forum


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

This is really coming together and you repair job looks like it will be invisible when done. Only you will know it's there. Looking great.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

This morning I cut the tenons using the tenoning jig and miter gauge







and then cleaned them up with my Christmas present to myself.








When I started turning, the scraps I kept got very small. However, when you are thinking of uses for pieces this small (cheeks cut off from tenons) you know it's a sickness :blink:.








Spent a few minutes before lunch cleaning up the template for the aprons.








Time in shop: 2.5 hours
Total time: 14 hours

More to come after lunch.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

So after lunch I went out and cut the aprons to shape. Did one and was fighting the bandsaw, so changed to a more aggressive (and actually sharp) blade and they went very quick.








Here is a pic of the repaired leg. The patch slipped under the clamp leaving a small gap, so filled this with a mix of wood glue and sanding dust. It'll show a little, but at this point I'm not making a whole new leg.








Time in shop: 1 hour
Total time: 15 hours


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

I like the apron choice. I'm sure your patch will be fine. Keep up the good work.

Sent from my iPhone using Wood Forum


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

So spent an hour yesterday cutting (all by hand) the notches for the figure 8 fasteners that will hold the top to the frame.













Also worked on the aprons today, using a spokeshave, sharp chisels and a card scraper to remove all the bandsaw marks.







Got 6 of the 8 done today, but it's time to watch hockey.
Only spent an hour on the project yesterday because I finally broke down and got some serious illumination in the shop. It's so nice to really be able to see.








Time in shop today (and yesterday) 4 hours
Total time 18 hours


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Its' coming along great and now that you can finally see, it might speed up a bit. :laughing: Working in the dark is always slower.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Yea, but now I can see all my mistakes ;-0


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

*Almost there*

Didn't get a lot of time in the shop yesterday, but did manage to get the last two aprons cleaned up. Today I spent some time sanding out the last of the bandsaw marks on the aprons and removing all the pencil marks. Then I marked all the parts and did a test fit/final tune up of the joints.









I decided to glue the base in steps instead of trying to wrestle the whole thing. I'll let these dry overnight and finish the glue up tomorrow. Then all I have left is final treatment of the tops (profile to be determined) and finishing.









Time in shop today (and yesterday) 4 hours
Total time on project 22 hours


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

:thumbsup:looking good!


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## Scoma (Apr 1, 2011)

Looking good. I really enjoy these build threads...makes me feel a whole lot better seeing you guys have "oops" moments just like I do.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

*Almost finished*

So I realized along the way that I forgot to account for the edge treatment on the top and they ended up a little small. Fortunately I had enough bubinga left over to make 2 new tops. Glued them up yesterday (no pics). Will run them over toa buddies place tomorrow to run them through his 24" planer.

Put a coat of BLO on the bases today.








Time today - 2 hours
Total time - 24 hours


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Starting to take shape. I'm getting anxious to see the beauty.


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Base is looking sweet! Can't wait to see it put together. So if you're doing new top, are you making another, or using the old tops for something else?

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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

I'll find another use for the original tops. They may end up as the ends on an old fashioned tool tote. Maple sides, bubinga ends, handcut box or dovetail joints. Something I've been wanting to build for a while. Or maybe as lids for some boxes.


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## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

Looks great with some BLO on it! Love the grain on those legs.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

I'm going to agree with Brink. The grain on those legs is awesome. This is really coming together nicely. And now that you can see in your shop with the new lighting, you can appreciate the grain even more. Nice work.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

*Finish line is in sight*

Took the new, larger tops to my buddies for a run through his wide planer this am. Came home and cut a 10 degree bevel/chamfer around the edge of the underside of the tops.








Here is one just resting in place so you can get a sense of what they'll look like finished.








Here are the tops sanded to 180 and with a coat of BLO.















Time today - 1.5 hours
Total time - 25.5 hours


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## bigcouger (Jan 4, 2012)

Love the bubunga with quilited maple its got to gorgust


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

It's awesome Steve. It came beautiful. 
I also like the quilted maple & bubinga. 
:thumbsup:


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