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Materials:
Clear Pine:
- Table top: Four 6' pieces of 1" x 10"
- Legs: About 30' of 1" x 3"
- Apron: Three 6' pieces of 1" x 6"
- Fastening strips: About 18' of 2" x 2" pine
Plus:
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Tools
- Handsaw or trim-saw
- Drill and bits
- Pipe clamps (you'll need at least 5)
- Orbital or belt sander
- Spray bottles
- Wet rag
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Cut List:
- Top: 4 - 1" x 10" x 6'
- Legs: 12 - 1" x 3"x 29"
- Apron: 1" x 6" cut to length as necessary
- Fastening strips: 2" x 2" cut to length as necessary
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Steps:
| Figure out how big you want your table to be, allowing 24"
per place setting for sufficient elbowroom. (My table is six
feet long, and just over three feet wide.)
At the lumberyard, choose boards for the tabletop by matching
grain patterns in the boards. Inspect the boards carefully,
rejecting any that are warped or twisted. The straighter and
cleaner the board, the easier it will be to work with.
TIP:
Boards bought from a lumberyard are usually 'green' and damp
(unless you buy 'kiln-dried' lumber, which is nice and dry,
but more expensive). So, after buying green boards from the
lumberyard, put some small wooden spacers between them and
clamp them all together over the spacers on both edges of
the boards every two feet or so. Then stand the boards on
edge and let them dry out for a month or two. The clamps and
spacers will keep your boards flat while they shrink as much
as they're going to BEFORE you make a table out of them!
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Place the four boards in pipe clamps |
Find the best fit before gluing |
Apply glue on all the edges that touch |
Spread the glue with your finger |
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Top Cuts
Next, cut your tabletop boards to length. Place three pipe clamps
on your work surface and adjust their span to loosely fit the
width of your tabletop boards. (Note: Pipe clamps are the strongest
kind of clamps used in woodworking, but you have to make them
yourself. Buy threaded steel pipes, and then attach the clamping
heads, bought separately.) Set the boards in place on top of
the clamps, remembering to match the grain to best advantage.
Apply glue along the edges. Work as quickly as you can because
the glue will start to skim over. |
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Even up the ends |
Adjust the boards as you tighten each clamp |
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Once you have glue on all the edges that touch, gently squeeze
the boards together starting with the center clamp. As you
do so, adjust the boards up or down to keep the surface level.
The tabletop will have to be sanded so don't get crazy about
the boards being dead level. It's better to keep moving, tightening
the other clamps. Snug the other clamps down in the same way
you did the centre one. Don't over-tighten; just make them
snug.
Lay two or three additional pipe clamps on top of the boards
and snug them down as well. Check all the clamps and snug
them down evenly. There should be a bit of glue squeezing
out all along each joint. (Believe it or not, once the glued
joint is dry, it will be stronger than the actual wood itself.)
Let the glue set for a minimum of 20 minutes, preferably
an hour. Then take the top out of the clamps and trim the
ends.
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Make a 'test' board to experiment with finishes |
First stain applied after distressing |
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Antiquing
Now, you've got this virginal white tabletop. Time to age
that baby so you get the glorious patina they charge so much
for in the antique shops. I made up my own process for antiquing.
You could probably think up something more efficient. But
here's how I did it.
- Place boards on a gravel surface and then walk on them,
rock 'em, drag 'em, ride 'em and otherwise bother the lumber.
You're applying a hundred years of stress to those boards
instantly, so have a little fun.
- Using a wire brush, remove impacted gravel from the boards.
- In a spray bottle, mix a dark oak or walnut shade of water-based
aniline dye (available at Lee Valley Tools). Mist all surfaces.
The aniline penetrates wherever there are dings, scratches,
dents and scrapes.
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First sanding
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Second stain |
Second sanding |
- Sand the boards, blunting their edges so they look 'soft',
but leaving the dark pits and dings. Also sand the tabletop
flat if the boards didn't go together perfectly.
- Now mix up a lighter shade of aniline stain (try Golden
Antique Pine) and stain all surfaces again.
- Sand lightly to give the surfaces some wear spots.
TIP:
For the best results, make a test board with various distressing
and staining options to experiment with the colours and textures
you want. Remember that you really can't make a mistake, especially
with aniline dyes. The dyes can be applied thinly or heavily
and can be wiped down with a damp cloth to diminish their
intensity.
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Two types of shellac - clear and amber |
Clear shellac in flake form before mixing |
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Finishing
Finally, apply three to five coats of shellac finish. There
are many grades of shellac. I like the blonde 'de-waxed' kind
that comes in dry form and then you mix it up with shellac thinner.
There are also 'orange' versions of shellac which give the wood
a deeper colour, but only use this stuff as one of the first
coats, because it develops ugly white water stains every time
you set a glass down on the surface - highly impractical for
a tabletop!
Also, shellac has only a six-month shelf life after it has
been mixed. However, the dry form can be mixed in small batches
and therefore there's less waste. Shellac is wonderful because
it can be used over any other finish and almost any finish
can be used on top of it. Plus if your pine is pitchy or oozing
sap, the shellac will seal it forever.
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Glue three lengths of 1x3 together for the legs (or two pieces
of 2x4) and then finish |
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Getting a Leg Up
The legs are made of three pieces of 1"x3"x29"
clear pine glued together to form a roughly square leg. The
distressing and finish is much the same as the top with the
exception that I chamfered (cut off the corner at a 45 degree
angle) two of the four sharp corners. Adding any kind of detail
to the leg helps add design value, or you can buy fancy turned
legs from the lumberyard. If you buy pre-made legs, you'll have
to adjust the colours to match the top. |
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Glue the 2x2 strips to the apron |
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Put on Your Apron
The 1"x 6" apron pieces are finished just like the
legs and top. To figure out what length to cut the pieces, turn
the tabletop upside down and set the legs in place at the corners,
inset 3" in from the ends and sides. Mark the location
for each of the legs and then measure the distance between the
marks; Cut the apron pieces to that length, which should be
roughly 62" for the sides, and 26" for the ends, depending
on your materials.
Cut the 2"x 2" material approximately10" shorter
than the length of each of the apron pieces. Drill 3/8"
holes every 6" along the length of each 2"x 2"
strip starting about 3" in from each end. Centre each
2"x 2" strips on the inside edge of each 1"x6"
apron piece where it contacts the tabletop. Glue the strips
to the apron pieces.
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Screw the 2x2 strip (now attached to apron piece) to the underside
of the table |
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Now attach the apron pieces to the tabletop by screwing through
the 2" x 2" strips into the underside of the tabletop.
Use zinc wood screws and place two zinc washers under each screw
head. The washers will slide on each other and the screw can
move freely in the oversized hole, allowing the tabletop to
expand and contract with changes in humidity or heat. (If these
parts were fastened rigidly together they could split the tabletop
over time.) Choose the correct length of screw by placing the
apron with the 2"x2" glued to it next to the edge
of the table. Put the screw and washer assembly in place in
the 2"x2" and check for length against the side of
the tabletop. Choose one that enters the top to a depth of about
half an inch. (Add a washer if necessary to adjust the screw
length.) Screw all the apron pieces in place.
TIP:
Be sure to inset the apron by about a quarter of an inch from
the front plane of the leg so it looks pretty. |
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Cut four corner braces with mitred ends
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Corner brace detail |
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Bracket Ho!
Make four 6" long corner brackets out of 1"x6"
pine. Miter the ends at a 45 degree angle. Drill two holes in
the centre large enough to allow the hanger bolts to slip through.
Drill one countersunk hole in each of the four corners of the
bracket. Attach each corner bracket to the apron with four screws.
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Pass the hanger bolt through the drilled hole, jabbing it into
the leg to mark its position |
Pre-drill for the hanger bolts |
Then use the drill to drive the bolt into the leg |
Tongue-in-groove pliers will also work to drive in the hanger
bolts |
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| Set the leg in place and mark the location for the hanger
bolts. Pre-drill the legs for the hanger bolts and drive them
in using some tongue-in-groove pliers or put the hanger bolt
in the drill chuck and drive it in. |
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Set the leg in place with the hanger bolts passing through the
corner brace |
Attach with a washer and wing nut |
Leg, corner bracket and apron in place |
Framework under the table top |
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| Slide the legs into position, passing the bolts through the
brackets. Fasten using a washer and wing nut. |
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Install a centre support for longer tables |
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Brace for Impact
Make and install a centre brace for the tabletop to prevent
it from sagging under a heavy holiday meal. Use a piece of 1"x
3", notched it to fit over the 2"x 2" strips
glued to the apron, drill oversized holes and install with a
screw and two washers. |
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Completed table
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| Finally, use a beeswax furniture polish to finish.
Don't forget to sign and date your table, so your future
descendants will always remember their carpenter aunt.
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Artisans'
work featured on this episode:
(click pics for Artist info and larger
images)
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