Scrap table take 2

First off this was not my idea, I actually got it from another instructables found here :
http://www.instructables.com/id/Scrap-Table/

Alhough very similar I have changed a few things (which I may, may not have regretted after). Either way, I beleive my instructables is diffrent than the first so with both in hand, you'll be able to build another kick ass table!

The other difference with the other instructables is that the first was built outdoors. I live in a small 5 room appartment downtown Montreal and don't have access to space outside. This whole project was done in the middle of my living room.

Step 1 Tools and materials

Great thing about this instructables is that the materials were free! Mind you, you will have to invest but saving on wood reduced the budget by a few hundreds (I guess/hope).

N.b. To make this easier to read, from now on I'll use "table 1" as reference to the first instructables.

Materials :

- Wood
- Threaded rods
- Washers & nuts
- Glue (I beleive table 1 said 1 gallon of glue so I bought that... WAY TO MUCH, you'll need about 1 litre (1/4 gallon?)).
- Stain
- Varnish
- Wood putty

Tools : (I'm most likely going to forget to list some! I'll mention them as I go along)

- Table saw
- Cicular saw
- Planner
- Sander
- Drill
- Dremel rotary tool

Comments

[jashaw2]

You can also get a speed square to use w/ a skilsaw for straight cuts.

[thelawyer]

Lovely table! I find the best way of applying stain for a blotch-free finish is to apply it with a clean cotton cloth (an old t-shirt/rag is ideal), bunched up into a pad. Putting only a small amount of stain on the cloth at a time, 'buff' it into the wood in line with the grain. The cotton absorbs some of the stain, releasing it evenly on to the surface. It works well.

[GreyBird]

In South Africa we have a Gel Stain, like the name says, it's a gel and not a runny liquid. No mistakes if you apply it with a sponge, but be sure to have allot of sponges as the gel stain eats up the sponge!

Thanks for the advice on using normal stain!

[jello666]

That's the way I do it.

[grd]

I recently bought a cheap hand held metal detector wand (the kind security guards use to check for weapons etc.) from a Chinese web site. It is wonderful for detecting almost invisible screws, nails, staples etc. in reclaimed pieces of wood. Get one; your tools will thank you for it!

[tmjones]

what type of wood?

[cingham]

the kind that comes from trees...

[marjorieallea]

Beautiful table...

[schmiez]

The 100 grit doesnt seem high enough to get a smooth finish (but the photos prove otherwise). Is that a function of the wood you used? I'm finishing a similar one, but have found I need 150 to get down to the point that the table wont "catch" on books, papers, beer bottles, etc...

[logikly]

You're right... that's an error in what I wrote (I'll correct it) I actually used 400 grit and then 600 grit for the varnish

[maxman]

Thanks for posting this. It is truely an inspiration.

[jwilliamsen]

A helpful technique when you are trying to plane and sand a surface flat: take a pencil and draw a wavy line back and forth across the whole surface - a long "squiggle" down the table. This will allow you to see the low spots as you plane and sand (the pencil marks will be left behind in the "low" spots). It's also very helpful when doing your rough shaping to go at 45 degrees across the planks, then alternate to the opposite side of the table and go the along the opposite 45 degrees - so you go 45 degrees one way, then 45 degrees the opposite way from the other side of the table. Doing this will help make sure you're working the table top evenly. Also, try to work evenly across the whole top at the same time - don't focus on one area. When you get the table top flat, start sanding with the grain. Use aluminum oxide papers for all your major smoothing, and finish with Garnet paper. Garnet paper is the best for final smoothing.

[woodNfish]

Actually the best way to stain soft wood is to first seal the wood with clear varnish and then stain it. This solves the problem with blotching.

[logikly]

That's an awesome technique... I wish I had known it prior to staining and varnishing my table! Thank you for sharing

[lafnbear]

c'est magnifique! but... what if you move? :-)

[logikly]

We'll find a bridge when we have to cross the river ;)

[Microbe]

I think it you look, you may find an instructable on how to build a bridge :o)

[machprod]

You could just float across on it. nice work!

[logikly]

hahahahaha... most likely ;)

[eduplessis]

Tres belle table... Je veux m'en faire une moi aussi... car j'avais vu le premier "instructables", ce qui m'avais vraiment intéressé... et avec le tien, et bien ca me donne un petit coup de pied au culs... :) Et je crois que je vais m'acheter aussi une table a découper.... question: a tu utiliser un planneur pour mettre tes planche sur le meme niveaux ou tu a juste sablé...

[logikly]

Ca va définitivement te prendre une planeuse... ca serait beaucoup trop long avec une sableuse seulement... Va lire le commentaire de jwilliamsen du 13 juin, c'est très intéressant et j'aurais aimé connaitre ce truc avant.

[geppetto425]

Next time, before attaching the legs, take the table top to a local cabinet shop. They can run it through their planner and then thickness sander. Should only take them a half hour and cost you about $30. (The bottom has to be flat though.)

[Fiction]

Possibly, though I doubt any cabinet shop is going to allow a huge mess of unknown pieces of reclaimed lumber be put through their $10,000+ planer.

[vingtdeux]

wow i really love your table!!! and a very long one too! knowing how montreal's appartments could have real tiny dining room, good luck with your next one! :-) only thing is, i find that for a table taht size, you somehow lose space to sit people, because of the position and shape of the legs. could you sit 8 or 10?

[logikly]

8 people can sit comfortably on it. You can sit 10 but it's a bit more crowded

[Papa Sprinkles]

How long does it take to make this project?

[logikly]

I didn't count the exact time but I'd say about 100 hours of work overall

[geppetto425]

Oops, planner should be spelled planer...

[jwilliamsen]

Soft woods (pine, fir, cedar, redwood, etc) and even some hardwoods like Cherry can be very difficult to stain without "blotching". Some other ideas (beyond what you mentioned) to help achieve a consistent blotch-free finish would be to use a gel stain, or, a "stain control" product which is essentially a very thin finish coat that you apply to your project to seal the pores of the wood before staining. You can make your own "stain control" product by mixing your final finish about 1:3 finish to solvent, applying a light coat to your project, and letting it cure. When you apply your stain it will be much easier to control the consistency and depth of color. Be sure to test your proposed finish techniques on scrap pieces first so you can make sure you like the results and avoid those nasty surprises :)

[jwilliamsen]

Good tools are never a bad investment - you can always sell them when you're done using them and recoup some of your money. Quality tools will sell for much more of their original price than a cheap tool will, and the time and effort saved combined with better quality is usually well worth it. The old saying goes: Buy Nice, or Buy Twice :)

[jwilliamsen]

I very rarely used Yellow glues any more. A better type of glue to use is Polyurethane Glue. Be aware that some polyurethane formulations are crap - I've had some cure the consistency of styrofoam (very bad). The most consistent quality I've found is with "Gorilla Glue" - it's a bit more expensive, but worth it. You will use about 1/3 as much polyurethane glue as you will yellow glues because polyurethane glues expand as they cure ( you need to dampen your surfaces - polyurethane glues need water to cure). Polyurethane glues also take stain, unlike yellow glues. Aliphatic Resin glues (yellow glues) never really cure - they remain a liquid (like asphalt and glass) and your joints will creep over time. Yellow glues also tend to gum up sandpaper and dull tools - which poly glues do not. BTW - the first table I ever built was done on the living room floor of my apartment as well :)

[Eric Hart]

You want to be careful when using lumber salvaged from outdoor decks and patios; often, they are built with pressure-treated lumber, which used to contain arsenic. The arsenic can be released when you are cutting and sanding the wood, so be sure to use the proper kind of respirator. The arsenic can leach into your skin through direct contact, but it poisons much more efficiently through ingestion, which can happen if you eat food off of a table made from pressure-treated lumber. I don't know how much protection you get by coating the top with varnish, but I would certainly do some research before assuming it is safe.

[gjm]

I must say; this turned out better than I expected it to when I first started reading this instructable. It's quite inspiring. Excellent job.

[ax89]

My first though: Very nice! My second though: omg, that must be HEAVY!!! Good work though, especially doing it all in your apartment!! Hope you didn't get into trouble for all the noise you made in the process. :)

[Crispie J]

It's fantastic. I recently moved into a small apartment in Halifax (fellow Canuck) and was wondering if I would ever be able to work on this kind of project without a garage or basement (not that I completed any when I had those things LOL). You showed that it could be done. Come to think of it my dad built a small sailboat in the living room when I was growing up - I remember crawling under it to get to the couch. It must have driven my mother to the edge of barking lunacy. Thanks also for the tip about Kijiji and Craigslist - you can also try Freecycle.

[lofgren]

Nice one, well done!

[mscharf]

Awsome! like the look and feel of it been wanting to replicate that look for an outdoor table, beautiful job.

[Peter.Steele]

Wish you'd posted this a few weeks ago ... I need a new desk, and I pretty much re-invented the wheel, coming up with the same idea for using threaded rod instead of clamps. :) Since you mentioned that the threaded rod ends are a bit of an eyesore, the only thing I might suggest doing differently - this is the plan with my desk, when I get around to building it - is to countersink the holes for the threaded rods in a ways on the outside boards, so that your nuts / washers are completely hidden on the inside. Use a standard size spade drill for this, so that when you've got everything glued up and tightened down, you can cut off a short length of dowel and slip it into the countersink, to cover the nut and the end of the rod.

[Culturedropout]

Nice work. I can't believe you did this all inside an apartment! I have a shop and I still have trouble not making a huge mess and trashing the place. I wonder if the glue is really necessary, or if you could just stop with the rods? That way you could take it apart and replace pieces if one got gouged or stained, and you could take it apart for transport/storage. Nicely done instructable! P.S. - Could you slide some pieces of salvaged garden hose over the bottom rods to make them look better and protect your shoes? Or maybe drill holes through a bunch of small blocks of wood and thread them over the rods just like you did for the top?

[jkm]

Great table, you can feel the weight just watching it. After really drying, I imagine the rods through the tabletop are no longer needed. If you get annoyed at scuffing your shoes on the threaded rod, get some plain rod, and cut thread just on the last ?15 cm. Fairly easy to do. The main advantage of your choice not to glue in the legs, is that the table can come apart for moving house. Second thought, do you really need the bottom rod to connect the legs, why don't you take it out, and see/test how stable the table is? You might be surprised.