Shop Rule #4: Always where close toed shoes in the shop.
Shop Rule #5: Do as I say, not as I do.
Pipe Fitting Coffee Table
A weekend project with Josh, the maple, walnut and cherry coffee table was a nice first project for my new jointer. It made the the board prep a breeze. Still, we managed to somehow split the end of the board along the grain, requiring josh to perform a glue and clamp repair a couple months into it's use. Other than that, the table seems to be pretty hardy; un-weathered (well, still standing anyway) by the punishment Josh and Emily's puppy Murphy has imparted on it.
Required Resources: 8 hours, $160 ($60 in wood, $100 in Pipe Fittings)
Size: 17" x 40 x 18" Tall
Materials: Walnut, Maple, Maple, Titebond II Glue, Cast Iron Pipe flanges and Steel pipe.
Finish: Minwax Natural Stain (2 Coats), Minwax Semi-Gloss Polyurethane Aerosol (3 coats), Sanded with 400 grit in between coats and finished with 800 and 1000 grit, Buffed with Turtlewax.
Tools: Table Saw, Planer, Jointer, Orbital Sander
New Techniques: This was my first project with the jointer, although there wasn't a ton of learning to get caught up to speed in this machine. It is important to mind your fingers when using a jointer however, because after the table saw, the jointer is the next best way to lose some digits. Jointing is also particularly hazardous when prepping knotty, splintered wood or end grain. If the woods splits away while your hand is putting downward pressure on the bed, your hand is is liable to push into the exposed rotary blade. For this reason, its important to use the safety paddles. We also fashioned table legs out of plumbing pipes and pipe fittings we bought at Home Depot. This style of leg does not come cheap, but it added a nice industrial chic aesthetic to the piece.
Lessons Learned: The build part of this project went pretty smoothly, especially with the new tools. It was the first project, however, that I taught someone some woodworking skills, and tool safety. The tricky part about working with a first time woodworker and power tools, is striking the balance between scaring them enough to be alert and take precautions with the power tools, but not terrifying them so that they no longer want to participate. At this point, I've introduced a number of people to woodworking and I think I've better honed my introductory lesson. Still, its not uncommon for one of my friends to get spooked by the start up bark of the table saw and decide this hobby isn't for them. Their loss, I guess.
The one misstep I took on this piece was taken months after the initial completion of the project. After Josh fixed the split end, I came over and decided to buff in some automotive wax to the table to bump up the luster. Unfortunately, when we finished the table, we did not cut the the first few layers of polyurethane back far enough to fill in the pits left by the wood grain. The opaque wax embedded itself in these pits and left an unsightly residue. We had to really work at the blemishes with a soft rag to pull the wax out.
