wdwerker Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 A crafty old contractor I worked for would tell us to leave one thing on the punch list that was easy to fix and in a highly visible spot unfixed. Something like an un filled nail hole at eye level. Then when we were doing the final walk through with the client he would say that he couldn't see anything wrong except this and point it out. We would get it fixed while they continued around the room. It was amazing that most clients would take his word and not look closely themselves. It sure saved time and got us paid quicker. We would gladly go back if they did find something afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Well guys. Here is the finished up table. Minus the arm r seal for the top ( which is coming from amazon but taking its sweet time)As you can see, I deviated quite a bit from the inspiration picture in both dimention and overall look. My overall happiness on the completed project I would rate the following with reasoning. Overall appearance. 8/10 There are a lot of things I really like about the table. The dementions are perfect for the table top to sit at grab a beer level between a couch and a love seat. I really like the feet and believe the shelf is sitting at the correct height. I do not like the very obvious seam between laminations for the legs. More on that later. Fit and finish 9/10 The joinery in my opinion was well placed and is rock solid. Everything is square and i believe the angles are pleasing to the eye. I love what the blo did to the figuring in the maple. I put on 3 coats letting it dry about 6 hours between applications. What I would do differently. I would absolutely use a thin vaneer on the legs to hide the seam. It is an absolutely glaring in my face rookie mistake that I just never thought about during design and construction. During assembly, I would glue and clamp it up in two sessions. First attaching a side skirt, two legs, and the shelf support then clamping. That would give me both sides. Then later attach the two pieces together with the front and back skirts. I decided I would do the whole glue up clamp up at one time and felt extremely rushed once the glue in mortises and tenons took longer than I expected. I would really like honest feedback on what you guys see, what you would do differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Here is one after finishing before attaching the tops with z clips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Brendon, I think you did an outstanding job! I can see what you mean about the leg glue up, though. It is somewhat noticeable, at least on one leg. However, I don't find it to be a big distraction. In the future, you can try laminating a thin veneer to hide the seam, or cut the legs with the blade set to 45* so the seam lands on two of the corners. This has the added advantage of turning the flat-sawn glue up blank into rift sawn legs. However, you generally need 5/4 stock or thicker, unless you are doing really thin legs. Anyway, don't let that one detail discourage you. I'd be proud to have that table in my living room, anytime! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I'm going to start with a sincere very nice job! You have much to be proud of! Now, for the things I would change. Legs - Just use 8/4 up front and don't worry about vaneer Top - I have no issue with the use of sap wood, in fact I really like it. I'm just not sure those pieces blended together as well as they could have. Both of those critiques are personal opinions and would have required more or different material. In the end, I think you did a hell of a job with the table! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Well done, Brendon. Curly maple is one of the most difficult - if not THE most difficult species to grain match. I'm with Kev though...buy the thickness that you need for the part instead of worrying about veneers or other work-arounds. The reason you see people do that on QSWO is because it's impossible to get the ray fleck on all four sides of a leg due to the inherent nature of medullary ray figure and how it's exposed in only two planes of any piece of wood. Curly figure does not pose the same obstacle since it exists on all four sides. A nearly invisible glue line and successful grain matching is much easier to achieve in a species like walnut. There aren't many species that are accommodating to a visually seamless lamination, and lighter colored species and pieces of wood that have a lot of character - like figured woods - are always more difficult. One thick blank is always the way to go if at all possible. Lesson learned. A good job nonetheless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raefco Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I think the table is beautiful and looks very well constructed, we all have our own opinions of what is important, to me I look at the quality of things we have control of like fit, finish and over all appearance. I will make some effort to match glue ups but sometime, depending on the project and lumber on hand I will make It Look as random as possible, I just don't see any point in trying to represent the material on hand as something it's not. Now my personal opinion on the design, I like the table but I think the angles at the bottom of the legs couldn't decide what they wanted to do, I think they either should have been a simple bevel or a longer tapper, and that's all I got, nice looking job, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Thanks for the input guys. And thanks for the information eric. If I ever build an end table for myself and have full control of material and design, your observations are definitely where my head would be. I guess the most important thing is that my friend, who brought me the material and rough design is in love with it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I guess the most important thing is that my friend, who brought me the material and rough design is in love with it. That is absolutely the most important thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Woodworkers do the very best they can do, with the materials at hand. Your customer supplied the wood, and is happy with the product.... I don't care who you are, that is the most important result! And we as woodworkers, applaud your quality, and skill. Ya done good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 So many times the limits a client puts on a project affect the results. If the client likes it then Ya done good ! And realizing what you would have done different is a learning experience. To most people it will look great ! Be proud of it ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 I like the way it came it out. I'm with everyone else... As long as the customer is happy that is kinda all that matters as long as you know you did your best with what you had Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enclosed spaces Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 Referring back to comment about leaving an obvious mistake to caught and then corrected. Fine Woodworking had an interest pictorial short of two woodworkers who went just a step beyond and made obvious mistakes as part of the design. One left a bent nail protruding from the middle of a door on a cabinet, the other left a large dark pencil scribble in the middle of a fine looking table. The reason, they figured some woodworker was going to come and look for the mistakes anyway. Something a lot of us do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdie Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Except for having to turn my monitor on end to look at the photos I can't see a thing to complain about. I do agree that a longer taper on the legs would've been better but the overall look is just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lxmobxl Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Overall a real good job, I personally like how the top looks like a M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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