Popular Post wnaziri Posted March 6, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 I finally made a piece of furniture that will stay in our house. Most of the other items I have build ended with our kids. The goal was to build a dining table to seat 4-6 people. The table would be placed in our kitchen where there is a bay window overlooking the backyard. I chose to surprise my wife with the design. The table is based on Tim Rouseau's article in Fine Woodworking. I used air dried walnut for this project. I had bought some walnut slabs last year but have yet to use any of the lumber. I milled one of the slabs for the table. This table is not hard to make but does require lots of attention to detail and you have to be pretty precise. Here are some pics that are in sequence: Here is the end product: ***Please note that the flowers are incidental. I got those for my wife and she placed them there, which prompted meto take these pics.*** For finish, I used pre-cat shellac from Shellac Finishes. Vijay was awesome in helping me use the right product and he gave me excellent advice along the way. I think I sprayed about 12 coats of finish with last few being diluted. After allowing it to cure to a couple of weeks, I then polished with wax using 0000 steel wool following by prolonged buffing. Next will be 4 chairs. 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pondhockey Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 Wow, very nice. I'll bet your wife is very proud and appreciative. I wouldn't have thought to use shellac for a dining table, so I'm supposing that the wax is intended to keep water and alchohol away from the shellac? In any event it's beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 Excellent, air dried walnut has so much beauty, with all the color range , and that small exposure of sapwood makes the colors jump out at you. Beautiful piece. Well done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 That is a lovely table, Wade! I'm interested in the shellac finish. First, I've never heard of "pre-cat" shellac. Second, many think shellac isn't durable enough for a dining table, at least compared to modern urathane finishes. Is this pre-cat stuff supposed to be more resistant to liquid spills? I have to say shellac makes one of the prettiest finishes ever. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan G Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 What a beautiful table! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dknapp34 Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 Really nice table. Love the look of air dried walnut and the finish is beautiful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 Your table turned out great ! I looked over Shellac Finishes website. I see a post cat that cures hard enough to buff in a few days. Is the other shellac based finish considered the pre cat ? They claim to have added other resins to make the shellac waterproof and tougher. Looks like luthiers are a focus of their products. I thought the prices were incredible until I noticed the $45 can was a quart for the post cat version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pd711 Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 That's beautiful! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 Nicely done! Great looking table! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 beautiful table! Question: It looks like you cut an angle all around the edges ... how do you do this on a curved top like that? ..... Asking for a friend?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 Beautiful work as usual Wade, i like the simple clean lines and the color in the walnut is just awesome. lots of work in that table that isn't evident at first glance as usual but the attention to detail really shows, well done sir!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyoak Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 Very Nice!. Please tell how you layed out the the curves on the ends and sides. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 Awesome table! Love the top great grain matching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 Gorgeous!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 Great work. I like it. Beautiful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaziri Posted March 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 11 hours ago, wtnhighlander said: I'm interested in the shellac finish. First, I've never heard of "pre-cat" shellac. Second, many think shellac isn't durable enough for a dining table, at least compared to modern urathane finishes. Is this pre-cat stuff supposed to be more resistant to liquid spills? I have to say shellac makes one of the prettiest finishes ever. I never thought of shellac as a finish for dining table but I am a big fan of shellac in general. I have used Royalac sold by Shellacfinishes.com and really liked it. The site is run by Vijay who is very knowledgeable. He has written for FWW on the virtues of merits of shellac. He recently added the Pre-Cat Shellac to his product line. As I understand it, it is an admixture of shellac and other "resins", which I think means that he has added some form of urethane. When you buy the Pre-Cat Shellac, it arrives as a quart of the finish and a bottle of hardner. The data sheet you tells that the finish is cured in about 5 days. On the plus side, the finish is absolutely clear, like most good shellacs. It is easy to apply with spray system. It is shiny but I knocked it down with 0000 steel wool. On the downside, the stuff is not cheap but then again, my table would not be cheap if I were to buy it or have it built. So, for me, the price id relative. In the overall scheme of things, spending $45 to finish the piece seems like a bargain in retrospect given the result it yielded. On the unknown side, the marketing of the product is telling me that it is durable and suitable for the intended use as kitchen table but time will tell. Worse case scenario: it sucks and gets destroyed after one month of use. Well, I will take the top off and take it to the shop, sand it down and give it a different finish. I own four sanders!!! 9 hours ago, wdwerker said: I looked over Shellac Finishes website. I see a post cat that cures hard enough to buff in a few days. Is the other shellac based finish considered the pre cat ? They claim to have added other resins to make the shellac waterproof and tougher. Looks like luthiers are a focus of their products. I thought the prices were incredible until I noticed the $45 can was a quart for the post cat version. The other shellacs sold by Vijay are not considered pre-cat. I have used most of the other products sold by him and none of them come with hardner. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 7, 2018 Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 If you add the hardner it is post cat. If the can already has catalyst in it and it has a short shelf life it's pre-cat. That's what confused me. I imagine musical instruments being water & alcohol resistant would be a good thing. The pre-cat waterbourne I spray is around $65 a gallon. But the look of a shellac finish has a richness especially on walnut, cherry , mahogany and exotics. Did you get 12 coats out of one quart ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wnaziri Posted March 7, 2018 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 3 minutes ago, wdwerker said: Did you get 12 coats out of one quart ? Yes but I kept diluting after about I was half way through. The last coat was the most dilute. I have learned that if you dilute last few coats, it gives the finish surface a very smooth look. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted March 7, 2018 Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 I really like this table. It looks great.. Now this is something Id love to make if I had a home for it,,. Not saying it would look as nice as yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan G Posted March 7, 2018 Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 What is the final thickness of the table top? and its other dimensions? Looking to do a table with a similar top but for 8 people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaziri Posted March 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 39 minutes ago, Alan G said: What is the final thickness of the table top? and its other dimensions? Looking to do a table with a similar top but for 8 people. The top is 62" by 40". The top started out at 1.1 inches but it I kept milling it to get all the pieces perfectly flat but then I would end up delaying the assembly due to my time limitations. After several false starts and having to mill to get back to full flat, I ended with a little less than an inch thick. I guess that is the price one pays for air dried lumber. Height of the table is 29 inches. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 7, 2018 Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 Good info on the shellac that's something i'm going to have to remember. I haven't sprayed shellac and would like to i'm just a bit hesitant and want some more practice under my belt. I also want to rig up my spray gun with the 3M PPS system before i try it as well. I'm going to do the system eventually any way because i plan to spray some 2 part paints for some auto body work i want to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted March 7, 2018 Report Share Posted March 7, 2018 Ya done Tim proud. Beautifully done. I too favor the use of sapwood as a design element. Too many folks shy away from it or dye it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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