MidKnight Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Hello all. This is my first post on this board, but I thought I'd jump in because the design for my first furniture piece (I did one cabinet project before this) was cribbed heavily from Marc's Gadget Station. Those of you that saw the gadget station get built will recognize the legs. I changed the proportions a bit, but it's pretty much the same. The wood is Maple and Peruvian Walnut. The joinery was very very simple as this is my first rodeo. No M&T here. I used biscuits on the top and actually attached the rails to the panels on the aprons with biscuits as well. The aprons were then pocket screwed and glued into the legs. I put corner braces in and affixed the top with screws. Where I really fell down was on the finishing. I used shellac and it's okay, but I'm just not good at it yet. I've bought Marc's book and DVD, but this is my first piece, so I have a lot of room to grow. Thanks for looking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick2cd Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 wow, if this is your first piece, i'd say ur off to a great start! really like what you did with the legs and aprons. what were your starting dimensions on the legs before you cut the curves? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 looks good i don't care for shellac that much either. i dont know if the stuff i got is old but it dries really really fast. did you have a similar problem with your shellac? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kep1019 Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Very nice, I too really like the legs they work extremely good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 I like the contrast between the hard angles on the top and the curved legs. Are you worried about wood movement in the top? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikepdarr Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 I agree with everyone else. The legs look very nice. The contrast is nice too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidKnight Posted January 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Thanks for the kind words! The top is on there with screws. I put diagonal braces from apron to apron at all four corners. I then drilled an oversized hole in the braces. The top is affixed with screw and washers through the oversized holes in the braces. I think that this should allow for some movement. The piece isn't big, only 15" square at the top. The legs were 24" long and 1.625" square. I glued two walnut boards together to thicken them up as I don't have access to 8/4 walnut. Then I milled them down to size. Any kind comments about the legs should be directed toward Marc as I pretty much aped his design and process on the bandsaw. I should have used a different finish, but I have limited space. My "finish room" is still the basement where my pregnant wife has to do laundry. So, I can't really smell it up with poly as I wanted to. I wanted to use the same method outlined in Marc's dvd, but ah well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Pants Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 That's your first piece? Wow, well done. I'm a fan of contrasting colours like that, and as it ages, the maple will darken some and I'm guessing the peruvian walnut (never used it) will mellow out and it'll look even better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.