# New oak table



## SimonA (27 Aug 2004)

I just thought I'd post some pics of the oak dining table that I'm just about finish....well I have finished building it, just not finished finishing it....if you know what I mean :? 

Anyhow its the fist time that I've posted any pics so theres bound to be some teething problems  so I'll post these one at a time.







Heres all the timber fresh from British Hardwoods. I've planed up the legs already, but theres still a whole load more to do!!






Here you can see the rails and stretchers done.






And now I've finished the top too.....just waiting to get started on the joinery.






These are the two short ends of the table base glued and pegged.






And a bit more of a close up.






A close up of the finished base......its on those blocks because I'm going to add the first coat of T&T Danish oil to it.






Heres a wider shot of the whole base.






The 3/8" dowels that I used.






And last but not least the fantastic Tried and True finishing oils!

I'll add some more pics of the table once I've completed the finish.

SimonA




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## SimonA (27 Aug 2004)

:lol: Woohoo....it works.....


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## Chris Knight (27 Aug 2004)

Simon,

It is looking great too! Are the holes up the legs to stop them splitting?


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## Anonymous (27 Aug 2004)

wh i thought the holes were for dowels to attach the top ?


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## Newbie_Neil (27 Aug 2004)

Hi Simon

Your table looks really good. Well done.

Cheers
Neil


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## johnelliott (27 Aug 2004)

Excellent work. I think your next project ought to be a staircase in Oak, to match
John


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## SimonA (27 Aug 2004)

Howdy fellas.....its hard to get 4" legs totally dried even when you Kiln dry them, so British Hardwoods drill out the centres of the legs and then kiln dry them. That way they guarantee they won't spilt.

The table top is fix on by way of some wooden buttons, now these little things don't look much but just one of them can pick up the whole base!!
And I've put ten on, three on the long sides and two on the short.

Actually John you can see the new staircase that I put in about three years ago in the background of those pics. I'd love to build a nice oak one though  


SimonA


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## tx2man (27 Aug 2004)

Great job 8) 

Did you consider a very light chamfer around the bottom 
edges of the legs, to stop any fraying?

If yes.......... I'll get my coat  

TX


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## SimonA (27 Aug 2004)

I did indeed TX.....I've also added some think felt feet to stop it scratching the oak floor. No need to get you coat!  

SimonA


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## Anonymous (27 Aug 2004)

Soz forgot to say good job looks pukka m8 , soz to WH you were right god what it must be to be right all the time :lol: just gettin me at n coat


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## tx2man (27 Aug 2004)

Oh b*gg*r  

TX


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## Alf (28 Aug 2004)

Si,

Cool 8) Can't wait to see it with the finish, too.  I didn't realise BHW did that with the thick stuff; worth knowing.

Cheers, Alf


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## Anonymous (28 Aug 2004)

Nice job simon. Didn't know about the hole drilling idea when drying thick wood, interesting.


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## Philly (28 Aug 2004)

Simon,
Where did you get Tried and true? I'd love to get my hands on some of that.
Philly


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## SimonA (28 Aug 2004)

Cheers peeps for all the great replies :lol: 

Philly, I got the T&T oils through Mike Hancock at Classic Hand Tools. I have a review of them coming out soon which Mike asked me to do for his website, so stay tuned!! If your really interested just contact Mike and I'm sure he'll be more than happy to sort you out!

SimonA


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## Philly (28 Aug 2004)

Simon,
Usually Mike is at Yandles Sow-hope he has some on board. Maybe I'll give him a call Tuesday.
Cheers
Philly


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## SimonA (29 Aug 2004)

Hey Philly.....your right Mike is usually at the show but I don't know if he'll have any T&T there. I think hes waiting to see if he gets many inquires after the review is posted, but the more people who are interested the quicker he'll make up his mind!! I'm convinced!! :lol: 

SimonA


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## SimonA (29 Aug 2004)

Well heres the update I promised you peeps!






Here is a shot of the finished top. Its only had couple of coats of Varnish oil at the mo but I'm going to put on another couple so the sheen should build up a little more.






Another shot of the top. You'll have to excuse the covers on the new leather seats, but I'm trying to keep them clean of finger prints from the kids! :? 






Heres a close up of the bread board ends. You can see the 3/8" dowels the I used to peg the tops with.






An end shot of the base of the finished table....here you can see the thickness of the table top.






This is a pic I took late the other night but it shows the quarter sawn grain in the oak.

I've just added a few more pics with the covers off the seats......it gives a better imperssion of what its like.
















SimonA


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## Chris Knight (29 Aug 2004)

Simon,
It looks absolutely super!! I love the clean look of the oak and the rays look great. Many congratulations - you can be really proud of it.

Have you pegged the breadboard end through slots - at least in the outer two pegs - to allow for expansion/contraction of the top?

I wonder how did you join the top? I take it that the vee grooves are decorative? They certainly match the ends beautifully. The finish looks very nice too. I'll be interested in your report on it.


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## SimonA (29 Aug 2004)

Cheers for the kind words Chris....I have put wider holes on the outer two pegs to allow for the expansion  

SimonA


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## Pete W (29 Aug 2004)

Great job Simon - looks utterly professional. Bet it weighs a bit, too .


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## Alf (29 Aug 2004)

Bootiful job, Si. And ain't those rays gorgeous? I can almost smell that oak... 8) 

Cheers, Alf


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## DaveL (29 Aug 2004)

Simon,

Wonderful table, looks at our pine table, looks at tuit list, no chance :shock:


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## Anonymous (29 Aug 2004)

looks too good to use :lol: great job


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## tx2man (30 Aug 2004)

Very, very nice  

TX


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## devonwoody (30 Aug 2004)

Worth GOLD for both workmanship and web production.


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## tx2man (30 Aug 2004)

DW,
it's got very cloudy over here, seems to have come up 
from the south west  

TX


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## CYC (30 Aug 2004)

Simply beautiful, I love Oak, I love your design, you have done a great job. Nice finish, highlighting the natural Oak grain.


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## SimonA (30 Aug 2004)

Well I have to thank you all for all your wonderful comments  I'm so pleased with the way that the table has turned out and the encouragement that everbody has given me that I'm going to make a large mirror to match.

I'll try and take more pics of the construction this time to show everybody as I feel these are better than just showing the final thing :wink: 

I should hopefully be ordering the timber sometime this week, fingers crossed  

SimonA


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## Adam (6 Sep 2004)

Stunning. All I need now is to copy all those pictures, as I have plans to make something similar, and that's just what I had in mind. :lol: 

Adam


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## gidon (6 Sep 2004)

That's a really lovely table - beautiful design and perfectly executed. And it's exactly what we need in our dining room!
Cheers
Gidon


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## SimonA (6 Sep 2004)

Adam.....I can give you the drawings if you wish to use them....nothing special really just a top, side, and end view with some dims.

Gidon.....I will take comissions if your interested  I priced the same size table up from a few different places and the average was about £1500, but seeing as your a friend I'll do it for half that! Bargin!

Cheers to everybody else on their kind words. I'll post the pics of the mirror I'll be making when I get started, just waiting for the timber to arrive!

SimonA


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## gidon (6 Sep 2004)

Simon - what a kind offer! Cheap at half the price I'm sure .
Cheers
Gidon


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## Offcut (6 Sep 2004)

Looks excellent.
Tell us more about the finish.

And I would love to know how you joined the top boards together.

Andy


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## SimonA (6 Sep 2004)

Offcut.....I have a small review of the finishes coming out soon, so if you can just hold on a few more days that would be great!

As for the joining of the top: I planed the timber all round and then layed out the boards for the best display of the quarter sawn rays and marked them up. From there I ran all the joining edges over the planer again just taking off a tiny, tiny amount to give a really smooth finish. I then tuned up my #7 with a tiny mouth and ran this over the edges to flatten out any ripples left by the planer. You could probably get away with out doing that last step really, as long as your planer blades are really sharp. I then marked up placements for some biscuits, about 3-4 to a 6' length. I used these just to help align the surfaces for each of the boards and not for any real extra strength. I don't even add glue to them either as they are a real pipper to clamp up on somthing this size when wet! Add some glue to the oak, making sure to cover all the mating surfaces and then clamp up and get three other people to give you a hand lifting the thing!!

Hope this helps, if you have any more questions feel free to ask!

SimonA


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