Nearly finishing my first table..

[bermudabob]

So I've nearly finished my pallet based table - It was a make it up as you go effort, hence all the filler! Its turned out much better than I expected though, and I learned a lot about what to do and what not to do. I'm happy, as its the first thing I've ever made woodwork wise and its a very satisfying experience.

Now to paint it, and I'm open to suggestions for what to do next...

 

[8squared]

Nicely done for a first project.

I would be tempted to paint it a light pastel colour and sand it back a little to reveal some grain.

 

[bermudabob]

My wife has picked out the colour, she's a fashion designer so I get no say in these kind of things! Its a dark blue gray pastel type colour that would never have occurred to me. After a couple of coats it doesn't look too bad. The grain is still visible too, so that's a bonus, and I will make sure it shows after the last coat by sanding it again. I'll post a photo when its done.

 

[Steve-O]

I really like this, it looks great!

What wood have you used for the legs?

Stephen

 

[Jacob]

Looks good.
Have you seen the work of Piet Hein Eek. Big on recycling and chance materials/colours/textures etc.

 

[bermudabob]

I really like this, it looks great!

What wood have you used for the legs?

Stephen

Thanks for that - The legs are just planks from another pallet, screwed together to form a corner piece. I had to hack space out of the pallet itself so the legs would fit in. Not knowing the right way to do things can be useful, as you can end up with interesting results!

 

[bermudabob]

Looks good.
Have you seen the work of Piet Hein Eek. Big on recycling and chance materials/colours/textures etc.

Thats a pretty cool site - may have to use it for inspiration...

 

[mseries]

I rather like that table, particularly since it looks like it could still lifted, tea set and all, with a fork lift. Are you making pallet style chairs too ?

 

[bermudabob]

I rather like that table, particularly since it looks like it could still lifted, tea set and all, with a fork lift. Are you making pallet style chairs too ?

Chairs are most likely the next thing I'll be looking at - I've seen a plan online for chairs made from pallets that would suit this table - I just have to find it again...

Things I would do differently second time around - I would have a go at tongue and grooving the top, as I reckon there will be flex in this one - I just put new planks between the exiting pallet ones. Also, trying to avoid filler so I could just stain or varnish it instead of painting. Not sure how successful that would be!

 

[Jacob]

Rietveld's yer man

And Piet Hein Eek if you have a look at his web site http://www.pietheineek.nl/en

 

[bermudabob]

Well, Here it is in its painted glory...

Of course, now I've painted it, my wife says its not smooth enough - so I've got to go through the sanding rigmarole again... I"m open to suggestions on the best way to sand tables! I bet most people will say 'by hand'..sigh.

 

[koemanrob]

I use my random orbital sander as much as i can (I hate sanding!), attached to the vacuum there's hardly any dust, then reluctantly finish with a bit of hand sanding. Used to use a palm sander quite bit too, but boy was it noisy

 

[bermudabob]

I use my random orbital sander as much as i can (I hate sanding!), attached to the vacuum there's hardly any dust, then reluctantly finish with a bit of hand sanding. Used to use a palm sander quite bit too, but boy was it noisy

I'm realising that I may need to get one - which is the best make to get?

 

[Mar_mite]

I use my random orbital sander as much as i can (I hate sanding!), attached to the vacuum there's hardly any dust, then reluctantly finish with a bit of hand sanding. Used to use a palm sander quite bit too, but boy was it noisy

I'm realising that I may need to get one - which is the best make to get?

I have the screwfix Erbauer one. http://m.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-erb382s ... 240v/96759
It is excellent. I can't fault it. Although I haven't used any of the expensive brand sanders. I've used it loads including sanding 4 different floors and it's not missed a beat.

 

[Mar_mite]

You could tell your wife that there is no point building a table out of a pallet and having it dead smooth. How about a couple of drawers in the front though?

Great job by the way. I really like it. That's the sort of thing that you would see for sale in a little boutique shop.

 

[bermudabob]

You could tell your wife that there is no point building a table out of a pallet and having it dead smooth. How about a couple of drawers in the front though?

Great job by the way. I really like it. That's the sort of thing that you would see for sale in a little boutique shop.

I agree! also, as it was made in the garage, the wood has shrunk a bit since bringing it inside and there is a very cool crack effect happening between the planks now. It really looks good.

...and drawers are on the menu too...