Veneered burr walnut coffee table

[gasman]

Dear all
After asking (and receiving) great advice a few weeks ago I have made good progress on my coffee table. I have some photos but did not take them at every stage so apologies for that. The design changed (obv) so that the main section is now a veneered panel measuring 600x1400 consisting of 4 matching pieces of burr walnut each measuring 310x1100 which were cut down to size.
Here are the veneers which I got from the Wood Veneer Hub https://www.thewoodveneerhub.co.uk.

They are outstanding and the guys there could not be more helpful - even sent me a damaged extra one free.
Heres the substrate - 18mm MDF cut oversize slightly

And this is the base. It looks complex but actually quite simple. 4 legs tapered in maple and with areas on 2 of the sides routed out to 0.5mm, then a piece of veneer glued in place and then 2.5mm ebony stringing cut in with a Proxxon mini router and then planed flat. The rails are done similarly and then the whole thing dominoed together. I wanted the dentil moulding that Linley uses on his tables (the whole thing does look just a teeny bit like a Linley design. Sorry about that )

After lots of humming and harring.. I bought a Bagpress mini pump and it was an outstanding purchase

I made a platen scored with 1mm cuts on the table saw and placed it all in the large bag (1800 x 800) they provided me with

I spent a long time getting the four pieces of veneer square and fitting each other and then taped it all up

I veneered the back with american black walnut and I did that first to test out the system. I used the D3 PVA glue that Bagpress recommended and I had read a huge amount online about the whole process. The veneer and substrate was face down on top of the platen
Then the 'moment cruciale' - the pump is fired up with and it all looks OK

I'm sorry I don't have a photo of the veneer burr walnut when it first came out of the bag - but it all worked out fine. In fact where the saw cut lines on the platen were there were a couple of rippled 'lines' in the burr because it had been 'sucked into' the void but I cut these carefully and reglued and all fine. I had to fill a few small defects which I did with CA glue and walnut dust
Then I planed it very carefully with a very sharp blade and sanded / scraped it flat. I trimmed the whole panel down to size and then glued on the 50mm maple edges

Ebony stringing was put in around the panel and the whole thing planed and smoothed.
I decided I wanted a glassy finish so used Rustins Plastic coating which I had last used 4 years ago but which was fine. I tested it first to see it was OK

After 3 coats with rubbing down after the first 2 we are here

Thanks for looking
Cheers Mark

 

[ScaredyCat]

Very nice indeed.

Do you have a picture of the final piece with the top and legs together?


.

 

[custard]

It's great that you posted this Mark, anything that demonstrates that veneering is perfectly viable for the home craftsman has got to be a good thing.

=D>

Incidentally, I don't use a scored platten for exactly the reason you mentioned. Personally I prefer flat plattens and breather fabric. If you ever get the chance you should visit Capital Crispin in East London, the downstairs area is impressive enough, but go upstairs and you'll see their burrs and the really special stuff. If you like veneers it's like being in Aladdin's cave!

 

[mikefab]

Fantastic
Would be nice to see more photos of the assembled table when it is all done.

 

[gasman]

Thanks gentlemen
I haven't attached the top to the base yet as I have scoliosis and can't lift much so I wanted to minimise the weight. As it stands the top looks Ok and the surface is quite good but not good enough yet. Im going to rub it down with micro mesh starting at 1500 and going all the way to 12000 before using the Rustins burnishing cream which looks like (on the test piece) it will give a mirror finish
Ill put some more photos up as I go.
Part of the reason for posting this was to say thanks to Brian (username Yojevol) who lives about 50 miles away and kindly offered me lots of advice and even to borrow his kit to do the vacuum veneering. I said to him I would post the results. I was amazed how straightforward it turned out to be and it has certainly cured me of my natural inhibitions on veneering
Cheers Mark

 

[mbartlett99]

Awesome stuff, well done that man.

 

[custard]

Well then full marks to Yojevol as well!

=D>

 

[gasman]

Can I ask anyone with experience. Is it best to use micromesh as wet or dry as I presume it will clog very quickly otherwise??

 

[custard]

Micromesh is phenomenally long lasting, even more so wet. It appears very expensive, but it lasts so long the price isn't quite as terrible as you first think.

 

[Bm101]

Shut the front door. I drive past this about 3 times a week.
I'm going to have a nose tomorrow. Custard, you ever want anything picked up and posted let me know.

 

[Droogs]

outstanding job mark, well done

 

[wallace]

Really enjoyed that thanks

 

[gasman]

Many thanks for all your kind comments
I finished the table over the weekend. The table top was attached to the base actually with simple brackets with 4 small screws in each limb because of the fact that the top is only made from 18mm MDF with a veneer either side so I needed to get multiple screws into it to hold it. There won't be much movement in this I dont think
Then it was just a question of rubbing down the top. I was new to this whole Rustins 2 part plastic coating business and I tried to get a really good finish with a 3" foam brush, an ordinary brush and a roller but they all had significant imperfections. I realised that without a pro spraying kit I was going to need to go right through the grades. So using water, I started at 2400 micromesh, going through 3200 3600 before ending on 12000

Then I used the Rustins burnishing cream. I think it is basically T Cut but I'd come this far so thought I'd use the proper stuff

It took a couple of hours to get it even but eventually it all looked OK.

It was a very worthwhile project imho as I have leant 2 completely new skills - veneering which has always terrified me - and putting a gloss finish on a table top without fancy spray equipment
Cheers Mark

 

[custard]

Superb job Mark! And a tribute to your ability to doggedly stick with a project and not be tempted to speed things up with a quick, bodge solution.

=D>

 

[katellwood]

Very Linley'esk, love it well done

 

[Woodmonkey]

Great job, I am partial to a bit of burr walnut and you've really done it justice.

 

[Droogs]

i could eat my dinner off that . truely fantastic mate, so pleased for you and it is a really nice design of table too

 

[MikeG.]

Fantastic stuff! Well done. A close up of the stringing and dentils would be great if you happen to have one.

 

[dzj]

Indeed, well done!
Now some coasters are in order.

 

[gasman]

Thanks guys. Apparently a matching bureau rather than some coasters is now in order!
I will take some close ups of the stringing and dentil moulding this week
The dentil moulding was quite interesting. There are all sorts of people on the web who have made jigs etc to cut dentil moulding on the router table or spindle moulder or table saw. I thought that all looked a bit of a faff so I found a bit of maple which was quite straight grained and thicknessed it down to 25 x 12mm. Then I split each in 2 on the bandsaw, thicknessed them down to 5mm. I cut one up into 25mm lengths using a Proxxxon table saw which is very accurate and finished the end grain on each piece with a single swipe each end on the shooting board. Then I glued them onto the longer pieces having worked out and marked very carefully the gaps so that it was symmetrical and even with a whole 'piece' at each end. Then when it was all dry I mitred the ends of the long pieces to fit and glued them on.
It sounds laborious but actually only took an hour or 2
BW Mark