THE TABLE WOODCENTRAL BUILT

With a little help from my friends.

SHOP OWNER: Mike Keating

LOCATION: Havertown, PA

This is my first Shop Shot of the New Year, a kitchen table for my wife. This table is from solid white oak lumber, 6/4 for the top and rails and 16/4 for the legs. I feel as if this should be the table that WoodCentral built. I ran into several problems along the way and got helpful advice from everyone on how to resolve them.

I would especially like to thank George Dart. He and I worked on the top of this table together for over three hours at a woodworking class we both took over the fall. He was a big help since the boards for the top were too heavy for me to work on the jointer alone. Then we had to carry the boards to the assembly table and select the best grain pattern. George is a great guy with many great stories, as Im sure anyone whos met him will agree.

I cut the mortises with a template and router. It was very easy once I got the jig for the mortises set. To my surprise, the router plowed through the 16/4 white oak without a problem. I cut the tenons on my new radial arm saw setup (please see previous Shop Shot). It worked like a charm and I will use that method from now on.

I had to build the table in two parts, since I was not going to be able to get it into the house as a solid unit. It weighs over 350 pounds when together. I assembled the base, then cut slots for biscuits, glued up the top and set it on saw horses to dry, and there it stayed until it was complete.

I finished it with Danish oil and then top-coated it with three coats of satin finish on the base and six coats on the top for added protection.