Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Distressed Table Finishing & Trestle Tables
Chris Woods - Plano TX
>SWMBO has decided that my next project will be a trestle dining table. Additionally, she requires that the top be "hand scraped". Two questions:
1) What is the best way to distress the table surface. Is ti as simple as getting out the cabinet scrapers and going to town until the desired surface is achieved?
2) Any sugestions for the type of wood to use
Re: Distressed Table Finishing & Trestle Tables
George@Colonel's Workshop-Havertown PA
>Good Afternoon Chris,
I built our trestle dining room table as a matching piece to other dining room furniture. It is of quarter sawn white oak. We have a large family, and I wanted to insure the furniture was rugged as well as good looking. I chose not to "distress" it with chains and deep scratches, gouges and black paint flecks under the top coat of finish. I used a satin poly, steel wooled and tacked between coats. The table accepts two 12 inch leaves.
George
Re: Distressed Table Finishing & Trestle Tables
Steve Schoene
>You would think using a cabinet scraper would be the right way, but that is likely to give a more refined surface than what the client has in mind. What seems to pass for "hand scraped" often looks like the last tool used was a scrub plane, sometimes a dull one. I think that is going way too far, but a jack plane kind of radius might well give a nice look. I would level the tops of the plane marks with a smoother so glasses and such set well. Oak should plane well, but the choice is mostly what you like. Just be sure that when you glue up the top that all boards "want" to be planed in the same direction.
It is always wise to make a sample of the proposed finish, starting with the preparation, and going all the way to the top coat. Make the sample large enough to really see how it will come out, and get approval from the "client". It's probably not wise to ask her to sign the test board.