Too expensive to burn.

Hey everyone. I’m going to jump right into this one. I’ll try to keep you all on your toes so you make it to the end. I’ll give you the quick and dirty version ;)… I built a huge table over a year ago. I wrote a post on it. I’ll leave the link here https://juddyjudsonbuilds.com/2018/07/17/the-maple-of-all-tables/ . I was proud. I thought I knew what I was doing. I didn’t. I glued the table top down to the skirt and screwed the guts out of it (don’t be dirty). With the seasons and humidity changing, the wood couldn’t move because I glued it and screwed it. Long story short, it warped and cracked.

I’ll let the diagram explain in case you have a wobbly, cracked table too.

This table was originally for a customer. They mentioned it cracked and I was concerned. And what I mean by concerned is I spun down a dark hole of anxiety and self doubt in an instant. I went to their home and checked out the damage. It was completely fucked. I immediately refunded them and tossed the table on my trailer (I love kijiji). I was hoping it would fly off into a ditch somewhere, never to be seen again. That didn’t happen so I chucked it in my garage (which was already filled with lumber). The days turned into months, spring turned into summer and summer into fall. My wife mentioned/told me several times that she would like to park our dented up Honda’s in the garage and that it wasn’t a place to store tables or hoard lumber. I agreed (like I always do lololololol). I had to do something with it. So day by day I started to cut it apart. Once I cut the skirt off the table, the wood was free to move and ended up flattening back to a usable table top.

I decided I was going to build a new kitchen table for us and reuse the maple from this table. I like simple, clean lines and I wanted to build something that reflects our taste. So that’s what I did. I built our family a new kitchen table with a matching bench. It was a time consuming build but totally worth it. I left a few cracks in the wood because the table is a story. A story about learning from your mistakes and overcoming challenges. Do you feel inspired? This will be the heart of our growing family, where we will laugh and share lots of memories. Life isn’t perfect, nor am I, so why should I try and hide (all) the flaws? Are they really flaws? (Yes, they are). So this is the story of a broken table that was too expensive to burn and too big to store in our garage.

20190923043535_IMG_5712 — I got some stripper… and took the finish and stain off. I sanded it for the 15th time. I cut the table apart.

20190921235459_IMG_5706 — I ripped the legs apart on my table saw.

20190921235516_IMG_5710 — Tossed them through my planer because I didn’t want to sand them for days.

20190923061618_IMG_5724_resized_20191103_080800895 — Same picture but just me looking really focused.

20190923061447_IMG_5717 — I cut and put steel C- channel in to try to keep it flat. Obviously I had no idea what I was doing and routed way too deep. Yikes.

20190926065341_IMG_5730 — Once I got the legs flat I glued them up and made them solid. I ripped them in half to give me two legs.

IMG_20191006_153504_resized_20191020_041141561 — double twos = four. I found the center of the legs.

IMG_20191006_153641_resized_20191020_040955585 — I wanted to put some adjustable feet on the bottom of the table just in case the floor wasn’t level…… or the table, you pick.

IMG_20191006_153800_resized_20191020_040954301 — I used a forstner bit to recess the feet.

IMG_20191006_154401_BURST001_COVER_resized_20191020_040955813 — Like so.

IMG_20191006_154920_resized_20191020_040956907 — Next I drilled a pilot hole in for the shaft.

IMG_20191006_155030_resized_20191020_040954007 — Great picture but you get what I am going for here.

IMG_20191006_155728_resized_20191020_040956067 — There we go. That’s better.

IMG_20191006_155041_resized_20191020_040953652 — Tap, tap, tap. I made that mallet. Also, as you can see, I like to keep my work space tidy.

IMG_20191006_155741_resized_20191020_040955206 — Once the table is on the floor you can’t see these.

IMG_20191006_190747_resized_20191020_040954650 — I rounded the legs over.

IMG_20191001_200924_resized_20191020_041141799 — I used my new domino to fasten the legs to the skirt.

IMG_20191001_200933_resized_20191020_041144920 — This is a dream.

IMG_20191002_194919_01_resized_20191020_041142571 — The tenons fit into the slots.

IMG_20191007_201153_1_resized_20191020_040956593 — This was really facking hard and frustrating. I was sweating bullets trying to get this glued up. Yikes, I swore a lot during this.

IMG_20191012_131207_resized_20191020_040952801 — I started to work on the bench. I built it the same as the table.

IMG_20191008_193440_resized_20191020_040954956 — I added some corner braces for extra stability.

IMG_20191015_201453_resized_20191020_040829094 — Bench is done.

IMG_20191015_195247_resized_20191020_040827897 — I used my biscuit joiner to make little slots to attach the table top to the base.

IMG_20191015_200057_resized_20191020_040827222 — My grandfather hooked me up with the fasteners.

IMG_20191013_131517_resized_20191020_040828487 — Now I just had to sand for 1000 hours.

IMG_20190928_133129_resized_20191020_041143584 — There were a few cracks I could have cut apart and fixed but I decided to leave them and fill them with epoxy.

IMG_20190928_133244_resized_20191020_041144392 — You can see the crack so I got all the sawdust out and went to town.

IMG_20190928_133639_BURST001_COVER_resized_20191020_041143830 — This was for the bottom of the table. I used a straw to help fill in the void.

IMG_20191013_123544_resized_20191020_040828781 — Dumped some finish on it.

IMG_20191012_173022_resized_20191020_040829879 — My helper was keeping me on task. Easier said than done.

There you go. I love this table. It is a simple design with natural tones. Its also massive, so we are going to have to have some big family feasts around it. It’s exactly what I wanted it to look like. I’m glad it’s done. Next on my project list is a custom built in library and double sliding doors. This will be my first built in for someone, so you can imagine I’m a little nervous, but with every mistake I’m making I am definitely improving and that’s what is most important. Always keep improving.

Well that’s all I have to say today.

Thanks,

Brett

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