New Project

[JohnDB]

So...
In order to help with cookies and candies at Christmas time...
A new dining room table that is countertop height is needed. (36 inches)
Working on the other one is back breaking work...plus it is 15 years old...

So I started to make a new one.
So far I've spent about $400 on supplies and parts.

Today I stained the butcher block legs (cherry) and put on the first coat of polyurethane.
Then took some 00 steel wool and Johnson's paste wax and buffed them smooth.
I also cleaned and sanded the top.


Tomorrow is another day. Hopefully I'll get two more coats of polyurethane and call the legs done.

 

[JohnDB]

Another coat of polyurethane put on the legs...

*****
Waiting and watching paint dry.

 

[Tessa]

You're always making something John. I hope you post a picture when it's finished.

 

[JohnDB]

You're always making something John. I hope you post a picture when it's finished.

Yeah...it's a thing.
I have a really hard time sitting still.
I even fidgit when reading.

 

[Tessa]

has the paint dried yet?

 

[JohnDB]

has the paint dried yet?

No...just checked too.

But my cookie and candy empire at Christmas must be preserved.

I give out over 1,000 Home made cookies and 1,000 pieces of home made chocolates every Christmas. I almost forgot about the gingerbread houses that I bake and glue together for the kids to cover with store bought candy.
And that's why I need more working counter space.

This shutdown is as good a time as any. My wife informed me that we can do this for months financially. We haven't really even touched our cushion/couch fund because the unemployment is almost as good as a regular paycheck $600 federal and then $275 state...

My wife is looking at the pieces wondering when the next pieces are going to get worked on. I told her that the guys who do this for a living have paint booths and a great setup for drying. We have a balcony and a drop cloth in our apartment...and need lots of patience.

 

[Tessa]

This all sounds great. But what do you use to 'glue' the gingerbread together?

 

[JohnDB]

This all sounds great. But what do you use to 'glue' the gingerbread together?

Royal icing...
Egg whites, cream of tartar and powdered sugar....
When it sets up it's like a rock.

 

[for_his_glory]

That's quite a project that will keep you busy for awhile and yes, please post a pic when it's done.

 

[Tessa]

My mouth is watering

 

[JohnDB]

Ok...
Massive disaster...
When cutting the trim for the top I cut the 4 foot long pieces wrong...twice.

So off I go to go purchase some more...
I need to get two 5 foot long pieces of trim....$25.00 and a lot of cussing.
Maybe a new stick ruler and still need something to drill out the side pieces for the buttons.

 

[Tessa]

Oh dear not a good day.
So you blame the poor ruler.
Is it shopping day tomorrow

 

[JohnDB]

Oh dear not a good day.
So you blame the poor ruler.
Is it shopping day tomorrow

Just got back from the store...
Got two new pieces of trim. A NEW REPLACEMENT ruler that replaces the one that got stolen two jobs ago...(fold out stick rule that is inside read)
And the 1/2 inch forstner bit for the 1X4 oak fence that the table rests on. (So I can sink the screws inside the plank that attach the legs and cover them with buttons)

I got the first piece of trim cut...it's a hair long, but that's a whole lot easier to fix than one cut too short. I never have seen a tool called a trim stretcher.

 

[JohnDB]

You can always tell how good a project is by the number of trips you take to the hardware store.

Now I need a nail set and wood putty. Another trip to the store.

All of my clamps are in the room where my wife is working and in the middle of a meeting. Gonna need those.

But I now have just noticed that I have lost a whole tool box somewhere. It held my nail set.

Gonna kinda miss that thing too. It was in good shape for being 30+ years old.
It was a two drawer, old style Craftsman toolbox that I carried with me when I went to culinary school. I used to carry all my knives and tools in it. Lemon juicer, spoons, whisks, cheesecloth, teasing needle, thermometers, melon ballers (three sizes), and all kinds of paraphernalia that I used. All had a function and purpose on a regular basis.
But since I became an electrician it was too heavy to carry everywhere...so I left it in the truck with a set of various different tools in it. (Knives and tools are in my kitchen these days)

*Sigh*

I'll wait on wifey and in the meantime just rest my leg. (My knee is hurting again).

 

[Tessa]

You haven't wasted any time
Good Luck for the rest of the day

 

[JohnDB]

Good news and bad news...
I found my tool box that I thought was gone.
I found it while looking for my spring clamps.

I got my nail set. It was right in the top just like I remembered.

But my spring clamps seem to be elusive at the moment.

They aren't where I thought that they were.

And this is the problem with every project when you do a variety of them...too much junk about the place.
I found plumbing soldering equipment (about half of the ones needed to do anything)
I found most of the things I use to make leather goods... except for the spring clamps.

They gotta be around here somewhere.

 

[Tessa]

If you look for something else you will probably find them. That happens to me all the time.

 

[JohnDB]

If you look for something else you will probably find them. That happens to me all the time.

That's how I found my tool box.

 

[JohnDB]

Ok
So today after yet another mind numbing trip to the hardware store...

I got the trim attached to the top
All nails countersunk and filled with some kind of wood putty I've never seen before.
The "old stuff" I'm used to was either mixed with water to form a paste or it came premixed and you used it like it was.

I guess stuff has changed in 40 years.

Wood glue, a needed component, hasn't changed and still is as annoying as ever.

I also got the oak fence box that the legs and top will attach to measured, cut, and corners mitred with a round over bit...might could have gotten just a tad bigger bite with the router...but I think that it will come smoother once I start with the sanding. One of the boards that looks great with the quarter-sawn grain has a nasty looking crack... trying to splinter off. I wish I had seen that before I left the store. *Sigh*...I got it hidden to where no one will see it.

Which brings me to the next issue.
Why aren't boards straight?
It's as annoying as all get out. I know that they were cut straight. But I'll be danged if I can ever come home with one.

I got no finishing done today...
The wind is up high and it's hot.
Meaning that I only got a week or two before the bugs come around.
But that wind was blowing all kinds of trash everywhere...I could see it land on the top of the drop cloth I laid out. If any of that stuff had landed in my finished top I would have cried.

But the corners are tight... couldn't hardly get any wood putty in them. The sanding ought to fix any and all issues they have. Same thing with the oak. But I got a great finishing blade on my compound mitre box and made extra sure that I was up to speed and cut really slowly.

All in all a good day.

 

[Tessa]

That table is keeping you very busy. I didn't realise all the different tasks involved. You've got on very well with it. What happens next with it?