The Dining Table Begins: Friday Update
Another whirlwind week with woodworking in the wind. Alliterations aside, I had a light woodworking week due to a few factors. Preparing for summer being the main focus.
I did finish and install my small project I started last week. Last week I had finished the stain, this week I sprayed it with water based polyurethane and painted the bottom to prepare it for my clients home where I installed it on their dog crate.
I used a few metal brackets and screws to keep the tabletop from sliding around, and to pull it flat as my glue up was less than desirable, mostly because I rearranged my shop and my table is now and outfeed and was in use, so I opted for sawhorses rather than a real assembly table for the glue up. Looks like I need to prioritize shop furniture soon.
With that project done, I am ready to start my biggest project yet, the walnut slab dining table. This week I made big progress, one single cut. Granted, that cut took a long time.
When working with thick and non-flat boards it is best practice to take smaller passes at incrementally deeper depths to avoid binding and burning which can damage the blade, saw, and wood. But my track saw only cuts to a depth of 2 and 3/4ish, not quite deep enough for this 3 inch thick board. I resorted to a hand saw to separate the two pieces. Slow, but a good workout.
This cut was necessary for three reasons. One, I needed to know the exact dimensions to relay to the mill who is going to flatten the board for me. Two, that black mark near the crack on the small section is a piece of metal which I had to remove from the board otherwise the mill wouldn’t accept it. And three, by removing that section I knocked 75 pounds off the board putting it under 300 pounds. Still a heavy chunk of wood, but light enough that I could lift one end at a time myself to get it off the floor and back into the truck to head to the mill.
New Woodworking Essential Skills Series
Since I had a light week, I wanted to talk a little more about the new series I am launching. It’s the Woodworking Essential Skills series where I share what any beginner woodworker needs to know to get started. I am starting with wood. How to find it, how to estimate how much you need, how to buy it, what to do when you get it home.
Then I’ll move on to talking about hand tools. Which ones are important for beginners and why and how to use them.
Power tools will be next, starting with which ones to invest top dollar in and which are okay to skimp on. What to consider based on the projects you build. And how to maintain tools to get the most out of them.
Lastly, I’ll talk about projects. Focusing on fundamentals of building and exploring design.
I’m really looking forward to this series. It has been tons of fun to write and I hope that translates to the page.
But the reason why I bring all this up is because I am seeing a reinforcement of a trend I noticed a few weeks ago. The trend is an increase in search traffic for blogs where I am teaching woodworking skills and tricks. Essentially, solving the readers problem.
That is also translating into YouTube views, mainly my video on dealing with sap. The article is my top search traffic article and most of the video views are coming from external, meaning my website.
So what does that all mean? It means I’m going to be doubling down by turning my blogs in this series into videos. I love build videos, but they take a long time to make, but a how to or guide I can film and edit while I wait for glue to dry. Plus I already have the script written in blog format.
It might take me a bit to build these videos, but expect to see more teachables as I lean into that concept.