The Dining Table is Done: Friday Update
The time has finally come. The dining table is done and that means you get to enjoy a few early shots. These are my raw images, unedited, with touch ups coming soon.
This weeks tasks included apply finish and inserting the threaded inserts so I could bolt the legs in place. Now it’s time to wait for delivery which means I have a little bit longer to take more photos and wrap up the video.
Speaking of video, that’s where I have been focusing my time. I want this video to be the best I’ve every produced but with that comes a cost. I’ve been in a cycle of edit, voice over, watch and cut back video, re-voice over, and repeat. But with each iteration the video is improving.
Dust Collection Reconfiguration
And with most of my time not spent on the table I have been working on some shop upgrades, one of which is dust collection. I have my collector of course, but with the new table saw I wanted a dedicated line to it so I didn’t have to crawl underneath the outfeed table every time I wanted to use a different tool.
That meant reconfiguring the collector so the motor was on top and the hoses were facing down. Then adding some additional piping and blast gates to control which hose is on.
My Next Project
I’m also starting my next project. A quick refinishing job to restore three beautiful mid century modern tables to their former glory. The good news is these tables were finished with shellac.
Shellac is a secretion of the lac bug. An old school finish which has a long history of coating furniture. It’s not the most durable, but it’s repairable which means I don’t have to strip the furniture down and can instead clean and apply new coats to bring the life back to these tables.
Shellac can be purchased in local hardware stores in ready mix cans or spray form, but I’m going old school for these vintage tables and bought shellac flakes. The flakes are diluted with alcohol. To apply, I plan to do a pseudo French polish, but not quite traditionally.
A French polish is a hand rubbed finish using shellac in a very specific technique which is time intensive and creates a mirror like surface. I don’t want to take it quite to a mirror, but I do want to try the technique for a couple of reasons.
I’m all about learning new things and this is a perfect opportunity.
I have wanted to try French polishing for years as its the finish I want to use to refinish the top of my 1920s baby grand piano. The finish has sustained considerable sun damage over the years and is alligatored, but that’s a story for another time.
So there you have it. A week of finishing. I have yet to start the shellacking as I just received the flakes and they take a day or two to dissolve in the alcohol, but don’t you worry you’ll see the process soon and I’ll do a full write up for those looking to learn about French polishing.