Coffee Table....DONE!!

Well, I put the finishing touches on the coffee table yesterday so this project is officially DONE! Overall, this project did not take terribly long, considering I have a day job and all. After I did all the final sanding and everything, I wet sanded with 400 grit paper and some Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO). After I let that dry a bit, I then used Watco Danish Oil, Dark Walnut, and went over the whole piece, again wet sanding it in. I did two coats of that and let it dry for about a week. Then, I applied 3 coats of a satin wipe on polyurethane. After the third coat, I lightly sanded with 400 grit paper and applied two more coats. Lastly, I put a light coat of paste wax on it and buffed it out. Below are a couple pictures.

From Coffee Table

In this first picture you can see the legs from all angles as well as the double beed detail on the top.

From Coffee Table

This pictures shows the crazy grain in the top; this was NO FUN to plane, but I just took my time and made very, very light passes. I really like the look of this particular piece of mahogany. You can also see the scalloped edges in this shot.

Overall, I really enjoyed this project. I tried several new things to test my skills; first time using mahogany, first cabriole leg, first shaped aprons, first scalloped top, first double beed. Even with all of these "new" things, it was one of the easiest projects I've ever done. I probably did my most thorough job of planning and thinking through each step with a focuse on the next step. I definately increased my abilities and concured the fear of trying new things in woodoworking, as well as better planning. Lot's to build off of as a result of this project!

Coffee Table - Continued - Cabriole Legs

Ok, so in my post a while back, I created a second blank and decided on a template that I would use for production. So I went to work milling out my leg stock from 12/4 mahogany (that's why it's take me so long to post). Once I had everything dimensioned, I then traced the profile and went to cutting on the bandsaw just like before. Here are all the legs roughed out.

From Coffee Table

The next thing I needed to do before cutting the posts or rounding the feet on the lathe was to cut the mortises for the table rails, so here is a shot of those all done. My Delta Mortiser made quick work of it.

From Coffee Table

I'm going to be spending my next bit on forming the feet and shaping the legs, so that will take some time to do them all. I would also like to get my rails all cut and dimensioned; that should not take as long.