Wow, it has been forever since I’ve posted on here, sorry about that! Life happens, but I haven’t stopped woodworking.

In fact, I’m excited to finally share a step-by-step process on how to build a kitchen pedestal table using the Osborne Wood Products Transitional Style pedestal base. As before, Osborne graciously sent me the base in exchange for me writing this instructional post.

This single base is actually the same style as the double base I used in my dining table build, but with an extra leg where the stretcher would be. I have everything I would need to make these bases myself; bandsaw, lathe, spindle sanders, etc. So, why did I decide to get a pre-fab one?

First, I’ve been consistently happy with the quality of the Osborne bases I’ve used. Second, it’s a huge time saver and (if I had paid for the base) only marginally more expensive than the time and materials it would take me to build a similar base. I actually tend to steer my clients to Osborne table legs and pedestals whenever possible because it decreases build time with very little added cost.

The bases come pre-sanded to 150 grit and assemble with threaded bolts. The only thing they don’t come with is the table top and the frame structure to support the top.

My goal when I create these builds is to make them so even a beginner can replicate the results; I try to use wood in dimensions you could easily find in a Home Depot or Lowes, and use tools that are also easily sourced.

The first step was to apply the finish to the pedestal. Since I wanted to paint our base, I chose a soft maple pedestal. They offer them in different hardwoods as well.

If you want to spray the finish, you certainly could. I have been able to get a nice, smooth finish on their pedestals using foam brushes and light sanding between coats.

Two coats of primer are ideal; you’re going to need 4 coats of paint total anyway, and I find a 2/2 for primer and top coat works better than a 1/3 split. Apply coats lightly and let them fully dry before lightly sanding with 240 and then 320 grit paper. These Festool sandpaper pads are amazing, and probably the only affordable product they actually make at 50 cents per pad when you buy them individually at Woodcraft.

Light, meticulous coats are key to a smooth finish. I use General Finished milk paint in Antique White. Paint the pieces disassembled and then assemble before spraying a coat of water based poly on top. Why water based? It won’t yellow like an oil based one will. For paint, this is ideal. If you decide to stain or leave a natural wood color, use an oil based finish for deeper color. Lacquer and shellac also give nice depth over raw wood or stain.

Bolting the base together is both extremely simple and unfortunately tedious. It’s a tight space, and you need patience. I find a low-profile ratcheting wrench with a very fine tooth count is the only practical way. Make sure you use a square to keep the legs plumb and align them with the bottom of the base. I also like to put these 3M furniture pads on the feet if the base is going directly on a hard surface.

The assembled base should come in right at 25″ tall. A standard table should be around 30″ tall. How do we make up the 5″ difference? For my previous dining table, I opted for wood over 1.25″ thick for the top and a frame around 3″ thick. This time, I wanted to use some riftsawn white oak I had on hand for the top, but it would only end up 1″ thick. Actually, this worked really well because I could make the frame 3.5″ tall (the same width as a standard 2×4) and a 1″ thick top can be made of 5/4 material, which is easily purchased at home improvement centers. That leaves just a half inch of difference, of which the padded feet make up some of the difference.

Building the frame is relatively straightforward, and again very similar to how I built the frame on the full dining table. You’ll want to finish your stock down to 1.5″ thick and 3.5″ wide (nominal 2×4 dimensions). I chose to go with hard maple because it’s strong, paints well, and it’s what I had on hand; for the purposes of this build, you could easily just use 2×4 pine from HD or Lowes. Just make sure you buy dry, dead-straight wood with as few knots as possible.

How long your frame supports are depends on how wide you’d like your table to be. I made my table 48″ in diameter, so I chose to go with 30″ long supports; the extra 18″ of overhand leaves room for chairs and, coupled with the bevel I put on it will avoid hitting anyone’s legs.

Cut 4 boards to identical lengths, and then mark the center of each one across all 4 faces of the board. This way, we will know where to locate the bolt holes and have a uniform center.

The base was 8″ square at the top; verify this in your own case as a 1/16″ difference can make the joints difficult to fit. What we want to do is mark 4″ off the center mark in each direction, giving us the outside edge of our lap joint. Then, taking a piece of our wood, trace the 1.5″ width toward the center mark. We now know where we need to cut to make the joint work. Repeat on all 4 boards.

You could accomplish the half lap joint in multiple ways; I chose to use my dado stack. Simply set the blade to exactly half the width of the board (1.75″ in this case) and remove all the material between each of the two spaces we just marked on each board. You could also use a bandsaw, jigsaw, or miter saw to accomplish this. Just make sure to test the fit so that you cut exactly half the width on each one.

(Note: my photos and instructions are a bit backward. I cut my bevels first and then did the joinery, and it was much more complicated because I didn’t have as much flat surface to work with)

With the lap joints cut, assemble the overlaps together and mark which side of each board is the “top.” This way, you won’t accidentally cut your bevel on the wrong side.

Before cutting the bevel, drill the holes for the bolts. You need to drill a 3/8 inch hole all the way through, and then a 1″ hole from the top side to countersink where the wash and nut go in. Before you drill the hole, take note: it will be off center! The center of the bolts is actually about an inch from the edge of the pedestal top; make sure you measure and mark it out properly.

Dry fit all the pieces together and place it on the base; if everything fits well, mark out the bevel on the underside of the frame. I chose to have the bevel start right at the edge of the pedestal and extend to the end of the frame, leaving 1″ of thickness. Cut this using a bandsaw or jigsaw, and then clean up the edge with a block plane or sander to make it smooth.

Once you’re happy with the frame, paint it just as you did the base.

Assembling the top is actually a rather simple affair, and your success comes down to two things; straight edges and flat boards. Ideally, you would dimension your own 5/4 rough lumber to get perfectly flat, parallel faces with nice clean perpendicular/square edges. With proper edges, you don’t really need biscuits, dominoes, or dowels to join the boards. I actually discourage using those when you’re doing a round table top; it’s too easy to lay out the biscuits in the wrong place and find one peeking out when you cut the circle out. Glue and clamps are all you need.

If you decide to use 5/4 lumber from the hardware store, make sure to get the flattest boards you can. You really need a straight edge for gluing; a circular saw with a straight guide would suffice in a pinch.

Glue the panels together until you get a square that just barely exceeds the diameter of the top you need; in my case, I went with 50″ to cut a 48″ top out. I actually did mine in two pieces so I could flatten them on my drum sander and get an even flatter surface. I then glued those two pieces together. Not everyone has this luxury.

Rough sand the surfaces flat and smooth to 80 grit, If you have uneven glue joints, it will make it hard to cut a perfect circle top out.

There are a ton of ways to cut a circle top; some people make jigs for bandsaws, some people use a jigsaw, and I’ve even seen it done on table saws. My favorite, by far, is to use a router. You can buy a commercial center cutting jig like I did, or make one from plywood that you attach your router to. Either way, the principle is the same; fasten a single point in the center, set the router half your diameter away from the center point on the jig, and slowly move around in a circle to cut it. A spiral bit works wonders here. Take small bites, especially in a wood like white oak that will want to tear out when you go against the grain.

When you have only about 1/8 of an inch of wood left, take a jigsaw and cut the waste out, leaving some of the waste right at the edge intact. Come back with a template bit on your router to remove that last 1/8″. Then, simply round over or chamfer the edges and sand to final grit. I chose to use a General Finishes Waterbased Stain in Antique Oak on mine, and finish with two coats of Osmo Polyx oil.

Attaching the top is easy, and something we’ve talked about many times. I like these skirt connectors from FastCap LLC. I use a router with a 3/4 inch straight bit to cut the recess in the top of the frame. Drill a small pilot hole and use a countersunk head screw to attach. Set the torque on your drill so that it snugs down the fastener but it can still be moved slightly by hand; this allows the top to expand and contract over time. Then, place the top on, center it, and attach with pan headed screws. Again, make sure the torque is not too tight.

And there you have it! A complete dining table that will last generations and look beautiful in your home. We’re already putting ours to good use; next I need to make the chairs (a blog post for another day).

It’s been a while since I posted anything to the blog! Most of my DIY tips and ideas have been focused on small little tips on Instagram (@dibwoodworking), and I have been swamped with my custom work (www.edelweisswood.com).

However, it’s time for another awesome collaboration with Osborne Wood Products! It’s always fun to collaborate with them to highlight a new product, and this lift hardware is definitely something I haven’t worked with before. As in previous times, they provided me the legs for this build and the lift hardware for free in exchange for me writing the instructions to install them. I built this one on spec this time, without a client lined up, so this one will likely get sold at a slight profit (but a discount to full price to make up for the materials I was provided). Just in the interest of full disclosure!

The table legs are the Osborne Lakeland Coffee Table legs in Cherry; the legs have a shaker look to them, and cherry is a classic shaker style wood, so it seemed to be a good fit. We’ve done enough of these builds together that I won’t have to spend too much time going through the details on the general construction of the table. Dimensions are 40″ x 24″ for the table top. From leg-to-leg, these dimensions are 37″ x 22″. Look back at my puzzle table post in regards to making the aprons, with mortise and tenon construction.

Because the brackets are so deep, the aprons need to be a full 4.5″ wide. Use 3/4 inch stock for the aprons. Glue everything together overnight, checking to make sure the frame is square by measuring the diagonals.

Build the table by gluing up together boards of 3/4″ thick stock (aka 4/4). Using a circular saw with and edge guide, or a track saw, cut the table top to final dimensions. Round over the edges slightly, and sand the table top; start with 80 grit, then move through 120, 150, and then 220 grit. Do the same with the table frame throughly; the legs came pre-sanded at 150, but you’ll need to get the aprons to 150 as well before everything gets sanded to 220.

Why are we doing all of this sanding before final assembly? Well, because the table top is attached to the frame by the lift brackets, and the hardware is difficult to finish around, it’s best to finish everything ahead of time.

I chose to use a spray lacquer from Mohawk Finishes called Duracoat; it gives a really nice sheen, and deepens the color of the cherry nicely as well. Cherry has a strong tendency to blotch when it is exposed to oil finishes; over time, the blotching will even out as the cherry darkens, but I prefer to use a spray lacquer initially to minimize the blotching up front.

Now, the main reason I am doing this write-up is for the instructions on using the lift brackets, so let’s start in! I found the best way to place these was to start by cutting a board that we will use as a “cleat” to attach the hardware to the inside of the aprons of the table. The reason we’re doing this is to allow us to make sure the brackets sit exactly flush to the top of the frame, and parallel to the table frame as well. My brackets had just a slight tilt off parallel to them, so this was necessary to make sure the lift action was perfectly parallel.

Make the cleat only as deep as the main portion of the bracket itself (1 and 7/8 inches). The bracket is 11.75 inches long, but to make sure these is enough room for the bracket to tilt backward when it opens, we will want to leave an inch of clearance behind. The best way to accomplish that is to cut the cleat 12.75″ long, which gives you a consistent one inch spacer to help place it.

Temporarily attach the brackets to the cleat using 5/8 inch #6 screws; two should be plenty. This will allow us to clamp the bracket and cleat in place for alignment.

Turn the table upside down, and place the frame on the table top so that it is evenly centered vertically and horizontally. Clamp the table top down firmly; we don’t want it to move as we attach the brackets in place.

Place the back of the cleat against the back side of the leg, making sure the part that attaches to the table sits flush to the table top. One of the nice things about the Osborne brackets is that the holes for attaching the top are elongated, which allows the wood to move if you use a solid surface table top. The bad part? The holes are quite wide, so wide that I couldn’t find any screws at Lowes with a wide enough head that it won’t just go through the hole. The best solution I could find was to take a 5/8 inch long, #6 screw with a round, flat head and a couple of washers; a #6 washer and a #8 washer. The #6 washer wasn’t quite wide enough to cover the hole, but the #8 was. The two stacked together worked perfectly. Attach all three to the table top before moving on to the side that attaches the aprons.

With the table in this position, you’ll only have easy access to two of the holes that attach the bracket to the apron; that’s plenty to hold it in place to get access to the last two. Drill a pilot hole, and use a flat headed screw 1.25″ long to secure the bracket to the apron, passing through the cleat on the way through.

Once each bracket is attached with two screws, you can lift the apron and frame up, and place the final two screws.

The brackets run smoothly and with a fair amount of ease, but I don’t want to risk and racking forces throwing the frame out or causing any issues. Normally, the frame and apron would be attached to each other, and there wouldn’t be much need for corner brackets. In this case, I decided to add some using pocket screws. I don’t normally prefer pocket screws for furniture joinery, but this is a perfect situation for it.

Cut some pieces with 45 degree miters on each edge side, and then place them in the pocket jig as such to cut the pocket screws.

Put one in each corner of the table, using the bottom side of the brackets as your guide.

That’s it! Your table is now ready to go. Give it a test run; it has a great, soft close action and gives a nice height for working from a couch.

I talk a lot in my blog and my tutorial plans about how important it is to get properly dried and acclimated lumber. If you don’t have a large lumber yard that you trust, like I do, how do you make sure what you’re getting will work?

I knock home center lumber a lot on here, but I understand that for a lot of you it may be your only option. The biggest problem with lumber from Home Depot, Lowes, and Menards is that it’s kiln dried to general construction standards. That can mean it’s “dried” but only to about 20% moisture content. In a house, where the entire frame is nailed and screwed with large fasteners and hidden behind drywall, you’ll never notice or care if the wood shrinks or cracks. In furniture, it makes a huge difference.

Here are links to two amazing (but incredibly technical) resources on wood movement.

Click to access chapter_04.pdf

Click to access chapter_13.pdf

I’ll summarize the main ideas as it relates to this recent bargain load of lumber I got.

Lowes had this entire cart of mostly yellow pine for about $22. They graded it as mostly “unsuitable for use.” We woodworkers know better. While warped and knotted, this would be the perfect wood for a workbench. A few trips on a jointer and planer and it would be indistinguishable.

They told me, from the get-go, that they’d accumulated this lumber over the course of a few months. I had a suspicion then that it had already done most of its acclimating. But, there was also an easy way to verify it.

I took the lumber home, let it sit a week, and then tested it with my moisture meter. Every piece registered right about 7-8% moisture. Using the resource above, and knowing that my humidifier keeps my house consistently between 30-40% moisture, I know that the wood is already at equilibrium in my home. Perfect!

But what if it weren’t? If I bought all brand-new yellow pine, I’d expect it to be about 20% moisture. The USDA chart tells me the tangential coefficient is about 0.0026 for long-leaf pine. So, as the moisture content drops to 7% from 20% (a 13% difference) , I can expect my 2×12 to shrink by 13 x .0026 x 11.5″= 0.3887 inches, or about 3/8ths of an inch!

Is 3/8ths of an inch a big deal? Absolutely, especially when combined with bad DIY building technique that constrains the wood. Lets say you made a kitchen table using popular DIY plans. It’s 40″ wide yellow pine, and you took it straight from the shelf, screwed four boards together, and used Kreg screws to fasten it on all sides to the table base.

Using the calculations above, we know the wood is going to move. In this case, you have 13 x .0026 x 40″ of movement, or 1.35 inches! In other words, by doing absolutely nothing but sitting there, your table will become 1.35″ narrower in a matter of just a few months.

OK, so who care’s about an inch of width though? Will your dinner party be any less comfortable with a 39″ wide table? Well, because you fastened the table-top to the base with a rigid system of nails, as the wood tries to shrink it’s not going to be able to do so; the screws holding it to the table apron won’t let the boards shrink. Instead, either your table will warp substantially as the wood curls in on itself, or you’ll get large cracks in the top as the wood violently splits at its weakest points.

Truth be told, even if you DID use proper table fasteners, like figure-eights or z-clips, I’m not sure they could help with a 1.35″ degree of shrinkage.

Here’s a fine assortment of examples from the web of people that were burned by wood movement:

So, if the only option you have is to use lumber from Home Depot or Lowes, get yourself a $30 moisture meter. When you select your lumber, bring it with you and pick the driest boards you can find. Then, let them sit until they’re at LEAST 10% moisture, preferably less, before you work with them. It takes patience, and planning, but it’s much better than putting time, effort, and money into a project that ends up like the ones above.

When my daughter asked if I could build a baby doll bed for her doll, Bella, I was thrilled.

This was such a fun project to build, and I was even able to involve her in the whole process.  This design was selected by Sophia; she picked one from a catalog that she liked.  Then, she sketched some crayon schematics (basically, taller headboard than footboard).  Finally, she sketched the double heart that she wanted on each board.

I am making these drawings and designs 100% FREE so that you can build one with your child.  The templates for the head and foot board are here: baby crib plans.  If you print each one on a full sheet of paper, you’ll be able to trace out this exact design.

 

I’ve posted about shellac, previously, as part of my finishing regimen.  However, I’ve never truly talked about how amazing this finish is, and how truly simple it is to use.

Let’s start with what shellac is: unlike polyurethane, laquer, and most other commercial finishes, shellac is 100% natural.  It’s actually the secretion from the Lac insect.  Yes, it’s basically bug poop.  But before you let that gross you out, you should know that you’ve actually eaten this stuff before!

The flakes of lac are collected and processed.  In that form, they can come in a few different tones (amber, garnet, blonde).  Each of these colors has its own unique coloring effect it will add to the wood.  The flakes are mixed with alcohol, and can be applied using a brush, rag, or sprayer.  Importantly, at this point, they still contain a substantial amount of natural wax.  Each subsequent coat of shellac slightly dissolves the underlying coat, which makes the shellac build a finish quite well.  One of the most prized finishes, the French Polish, is accomplished using shellac.  The wax, however, means that no other finishes will stick to shellac in this form.

Sound complicated and the opposite of the “simple” finish I promised?  Don’t worry, there’s an alternative.

Premixed shellac is widely available!  Home Depot and Lowes carry the Bullseye (Zinsser) brand in both Amber and Clear.  The Amber shellac is a waxed shellac.  The clear is dewaxed.  Both are available in quarts, gallons, and spray cans.

While nothing will stick to waxed (amber) shellac, the dewaxed stuff is practically a miracle finish.  EVERYTHING (practically) sticks to dewaxed shellac, and it sticks to everything.

One of the biggest struggles in finishing is compatibility; say you want to use a colored stain or dye, but it’s water based.  If you try to use an oil topcoat on a water stain, you can be asking for trouble (watch homemade salad dressing after it’s settled, as an example of how that combo works).  Water and oil don’t mix!  You could use a water based finish on top, but they often look dull and they aren’t typically as protective.

The solution?  Seal Coat shellac!

After the water stain has dried a day or two, put on two or three coats of this heavily thinned shellac (sanding in between, lightly).  The shellac adds warmth to the otherwise dull water stain. And, it acts as a barrier between the water and oil finishes.

What else do I love about shellac?  From the can with a brush, it is ready to recoat in about an hour; from the spray can, they say as soon as the first coat is tacky (5 minutes, tops).  That’s an exceptionally fast finish!  I’m sure denatured alcohol isn’t exactly healthy for you, but it’s much less caustic, I think, to breathe than the oil based finishes (I still wear a respirator mask).

Since it’s all natural, it’s basically edible once it’s cured.  I don’t recommend chewing on your new bookcase, but if you’re making a kid’s toy, I’d go with shellac.

What else?  Well, it is a crazy good stain and odor sealer.  Many primers are even shellac based, specifically because of that quality.  A gallon of amber shellac is about $40 at Home Depot right now.  That’s about on par with a cheap polyurethane like Minwax.  The equivalent amount of Arm-R-Seal, my favorite oil varnish, is about $60.

Are there downsides to this miracle finish?  Well, yes, of course.  For one, it’s alcohol soluble, do you won’t want to use it on a dining table, bar, or coffee table.  Because it’s mixed with alcohol, it’s highly flammable; maybe even more prone to spontaneous combustion than an oil finish.

But wait!  Both of these things are secretly benefits, too.  The solubility means you can repair scratches and such in seconds, seamlessly.  And even though it’s more combustible in the short term, it dries way faster than oil based finishes.  You can lay it out flat, in within about ten minutes the whole rag is dry; a linseed oil based finish may take 6 hours to fully dry.  Alcohol is also water soluble, which means you can dunk your used rag in a bucket of water before you lay it flat to dry; that helps reduce the spontaneous combustion risk.

So, have I sold you on shellac yet?

 

 

Looking back on the last year and a half, I’ve done a LOT of fun projects. I’ve had collaborations with Osborne Wood, personal projects with exotic lumber, etc. But, looking back at the original purpose of DIB, I welcomed this next commission as a chance to tie in my custom business with the blog!

What if you don’t want ebonized, inlaid, or acrylic furniture? What if you just want some Pintrest-worthy “rustic-chic” furniture? If you’ve been reading my blog long enough, you’ll know there are tons of issues with how those DIY websites design and build their furniture.

When my client asked me to build a table similar to this, I knew there were some things I would have to do to make the project last.

I used these legs for the coffee table and these for the end tables. They are “knotty” pine, which I was told is a white pine in their case.

The first thing I did was buy high quality lumber, from a lumber yard. Pictured are sheets of white pine veneered, 3/4 inch plywood and slabs of 2″ thick, locally cut white pine. I ended up needing one extra slab. This stuff is kiln dried; when pine is fully dried, it’s really stable, unlike the hardware store stuff that has to continue drying out. If you absolutely can’t find a lumber yard that carries white pine, you COULD use construction lumber from a hardware store. If you do, buy it a couple months early and let it sit in your basement to dry out. It’ll warp, but better to do it BEFORE you surface everything than after it’s built.

Instead of using pocket screws to create the top, which would cause warping and cracking as the wood moved seasonally, I used the plywood (very stable) as the base. I cut a rabbet cut (which is just a groove that’s on the outside of a board) that the plywood would sit in.

The mitered corners were reinforced with biscuits on the inside of the miter. You could use mails, splines, dominos, etc.

To attach the top to the legs, I put pieces of 4/4 pine on the bottom of each leg, glued, with a single deck screw going in to add extra support. That glue joint has end grain on the leg, which doesn’t hold as well, so the screw gives the glue some added strength. The 4/4 squares are glued to the top and bottom and held with 23 gauge pin nails while the glue dries. Those glue joints are all “long grain” and are very strong.

By using scrap MDF pieces to fill in the depth under the tables, I provided a stable basis with a very strong glue surface.

For the stain, I used General Finishes Antique Oak. It’s a water based stain, which reduces the blotching that pine characteristically shows when stained with oil stains. The pockets of pitch and sap in the pine become dissolved by the oil solvents, and you get uneven coloring. With water-based stain and poly, this is almost eliminated.

No full walk-through on this one; it was a commission piece, so I don’t give away the full process there. But, these general guidelines will give you a “Shabby Chic” looking table with long-lasting construction techniques.