This is my first piece of furniture with hand-cut mortise-and-tenon joinery. It’s far from perfect, but I managed to hide most of the imperfections inside the frame.
I finished it with 50/50 beeswax and mineral oil.
I think the table top and long aprons are cherry, with two strips of what may be oak in the table top? It was in the miscellaneous pile at my community workshop, so your guys is as good as mine. The legs and short apron are sapele, which is probably my favorite wood when it’s finished, it’s unbelievably lustrous in person.
Happy to answer an questions, otherwise, I just wanted to share the first thing I’ve ever made that I didn’t finish and immediately tear apart all the mistakes I made, I’m genuinely pleased with this one!
Another point of pride I forgot to mention, this was an impulse project, so I didn’t have a plan, just kinda fumbled my way through it, making decisions as necessary. I’m especially pleased with the taper on the legs, think that adds a bit of grace to an otherwise chunky table
Yeah tapering legs definitely gives it a certain lightness, if they were square it would be a bit much.
Mad props to doing the joinery on the tapered surface, that adds a lot of complexity.
If I remember correctly, I chopped the mortises on the tapered face, then cut the tenons with square shoulders, then transferred the angle of the taper to the shoulders and cut off the tiny bit of excess. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected
I just recently learned the words “mortise” and “tenon” on my recent woodworking video binge. I saw your table and was instantly giddy with excitement! I’m not a carpenter, but I can see what I would call artistry in your work. And excellence. This table exudes excellence. Be so proud!!!
If you ever need inspiration for more impulse projects, I recommend looking up videos from Blacktail Studio. That’s what got a painter like me started on a mild obsession with carpentry.
I’m really glad to hear you like it! I’m glad it gives off that impression, because a not insignificant amount of time was spent finessing each individual joint
The leg tapers and the rounded edges give it such a refined, polished look. This is fantastic.
I’m glad you like it, I feel like the color and grain pattern of the two stripes down the table slightly detract from the polished look, though. That’s probably my biggest gripe
It’s beautiful!
Fuck yeah
Absolutely drop dead gorgeous, you absolutely should be proud.
Nice work, that is clean and sharp.
That’s gorgeous!
Looks great, good work!
You should be proud, that looks great!
Without close-ups it looks like a render. It’s pretty.
Oh this looks nice! What did you use to cut the mortise & tenons?
Hammer and mortise chisels I got from Amazon
As for the tenons, I’ve got a trash little craftsman saw that’s probably like seven bucks at home depot, I just had to score cuts well and be careful not to go outside my marks, LOTS of cleaning up with a paring chisel was necessary
old school! just like paul sellers!
Old school, or strapped for cash and no space for power tools, take your pick🤷
Nope, that self-deprecating shrug won’t do. You used the tools you had to build a rather nice piece of furniture. That’s called craftsmanship and we celebrate that around here.
It looks great!
I can literally feel those corners jabbing me in the shins.
Also, if you think those corners are bad, look at this torture device I made earlier this year
It’s hard maple, and those real thin edges are basically blades if you’re walking by. It’s a genuine hazard
JFC use a wood router man!
I eased the edge by hand with sandpaper, but I wanted it to look as unadulterated as possible. It’s a trade-off, for sure
This feels like a conversation I have with my wife about me placing everyday objects around the house in places where they would logically be, then she runs straight into them anyway
“Darling, I cannot protect you from what is right in front of your eyeballs”
Hey some of us are just more clumsy than others.
Also I’m my cramped apartment I have to regularly remind my fiancee that I’m way larger than her and that having to turn sideways to maneuver through my own home is a real damn nuisance lol
😍😍😍👏👏👏
Holy shit that’s badass
This might be a dumb question, but how did you attach the top to the legs/frame? With wood pegs and holes?
I’m not proud of it, but I got like six little, ~2", brass-plated L-brackets from home depot and attached them along the long sides.
It’s not ideal because TECHNICALLY wood movement could be an issue, but movement with the grain is minimal, and I needed to just get the thing done so I risked it. No issues yet and it has been in my basement (which has pretty significant humidity swings) for probably a year now.
Also, but a dumb question, I reached this exact point in the build, when I had a frame and a top and was like…well now what?
It turned out fantastic either way, and I don’t think anyone will turn you into the woood police.
Yeah, it’s surprising how little information there is to be found on how that was traditionally attached prior to hardware. I thought wood pegs and holes might work but havent tried it yet. I saw one design that had the legs go up flush to the table top and the top was notched and dropped into the legs.
