Hello--- I'm new to both this site and to wood working.  I started as a way to channel some creativity and learn new skills.  My first project here is a picnic table I completed yesterday.  As my wife and I were shopping around for patio furniture, I couldn't help but to gasp at how darn expensive it all was.  So, with much puff-chested bravado, I boldly told her "I'll just build us a picnic table"...two weekends later, this is what I have.  It's rough (I'm nowhere NEAR the level of most of you in making furniture)...but it holds us and opens beer (two key requirements for any picnic table, as I see it).  Please let me know what you think!  The next project may be some Adirondack chairs for this fall....hope all of those hours in junior high shop class pay off...

A few more pics...being a Navy Chief- the term "Hold Fast" has some special meaning...

Welcome to TPW John!

That is a very nice looking table. I like the addition of the iron straps and the umbrella hole. Great job on your first project.

A few questions: What type of wood did you use? What kind of hardware did you use for joining the seats, top etc? What finish did you use?

Keep up the good work!

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www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops

Mike- Thanks, man!  This is all weather treated deck pine lumber and decking screws.  The iron straps are the decorative pieces that are used for garage doors (I hand bent and hammered to fit my need).  The stain is the weatherbeater red oak.  I used (and modified) some basic blueprints I found off of the home depot site- I added more seat and table supports.  Thanks again for our post...

Mike Dillen said:

Welcome to TPW John!

That is a very nice looking table. I like the addition of the iron straps and the umbrella hole. Great job on your first project.

A few questions: What type of wood did you use? What kind of hardware did you use for joining the seats, top etc? What finish did you use?

Keep up the good work!

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www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops

Welcome, John.

Good looking table. Like Mike, I'm curious about the wood and the finish, too. 

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

John thanks for the info and great job on the cold working on the straps, looks great.

My first project was a porch swing that I built from pine. The design was comfortable but I used galvanized deck screws and after a year or two out in the weather the screws began to bleed and left streaking on the wood. My next swing I used stainless screws and haven't had any problems.

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www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops

I was worried about the screws streaking too, so I used to plastic coated ones...we'll see how it turns out. 

Mike Dillen said:

John thanks for the info and great job on the cold working on the straps, looks great.

My first project was a porch swing that I built from pine. The design was comfortable but I used galvanized deck screws and after a year or two out in the weather the screws began to bleed and left streaking on the wood. My next swing I used stainless screws and haven't had any problems.

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www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops

John, outstanding sir!!!!!!

Your first project??? Whew doggy! That is one heck of a first project! The looks are great, a tad rustic and the iron work, and show could argue with the bottle opener and "HOLD FAST".

One of my favorite movies of all time is The Captain and Commander" with Russell Crowe as a sailing Captain in the British Fleet back in the 1800's I think? It's a great movie, one the guys is getting some deckside surgery done on his head after a battle, they are removing a musket ball out of his head, and he is white knuckling his fists and on his knuckles are tattooed, "HOLD FAST". Love it!

You have captured the spirit of a sailing vessel in your bench I feel. The color is nice and warm, the iron work is really cool, the fact that you bent them to make due make it all more special. That is called in military circles as "Improvise and Overcome".

Thanks for sharing your first project with us John, it's a winner, now get ready for more to come! You now have a reputation around the home as being the guy that can build it, you don't know what you got your self into! LOL

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker
Proud Supporter of Wounded Warrior Project and Homes For Our Troops

by the way John, I got your pics up for you, what you did is you downloaded the pics as file attachment. Go here to see how to add photos to a discussion it is very easy to do. Thanks again for joining us Chief!!!

Adding Photos to a Discussion.

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker
Proud Supporter of Wounded Warrior Project and Homes For Our Troops

John, First I want to welcome you to the forum. We have a lot of great people here that like to share ideas as well as what they do for woodworking. Pictures are always a good thing, and from what I see so far, all those hours in shop class DID pay off in spades.

Thanks to John M for getting your pictures right so that people can see them. Normally that would be my job but I am at least partially laid up and not always on the ball before John is.

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Charles Nicholls
Site Host
nicholls61@att.net
Proud supporter of The Wounded Warrior Project, Homes For Our Troops and the NRA

Looks pretty good to me John!

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Ron Dudelston
Site Administrator

Above and Beyond WoodWorks

Beauty!  A nice hearty looking table.  Seeing the first pic, the first thought that came to my mind was my pops old navy chest.

One tip for your next table build. For the leg A frame construction. use 3" carriage bolts. After pre drilling the holes, tap the bolts in enough to keep the legs together, but not all the way through.  flip the leg set over and drill a 3/4" counter sink about a 1/2" deep. That will be enough room for a washer and the nut. Flip em back over and tap the bolts all the way through.  You'll now have a hidden bolt end that nobody can catch a pant leg on.  That was my main modification after my first couple of tables 

Not the best pic for example but the quickest one I could find.

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http://www.scottswoodproductions.com
http://www.facebook.com/ScottsWoodProductions

John,

Looks Pretty darn good to me!

Another option for capping the ends of the carraige bolts is to use acorn nuts.

 

Larry

Old Woodworking Machinery Forum Host

Great advice on plugging the screws Joe.

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker
Proud Supporter of Wounded Warrior Project and Homes For Our Troops

I hope we are not talking about te same screws here , but on the seats I see you have wood screws, Maybe on the next project try counter sinking those and either use small amounts of wood putty to cover them or maybe Titebond 3, just something t hide those shiny heads.

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Charles Nicholls
Site Host
nicholls61@att.net
Proud supporter of The Wounded Warrior Project, Homes For Our Troops and the NRA

Thank you all for all of your complements, tips, and tricks!  I'll try covering the screws in the seats...for those who don't know the "HOLD FAST" reference...in the days of sail, it was common for Sailors to get this tattoo'ed across their knuckles to remind them to hang on tight while working the sails on the yardarms...it's still a very common slogan in the Navy today.  If we do anything right in today's Navy it's remembering where we came from and our proud history of ruling the seven seas!

Oh that's just lovely.

One of my firsts was a picnic table too.

My real firsts were these stupid shelves that you hung on the wall in the manner of a picture frame on a nail.

I finger jointed the things from 3/4 pine and jigsawed designed in the part that went against the wall.

Next was a coat rack that I was arrogant enough to try to sell to businesses.   Didn't sell any.

I have to agree with everyone else here that's a great first job

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http://www.prchestnut.webs.com/

John

Would be happy to have this in my back yard. Nice job. Keep up the nice work.

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Wayne Mahler
God bless and protect our troops that serve so we can be free.