Hey John...what is the finish going to be??? Have you gotten that far yet?

 

-Ace-

John, I know pocket screws are installed through a larger hole then the screw diameter. I believe this allows some movement. A lot of old early furniture used a "pocket" to drive the screw up through the rail or apron and into a top. They were done with a gouge to create the pocket. Of course they also nailed through a top into the frame too. It is interesting what you see on old pieces.

This is Ralph Jone's recipe and I have used it before. He had this posted on Wood's forum. As I said, I have used his recipe before and had good results with it. This is what I will do with this table. I hope to get to this by the weekend. I had to work a lot of extra hours the past few weeks since all of the storms came through so I am a little behind.

 

However start with Varethane Gun Stock stain which used to be called Mission Oak. Now here is a method that you might want to use as I have myself had good luck with and I am sure that Steve will agree. First mix a wash of 3 parts mineral spirits to one part of the stain you are going to use after you have mixed the stain well. By mixing the wash in the manner I speak you hand rub it on to get the wood wet but not dripping and by doing so will condition the wood for a full stain rub on allow to dry 24 hours. Make sure that you are applying the stain as if you are waxing a car and when you redip your rag start away from where you left off and work back to the part you left off and blend as well as you can and you will not have blotching.

 

Now lets get down to the finish I use Minwax Tung Oil which as Seve will agree is nothing more than a good varnish cut 50/50 to make it hand rubbing finish. Apply the first coat and allow to dry for 24 hours and then using 3-M imitation steel wool and lightly sand it all over and then vacuum it well. Then apply the second coat of the same finish, allow to dry over night. These two coats will give you a gloss finish so now you use  Pratt and Lambert #38 Satin finish and cut it also 50/50 for a hand rubbed finish and also make the piece look almost antique.

Ace HoleInOne said:

Hey John...what is the finish going to be??? Have you gotten that far yet?

 

-Ace-

That,s interesting Bob. I have seen some older pieces nailed and the tops had split but I didn't recall seeing any with the pockets for the screws. I think I am going to give it a try on a project just to see how it does. Might be a lot easier and quicker.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Bob Kloes said:

John, I know pocket screws are installed through a larger hole then the screw diameter. I believe this allows some movement. A lot of old early furniture used a "pocket" to drive the screw up through the rail or apron and into a top. They were done with a gouge to create the pocket. Of course they also nailed through a top into the frame too. It is interesting what you see on old pieces.

Larry, what color is the stain on this table?

 

Larry Jenkins said:

John2..

We talked earlier about pre-finishing.  Here's an image of a coffee table I designed and built for a customer.

All parts were pre-finished before final assembly.

I'm looking for an older article I wrote about how to do this.  If I can't find it, I'll re-write it and post it here.

Larry

 

None. 

They wanted a very simple coffee table without any top edge molding; no tapered legs and no stain.  Wipe on poly, rubbed out as previously described.

Larry

Well it looks great. I thought it might have some stain added but I really like it. I know what you mean about plain I have a few of those request also.

John Moody said:

That,s interesting Bob. I have seen some older pieces nailed and the tops had split but I didn't recall seeing any with the pockets for the screws. I think I am going to give it a try on a project just to see how it does. Might be a lot easier and quicker.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Bob Kloes said:

John2..

My big error. 

I actually made two of  these for different customers.  The one in the image above has tapered legs, an Ogee molding on the top and drawer and has a Cherry stain.  Wiped-on Satin poly, rubbed out.

Great eyes, Sir..

Larry