Very nice.  Danl

all done, 3rd coat on the tops looks good.

 

there are a few imperfections on the underside.....well, it's hand made, what did you expect?  unless you drink all the wine, out of all 3 bottles, you won't be on the floor to see them, so let's move on.

 

stick on felt feet applied, will deliver wednesday.

They should be very pleased with these!

Really nice Dab!

Those look great!! Awesome job.

On 5/27/2024 at 5:49 PM, Gerald said:

120? How did you get away with stopping at 120? You are making me tired for the day. 

 

ah yes....we all "know" you have to sand to at least 220, maybe 320.  do you?

 

the finish on these was Spar Urethane, 2 coats everywhere, 3 coats on top (as they take lots of wear), with light hand sanding of the prior coat at 220 between coats, gives the next coat something to grab onto and knocks down any fuzzies.

 

well, as the pics show, the tops came out very nicely.  with 3 coats of poly, you actually build up layers on the surface that hide any sanding imperfections that may exist after sanding with 120, so there is no point in sanding any finer, the coats of poly will hide those "defects".

 

don't believe me?

 

grab some scrap lumber, sand one to 80 (that's where i started, got rid of planer marks and such), sand one to 120 (where i stopped), and one to 220.

 

now grab your jar of poly and apply finish coats as you normally would, and as i described above.  2 coats should look nice, 3 really nice.

 

if you are using some other finish that does not sit on top of the wood, then yes, you might want to do a little more sanding, as the finish will not fill in the defects/voids you might still have.

 

hope this helps.  no point in doing more work than you have to.

I always seem to have some roughness after the final coat.  Even after 320 between coats and tack cloth-ing.  With the caveat that I'm in woodworking primary school, I like to touch up the final coat with steel wool.  Sometimes steel wool with paste wax.  Getting to the bottom of my Johnson's (sigh)!

3 hours ago, JimM said:

I always seem to have some roughness after the final coat.  Even after 320 between coats and tack cloth-ing.  With the caveat that I'm in woodworking primary school, I like to touch up the final coat with steel wool.  Sometimes steel wool with paste wax.  Getting to the bottom of my Johnson's (sigh)!

You might want to try buffing or a hand rub. It is labor intensive but leaves a very nice feel.

49 minutes ago, Gerald said:

You might want to try buffing or a hand rub. It is labor intensive but leaves a very nice feel.

Thank you.  Do you use some product for buffing, like a compound for a car finish?

After finish coat and between coats I use a brown paper grocery bag, saved from when they used them, and it does a fine job of removing dust nibs. 

The automotive industry use an anti static gun after the tack cloth and before the paint.  Blow, tack and static is their saying.

9 hours ago, JimM said:

Thank you.  Do you use some product for buffing, like a compound for a car finish?

I have not used this on poly because I hardly ever use it but have had great success with lacquer; Mcguiar's compound and polish. You can also use mineral oil after the finish has cured to rub out the finish.

Beautiful tables.  I also,like the way you put the shelf into the legs….ill remember that one.

Was following but finally got around to reading through this. Very well done all around @DAB. From the design, build, finish and especially the purpose. Thanks for sharing the story, the build process and your secrets/ tips.