Here's the top with its low-luster finish. I wash-coated the raw maple with 1 lb-shellac then water stained the top. Several additional wash coats of shellac followed. I rubbed out the shellac with 0000 steel wool, removed any steel residue with Naptha, and applied a coat of Minwax Antique oil. A day later I applied a second coat of oil. Two days after that I rubbed out the oil with steel wool, buffed with burlap and achieved the final desired sheen by buffing with a soft cotton cloth.
Detail shot of the apron with its vertically-oriented
quarter sawn maple veneer and small cockbead.
The pedestal.
A view from above with the table in its extended position.
The underside with the table in its extended position.
The underside with the top closed.
Traditional table yokes hold the two halves together. The leaf also has keepers so that the same yokes hold it in position as well. Note how the keepers are at a very slight angle off parallel with the seam. This pulls the halves together as the yoke is inserted.
2 comments:
Tim,
when you say you "water stained" the top, do you mean you used a water-based stain? If not, can you tell us what water staining is?
Thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing the mantle develop.
Thanks for the question, Rookster!
"Water Staining" is actually an inaccurate description, but it's what we always called it in the shop where I learned finishing.
It's just a water-based aniline dye. I don't think I mentioned in the post just how difficult it can be to dye certain woods, maple being one of them. Pine and cherry are others. These species can "blotch" when dyed. It's a real pain in the neck when that happens. I only recently learned that one could dye wood after applying a washcoat of shellac. That seems to help the blotchiness issue a lot.
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