Small Projects

Since my last post, Siri and I have been quite busy. We've spent the weekend in Chicago, a weekend in Door County, and an entire week in Washington D.C. Suffice to say that leaves little time for woodworking. However, I did get two small projects done, one of which I had been meaning to do for some time now. I built myself a new computer desk and put together a sofa table. The sofa table was a quick project for Siri and allowed me to test a new finish: Minwax Red Oak. The finish turned out much darker that I would have liked and not quite as even as I had hoped. I brushed it on and in retrospect I think I should have wiped it on with a cloth. I did not put on any top coat as I don't plan on keeping this particular table around for too long. I would like to replace it with something constructed out of something nicer than 2x4 construction grade lumber.

Here is the sofa table behind the...well, sofa.

I made trapezoidal blocks to fasten the halves together.

A bit darker than I had anticipated.

A bit uneven. A second coat may correct this but make it even darker.

With the sofa in the normal position.

The other project was one for me: a computer desk. I started with a solid core slab door I found at ReStore and cut to size. The cutting left the particleboard core exposed in some places and they will eventually be covered with some edging or molding. I haven't yet decided on that yet, so all four edges are currently unfinished but the desk is basically done. I pieced together a frame from black plumbing pipe I picked up at Home Depot. I would like to paint this in the future, but for now it looks just fine. I placed some felt pads on the bottom of the frame to make it easier to slide on the floor and to prevent scratches on the hardwood.

Right side.

Full desk is about 71" wide.

Black pipe frame.

Gel stained top.

Exposed core to be covered.

The finish on the desk is composed of some General Finished Java Gel Stain and three coats of their poly top coat. I probably could use more layers of the poly, but I would like to see how well this holds up. I chose the gel stain over regular stain since I didn't want to risk sanding through the veneer trying to remove the existing finish. The gel stain was applied with a foam brush and then wiped with a clean cloth. I could have painted the finish on as well, which would have given me a much darker result. I'm happy with the current color, though the door had some scratches and marks that really show with the gel stain on top. If I make another one of these I will be sure to get a cleaner, undamaged door.

I also requisitioned some new tools! I purchased a Porter Cable router from Amazon for just a few dollars more than the reconditioned version from my usual tool supplier: CPO Outlets. This will come in handy for adding finishing touches to my work as well as allow me to cut dados (with a jig). I also picked up a Porter Cable jigsaw, this tool did come from CPO. It was on sale and I got a great deal on it. I still have to buy some blades for it but I haven't needed to use it yet. I will probably use it this weekend when my friend John comes over to make viking chairs with me. I plan to try out the General Finishes milk paint on my chair so look forward to that!

New tools! (And on the cheap)