Had two hours empty yesterday before I needed to pick up the kids from school so I eagerly jumped into the garage wood shop to begin sanding the old scratched finish off of the table. All three portions are slightly different colours due to sun exposure, or lack thereof. The middle leaf being the darkest and most lustrous due to never having been used. So I took up my brand new belt sander, which immediately started to blow scorching hot air out the back, melted the finish I was trying to sand off, directly into the very fibers of the sandpaper belt, and I had to switch back to my trusted Milwaukee orbital sander. Ugh! I honestly wanted the belt sander to work so that I could cover more square inches faster. Maybe I’ll need to save the belt sander for higher grits that take less pressure to remove. The heat bothers me, as the sander is brand new, and never used before. So not too sure about that.
But plan was/is : remove old stain and finish on top surface, and around the sides. Sznd through the grits (60, 80, 100, 120, 150, 220) blowing off the dust inbetween. Spritz with water and sand again at 220 grit. Round over the outside edges, as the table is a wee bit sharp as is. Sand as needed. Apply Danish Oil with a darker Walnut stain in it. Wipe off excess. Lightly sand with 300/400 grit sand paper. Reapply Danish Oil. Let dry. Buff with 400 grit sand paper. Apply wipe on poly finish. Then set the table top aside, and begin cutting my Walnut legs, gluing them up, drying, trying up the faces, chopping to length, rounding over edges, and then building captive boxes specific to each leg, in all four corners of the table. Drilling out the fixture holes. Screwing in the inserts. Then wiping on my poly finish to the legs. Disassemble, and bring down stairs into the basement to replace crappy old folding table where the kids play legos, and do puzzles.
I could be done in three/four days, or it will take me until December to complete. Hardly any inbetween around this type of thing. Life/work gets in the way. So there is that to look forward to. I didn’t take any pictures yet. May only do so once I finish the whole project and set it up down stairs. So stay tuned for updates on this potential catastrophe. Should be a fun time had by all.
***Editor’s note: Turns out the fancy shmancy mahogany hard wood table is actually Poplar with thin veneer on it. Which I sanded through in spots die to how bad the gouging, scraping, and scratching was. So, change of plans. Sanding to 220 only. No roundover on top surface. Danish oil, with no poly top coat. And I’m going to make Ash legs, and not waste my Walnut on this cut rate table. So I’ve spent some time cutting, and milling an Ash board to make four sturdy legs with no glue ups required. Still need to make four captured ends to lock them to the table though. Will still round over the legs. But now they’re going to be more square in profile than rectangular. No big deal. I’ve jointed one face, and one perpendicular edge. Now I can run them through the planer. Cut the two bits into four matching legs, and finish those up without any need for glue. One fewer piece of Ash to get in my way. Also – saving my Walnut for another project, SCORE!
As you can see, even after removing the original fi ish (image not shown) the middle leaf is still an entirely different colour from the rest of the table. I’m going to lean into that mottled look by using Ash legs, stained in a Walnut oil. Sturdy, but not an heirloom piece to be coveted by children, and extended family alike.
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