Building a dining side table

This is the part all woodworkers hate!  SANDING.  It's tedious!
I use 320 paper on an orbital sander for the final finish.  I work
over a vacuum table I made that removes all the sanding dust from the air.
I am slightly allergic to Lacewood and the dust is all collected
in a dust collector with a 5 micron filter bag.

Sanding the feet:

Sanding the cross bar:

Sanding the legs:

Sanding the last leg . . . whew my hands hurt!

Note all the used sanding sheets on the table!

Now my favorite part, applying the finish.  I use Minwax
Tung Oil mixture which contains varnish, oil and thinner.
Now I get to see the full beauty of the wood grain exposed.
It's like watching a photograph develop in the tray.

In my spare time I have also been adding coats of wipe-on
polyurethane varnish to the top of the table.

I paint the oil on so it penetrates the wood before wiping off the excess:

A few coats of wipe-on polyurethane varnish and I can begin final assembly.

BACK to furniture home page