First Project - Sofa Tray
Kalzenith Dec 24, 2018
My girlfriend wanted a sofa table so she would have a place to set little objects used in her knitting projects. So I eagerly agreed with the enthusiasm of an ill prepared beginner hobbyist.. This was all done with hand tools. Not because I wanted to, but because the table saw I purchased Isn't up and running yet.
It's more or less my first "real" project and has many many flaws, but I learned a lot too. Like for example, don't buy badly cupped maple if you don't have the means of flattening it..
I started by cutting some dowels from walnut to give it some contrast.
My girlfriend wanted the top to have a slight bowl shape to keep little things like knitting markers from rolling away. I'd have liked it to look cleaner, but a gouge was the only tool at my disposal for this.
Here I cut the 3 pieces to length. This is when I realized just how much trouble the board's cupping would cause.. My planers weren't sharp enough to flatten maple.
After much frustration, and hours of swearing, i glued up the boards and pinned them with the walnut
Butt joints really are ugly, but the walnut helped
I love the ryoba, it made cutting the dowels flush a trivial task.
First joint complete!
I picked up some adjustable feet to mitigate any wobble, and allow for micro adjustments tot he height
I decided to make corner brackets from walnut to reinforce the joints.
First coat of oil!
The oil really makes the walnut pop
oh, the oil also makes the glue pop too.. Time for more sanding.
I learned many things. I still think its ugly, but it'll do the job until I can make a better one.
