This project is a study in contrasts… metal vs wood vs glass… sapwood vs heartwood. The project was built using some walnut that we acquired from another client looking to clean out their basement from a tree that was milled in 2014. We liked the idea of highlighting the different hues that exist in walnut, the lighter sapwood and darker heartwood, showing that both can beautiful. We also settled on a design that would pair a simple metal frame and glass top alongside the walnut.
First step was to weld the box frame for the table from some 1/2 inch square tubing. The idea is to build a support structure that will support a wooden box, but be hidden so that it looks like the box is floating in the frame.
With the frame complete, we took it off to be powder coated. We also ordered the glass that will comprise the top of the finished table. Now it was time to start fabricating the box. We had just gotten a bunch of walnut in and we set out to pick the pieces that would best show the color contrast we were seeking.
With the top and bottom formed, we started to working on joining the sides. We decided to use a mitre joint for the visible edges. One of my wood-working mentors once told me that the true art to wood-working is fixing your errors so that no-one but you knows about them. Well as you can see in the pictures below, my mitre joint wasn’t perfect out of the gate. With a little sawdust and glue mixed together, some burnishing with a steel rod and lots of sanding it looks perfect. A few more applications of this same technique and we were ready for assembly and finish sanding.
Once the glue-up was complete and the piece was sanded we applied the first coat of our standard oil-based house finish. My favorite part of any project is when you apply the first coat of finish and you finally see what all your hard work was for. The remaining 3-5 coats of finish are my least favorite part of any project.
So… much to my chagrin, there was a slight error in my welding, which caused the box not to fit. Unfortunately, I led myself down the rabbit hole of thinking the box was the problem… which led me to trying to fix the box… which led to me ruining the box… which led to me being upset about ruining the box and giving up for a few months. Ultimately, I ended up rebuilding the box, fixing my welding mistake and the end result was great.
