Replies

1. 
   Sprucegum | Mar 25, 2004 07:05am | #1

   I think a nicely sanded square edge looks just fine , let the wood speak for itself.

   What kind of table , what kind of wood , what kind of finish?

   Yes,I made it. No,not hard. Yes, a long time.

2. 
   AlbionWood | Mar 25, 2004 09:00am | #2

   "So if you did not have a router, what would you do?"

   Plane a chamfer on the edges.  Chamfers are my favorite edge treatment, I use them everywhere... You can put a really small chamfer on, which makes the edge look thick and square but catches a little light; or a wide chamfer, which thins the edge and looks a little bolder.  Or a stopped chamfer, which can be very elegant. 

   "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler."  A. Einstein

   http://www.albionworks.net

3. 
   Alan | Mar 25, 2004 11:49pm | #3

   Calendyr,

   I have a router, but I haven't used it in fifteen years (I may not have a router; someone might have taken it, I wouldn't know).  I now use my combination planes and scratch stocks to do what my router used to do--and then some.

   A combination plane probably is not what you want.  They're expensive--even on Ebay--and can be finicky to use.  A scratch stock has niether of these disadvantages.

   You can make your own scratch stock blades very easily out of an old handsaw. Cut the steel to the right size by scoring and snapping it like a piece of glass.  You can shape the profile with files or a Dremel tool.  You can even anneal the steel before forming the profile, and either re-temper it or use it as is.  You can make a handle out of scraps.  There's no reason to spend much, if any, money to get a first-rate scratch stock.

   Or you can buy one.  Lie-Nielsen makes a great one--but you will pay the great price.  Lee Valley makes an excellent scratch stock at a fraction of the price of a Lie-Nielsen (I believe both call them a "beading tool").  Or, you can buy pre-formed cutters from either and make your own handle.

   It's unlikely that either Lie-Nielsen or Lee Valley will have the exact profile you want.  But you can get "blank" blades from either and file whatever profile you want.  The blanks come un-hardened so they are easy to shape.  You can harden them yourself, have a local smith or forge do it, or Lie-Nielsen will do it for you.  IIRC Saint James Bay also makes blanks and will temper them.  Or, as above, if the project isn't too large, you can use the blades un-tempered.

   Alan

4. 
   lynnroy | Mar 26, 2004 01:01am | #4

   I often use my planes to finish off edges including table tops. A little practice with a "sharp" plane will show one what can be accomplished.

1. 
   Calendyr | Mar 26, 2004 06:08am | #5

   Ok good questions ;)

   I decided tonight to scrap what I worked on and start over. Pine is a really bad choice and I keep having problems. So I will do an other one with plywood.

   For the base if the table I am not yet sure what to use. I want unexpensive wood that is sturdy. I was thinking Mapple...? Hard mapple or soft, not sure what would be best. I don't want to use poplar or Birch. Oak is expensive and not as easy to work... Cherry needs some experience to work... What do you guys think? Would mapple be a good choice for a 4'X 6' kitchen table?

   So anyhow... Say I have a plywood sheet for top. What is the best edge treatment? I know that plywood dont have nice edges so I will have to veneer it I guess? Or can I achieve a nice finish with out veneer?

1. 
   Alan | Mar 27, 2004 01:01am | #6

   Calendyr,

   You don't need to veneer plywood to get a first-class table; you can buy plywood that's already been veneered for you.  You can get it in most every good hardwood, maple, white and red oak, birch, walnut and many more; and it comes in all the usual thicknesses.

   You can see the plies on the edges, of course, but there are ways to dress up the edges.  One is to use wood "tape" of the same variety as the ply.  I haven't used this in many years, but way back when you could get the tape with a heat-activated adhesive that you iron on; and tape with no adhesive that we used to glue on using straight pins (from someone's sewing box) to hold it until the glue dried.  There may now be other ways.

   A second edge treatment is to use solid wood that you glue to the plywood edges.  This has the advantages that you can edge the panel with a different wood, or the same wood.  You can also put any profile you want on the solid wood.

   Alan 

1. 
   Calendyr | Mar 27, 2004 06:17pm | #7

   Ok that is what I was talking about, veneer tape... I should have been more clear on this.

   You say you havent used this in a long time... any particular reason? I think I like the idea of using a board of some other wood... or same wood with a different shade to it. Would you make the piece the same height as the board's thickness or would you use something heigher to make it look as is the table top was thicker than it is?

1. 
   Alan | Mar 28, 2004 03:52am | #8

   Calendyr,

   I stopped using that edge tape stuff when I stopped using lots of plywood.  I still use some, for drawer bottoms and sometimes for the panels in frame and panel construction, and the like.  But I can't recall the last time I used plywood where its edges showed.

   As for making the edge pieces the same thickness as the plywood or thicker, it's entirely up to you.  Using solid wood that's thicker than the ply will, as you said, make the table top look heavier, and it is done that way quite often.  Using thicker wood will make the top a bit stiffer too.  But what wood, what stain, and what thickness to use all depends on what "look" your design calls for.

   Alan