I started this project back in May, but had to abandon it over the summer due to Florida’s crippling heat. I was worried I'd never get back to woodworking, but it's finally cooled down enough to get back in the garage, and being off for the holidays gave me plenty of time to finish it up. Here are some pictures I took along the way:

First I glued up the legs and set them aside to dry.

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Next I cut the boards for the top and glued them up into a solid plank.

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After the legs were dry, I notched out a slot for a small crossbeam to fit.

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It’s nice and tidy.

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At this point, summer hit hard and I couldn’t stand being in the garage anymore. After the heat dropped to a tolerable level in late December (barf), I knocked the rest out on christmas day. Here’s a shot of the leg assemblies glued up and ready to go.

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I drilled holes in the corner of the top to run dowels through to connect to the legs.

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I used my bit brace to drill down into the legs using the holes in the table top as a guide. The bit brace is one of my favorite tools–it’s quiet, easily controllable, and makes very clean holes.

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Next I glued it all up and clamped the shit out of it.

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While the glue set, I cut boards for the lower shelf. Here’s a shot of two of them in place.

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Next I dropped the middle boards in, and the construction part was over. Just have to trim the dowels, do a final sanding, and rub tung oil into the wood.

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Here it is after a coat of tung oil. It really brings out the grain without changing the overall tone of the wood.

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And lastly, a picture of it in our house. I really like how it turned out and glad I was able to eventually finish it.

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