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Sofia Table

October 20th, 2008 in The Gallery     
kevink Kevin Kauffunger, contributor
thumbs up 435 users recommend
Photo: David Welter
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This coffee table was constructed of solid wood.  It is composed of a number of different species:  The carcass body is Bulgarian Walnut, as are the drawer sides; the base is Claro Walnut; the drawer fronts and bottoms are Douglas Fir; and I can't recall what I made the pulls from.  The drawer fronts were scalloped with a hand plane. 

posted in: The Gallery, table, modern, dovetails, walnut
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Comments (9)

sawsaw writes: Nice work, but it looks like a refined workbench. Posted: 10:26 am on November 5th
amishness writes: So i assume you pre-finished everything before assembly? even the drawers? what about planing the drawers to fit? unless you only finished the inside with a few coats, assembled, then finished the outside? Posted: 6:04 pm on October 29th
kevink writes: Simonn,
For the finish on the Doug Fir, I padded on multiple coats of thinned de-waxed blonde shellac. This is often refered to as a shellac polish. I learned this method at the College of the Redwoods; it was James Krenov's preferred finish, as it left the wood looking natural. In one of his books he details the method for applying this finish, and I'm sure that at sometime FWW has presented an article about it.
The shellac mixture I used was something less than a 1 pound cut. I created a pad out of fine cotton and "charged" it with shellac. Then I tamped the pad to remove any excess; you don't want to flood the shellac onto the Fir. Take the damp pad and apply the shellac in long even strokes. Let it dry. Repeat. The the thicker the build, the glossier it gets. This method works best when you are pre-finishing the parts before assembly, otherwise you tend to get a nasty build up of Shellac at the joints at the joints.

Regards,
Kevin Posted: 1:59 pm on October 24th
simonnn writes: How did you finish the Douglas Fir? I would use fir alot more if it did not finish out so yellow. Posted: 1:16 pm on October 22nd
Timberwerks writes: This is an outstanding piece and has been a favorite of mine since I saw it on the back cover of FWW Posted: 6:34 pm on October 21st
MPekovich writes: This is a great piece. There's a full shot of it on the back cover of FW #193 as well as some information on how Kevin made the drawer fronts. The clean lines, subtle detail and impeccable craftsmanship make this one of my all-time favorites. Good job. -Mike Posted: 5:00 pm on October 21st
kevink writes: Thanks Guys,
I'll be posting more pics soon - of this piece and some of my other projects.

Kevin Posted: 7:44 pm on October 20th
mvflaim writes: Looks like the half blind dovetails have been cut by hand. Very well done! I agree with Bob, you're teasing us with only one picture. Posted: 4:18 pm on October 20th
BStev writes: Kevin,
Really like your work, any chance you could post pictures that show the entire piece for this and your other work also?
Bob Posted: 11:22 am on October 20th
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