Well, actually more like Square Seven. The table saga continues with the application of the final finish, which I botched. I had applied tung oil and rubbed it out, leaving some areas that were shiny and others that were dull. I let it set for a day or so, then re-applied more. Unfortunately I was working outside, thinking it was all right because it was cloudy. I left and came back later to find the sun had peeked through the clouds and heated up the tabletop. The finish reacted by bubbling!
I let the finish dry overnight, hoping some miracle would correct it all. Some of the table was fine, some was a mess. I tried sanding down the bubbles, but the sandpaper plugged up quickly, becoming useless. Same for steel wool. So I had to remove the entire oil finish. I tried first by scraping it with a blade which also scraped off some of the stain I had applied. That meant I had to remove the stain too, since there was no way to re-apply only patches. I slathered on some varnish remover and scraped the entire top with a little plastic tool, then sanded with both belt sanders and pad sanders. I spent a good half-day doing all this stuff. That evening I re-stained the top. I will let it dry for a couple of days before starting again with the final finish.
If learning involves making lots of mistakes, I should be the best woodworker on earth just about now, or maybe just an advanced novice. At least nobody will be fooled into thinking, when looking at this table, that it was made by machines or bought at an Ikea store. Or, for that matter, made by anyone other than an eager learner.
4 comments:
Oh no! I have to start back at square one with our pantry today, and destroy all the dry goods we have because they're infested with weevils. So I understand.
What a pain! So sorry about the sun not cooperating that way. You'd think we would have figured out a way to control the durn clouds and sun by now.
I hope it works out and that your table looks much better than you think it might. It sure looks good from here.
Hil, try using lots of Bay Leaves in your dry goods cupboard. They've kept weevils out of my flour for years now. I add them to the flour bin itself and they don't change the flavour of the flour :)
Bay leaves! Thanks, Susan! I knew there had to be some nice natural weevil deterrent that didn't involve pyrethrins or other noxious toxins. I will try that with our newly weevil-free pantry with our next load of fresh flour.
I wish I were as hardworking as you, or had that nice idea of making my own table, before I just went and got one offa zippee and such. It'd probably have felt much more fulfilling.
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