Kev

I've been running these on my bandsaws for years.. I can't find a name brand on them but, I think I picked them up at the big box store. The base sticks really well and doesn't move with the saw's vibration. Also, the arms don't move either but, you do have to crank them down pretty good. I may have also painted them black.. It's been so long that I just don't remember.

Got a good early start this morning! Got the top mounted and all the cord management taken care of! Just got to shoot a little more video and then I'll be ready for a long editing session!

No.. Just equal lift on each side of the desk..

@Ray Martin came and lent a hand today and we managed to get a lot done! I like the idea of the gentle curves for the top so, created a couple templates both for marking and flush trimming. One for the front and one for the sides. Of course this made doing the chamfer on the bottom a bit more tricky! I decided to try something I haven't tried before and used my hand/power planer (Dewalt) to remove the bulk of the material and then come back with a smoothing plane and sander to get them as close to perfect as possible. Sorry, I didn't grab any pictures of this process but, it was a workout for sure! Then, we added a round over on the top and set it on the base to have the first look.. I really liked how this lighten the look of the top since my finished thickness on the cherry was at 1 3/4". We also drilled all the holes for the cord pass throughs and sanded through 180 grit. Here's a picture from the back so you can see how much this lightened the look. We marked and set all the mounting holes and mounted the top for the first test run. Worked flawlessly! Was pleasantly surprised how quiet it is! Happy with the look and function, we pulled it all back apart, got it up on the bench, and applied Rubio for the finish. There's actually a little bit of curl in the cherry which I didn't see before the finish was applied. I love happy accidents! I was also pleasantly surprised that the Rubio didn't alter the maple color as much as I thought it would and really brought out the figure in the maple! Not sure if I'll get it mounted back up tonight or not. Probably just let it sit on painters pyramids for the night and then get it finished up tomorrow. Overall, a super productive day in the shop!

Well, here's the scene in my front yard right now as they're dropping the new line it to the house.. Beautiful day in Montana but, the white stuff is coming!

"Sizing" is always a good idea with end grain! Well, I managed to get a little bit done on this project today before the fiber people showed up to dig up my yard 😂 I got the riser all cleaned up. It's ready for the hole for the plug insert and some finish.. Need to talk with @Ray Martin a bit about finish on this part so it ends up how they want. I also got the epoxy in the top sanded and the 2 halves glued up. Pretty happy with the seam! No dominos for alignment because everything just came together so nicely! I added the cauls and end clamps just in case since I'll be out in the yard with the digging crew.. I'm thinking maybe a little "bow" to the front edge?? What do you think @Ray Martin?

Well, this project is coming up this weekend! I know it's a rough time of year to get people together so, we'll make due! I know that @Olie has been hard at work pre-milling some slab material for the solid top! This should pay off nicely and allow us to get heavily into the base! I'm not sure if @Olie has pics of his progress but, we'll be sure to post through the weekend as we make progress on his new OF/work table! Off to the lumber yard tomorrow to pick up the needed material!

No worries, not much to post tonight anyway so, the conversation is good.

I'll be honest, I couldn't tell you the last time I used TB3.. I do have a bottle in the shop that has never been opened. Modern adhesives have come so far that I feel most of the hype is mostly marketing furthered by people that buy into all the hype and preach its praise to anyone who will listen.. About the only change I've been thinking of is using TB dark or Hyde glue on darker woods. But again, I haven't really had an issue up to now so, do I really need to do something different? Is this just more social media hype or is there a legitimate reason to make a change?

He's got it centered up nicely so, I really don't see this being an issue.

I do. I use epoxy in place of glue in many circumstances, this being one of them.

Damn! That's rough! I'm currently on a satellite.. For normal house use, it's actually fine. The rub comes when I'm trying to upload a video and my wife can't watch her TV...lol

I know I haven't talked about it much here but, our internet is not the greatest. I suppose that's to be expected living where we do. Last year (summer time) they started putting in fiber optic cable out on the main road. That as far from my house as you can get on the property and we've been waiting anxiously to be able to get the service. Of course we make a call about once a month or so and always get told the same thing... soon.. Well, last Thursday, the contractor truck was on our private road and installing the connection boxes so, once again, we made the call. We were told that they were shutting down for winter because it's the wet time of season and the yard repairs were just too much for their crews to take on. Well, we countered that offer in hops of getting the install before winter really hits us in the face. We offered to do the yard repair (in the spring) if they would do the install now. Well, they accepted the offer. That's a big reason I didn't get much shop time today.. 3 different "locate to dig" contractors were here today so that the crews could safely trench the yard to get the fiber in. The dirt/cable crews should be here in the next couple days. Cuts my shop time because of our dogs that normally have run of the yard. They don't bite and I think they'd stay home but, I also don't want to be "that pet owner" So, that's a very long way of saying that it looks like we should finally be seeing a significant boost in our internet! Oh, we have snow forecasted for Thursday so, it could still get interesting...😂

Didn't get too much done on this today unfortunately... I did manage to get the box joints glued up and I had to add a little more epoxy in one of the top pieces but, that's about it.. Just not much to see.

Well, I submitted her the quote this morning and she very quickly accepted.. Expecting her deposit in the next day or 2 which is when I'll go pick up lumber. I don't expect to actually start this build until December but, I do want to try and get it in before I have to take off for work again.

Well, I really thought this was going to be a long design process with a bunch of changes! I was hoping to get to @Chet's design because I really liked it, it was budget friendly for her, and not too complicated to build. I decided to start with a super basic trellis base with an African Mahogany top in hopes of easy detail changes. I sent her the drawing and within minutes, she responded requesting a slightly different view. My first thought was.. "Here we go"!!! I had omitted the tusks from the tenons on the initial drawing so, let her know that I could add those in if she wanted to see them. I omitted them because I truly thought this design was way off to start with and didn't want to waste the time. She wasn't sure what the "tusks" on the through tenons were so asked me to draw them in for her. Of course I complied and sent this rendering. Her response.. I'm still at a bit of a loss because there's no way in hell I thought this is what this table was going to look like.🤣 Of course now I just want to build the table @Chet posted because I think it was a way better option! 🤣

@Ray Martin and I are doing a bit of a collaboration for a sit/stand desk for his wife's new play area in their shop. This will be a Christmas gift so, gotta keep it under wraps.. The base was acquired off of Amazon for a much better deal than it's currently listed! It's fairly hefty and dual motor so, should be a good platform to build this custom piece off of. Top will be Cherry. Shooting for about 24" deep. It's currently at about 56" long but, we obviously will be trimming the ends. We'll settle for as much length as we can get. This is not glued up yet, just rough milled. Also going to do a small monitor riser for the top with a built in plug and USB port. Just finished some 3/8" box joints in some nicely figured maple. The maple is just heavy of 1" so should be plenty to support a monitor.. The maple is left over from @Spanky so, comes from Tennessee. Dry fit only.. Still lots of sanding and edge work.

I like this a lot! I may borrow some details here!

Technically, I could also turn some legs as well but, was leaning more towards a simplified square base probably with the X in the middle since "Farmhouse" is the style she referenced most. However, a wider center version with a simple trestle/through tenon may very well be "Farmhouse" enough as well. Might have to do a couple different drawings to see what she likes better.. Starting with the version I prefer to build first 😉

There's a lot of truths in this so, I'm glad I painted a good picture...🤣 Regardless, she is a neighbor going through some rough times so, I'll try and make her a table and only charge her enough to maintain her dignity. I'll make a top look good and construct a base she can paint and then feel good about the project. Just looking for some design ideas to accomplish it..

Got approached today by a neighbor for a kitchen seating (table included) that also doubles as the kitchen island. This is the picture she sent me from Pinterest as and Idea of what she wanted.. For the record, I forewarned her That this would be very expensive. Of course she was interested in how expensive. Knowing the situation she's in, I knew she couldn't afford to hire me to build something like this for her. I suggested that I come look at her space and offer some suggestions as well as get some measurements. I'm glad I did! The kitchen she wants this for has been under remodel for a few year and has no cabinets, no appliances, and currently a very uneven and not even started floor. So, I suggested perhaps just starting with the table for now until she gets the kitchen finished and then decide if she wants the rest of that piece. Size would be 5 to 6 feet long and 3 to 4 feet wide. She's not sure of these dimensions yet either. So, now I'm at the point of doing some drawings and estimations for her. It's a painted base so, most likely poplar there. Farmhouse style which in my opinion is all over the map, and an African Mahogany top because nothing screams "farm house" like African Mahogany with breadboard ends! 😂 In her defense, she wanted a darker wood but, assumed I would stain to a color she wants. She'll be coming to our home next week to look at a bunch of different species and different finishes before making any final decisions on that. Ok.. My question to the group now that you have some background info.. As mentioned earlier, these table bases are all over the map as far as design goes. In the interest of saving her some money, I think staying away from the turned legs makes the Mose sense. I've looked at several base designs but, trying to come up with one simple design that will work well here. Do I do just the simple x brace with the feet and a trestle? Do I get a little more ornate? Looking for some input from you guys before starting my drawings..

I know you're getting excited! Won't be long now and you'll have a functional shop!

Just wanted to put out a sincere thank you to all who served.. Thank you to all veterans from all branches! I do realize that the actual day is tomorrow.. The observed day for businesses is today.

Clean up went well! That should help us tomorrow!

Ray will update with some pictures later but, we got about 1/2 of the plywood put up today.. If he's short on electrical outlets, I'll be thoroughly surprised! 🤣 I think we've had about 2 sheets (drywall and ply) that didn't have an electrical box in them...