THE PLAIN PINE TABLE
(Page 2 of 2)
Thanks to the availability of low-cost, reliable waterproof
glues, the wobbly legs and warped tops that once
characterized softwood tables can now be considered a thing
of the past. I find Water-mix Weldwood to be the best
all-around buy . . . but if you have a cheap source of
surplus epoxy, go ahead and use epoxy: it's a better
gapfiller than Weldwood.
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Before I assemble a table, I pre-drill holes for my 8- or
10-penny finishing nails and clamp the pieces of the apron
to the legs while the glue between them sets.
A $75 table should have its top boards edge-fitted and
glued. If—on the other hand—you intend to ask
only $35 for your PPT, just make the unit strong and neat
and never mind the cracks.
Should you have an accumulation of boards which are too
short or too thin to use in a kitchen table, you might
consider the construction of typewriter tables.
Two-by-fours are not useful in kitchen-table construction
but will rip into perfectly proportioned
typing-table legs which taper from 1-5/8" on the top to
1-1/4" at the bottom. Make your stands 26" to 30" long by
18" to 20" wide, and 27" high for manual typewriters (an
inch or two shorter for electrics).
Do you have a supply of still shorter pieces of wood on
hand? Think about building Plain-Pine-Table television
stands which measure 18" in height, and 18" by 24" in width
and length.
You can upgrade your tables if you wish by giving them
drawers, puttied nail holes, and hand-rubbed finishes. I
build only plain carpentered tables—using a random
assortment of wood (soft pine, odorous pitchy pine,
off-color oak, unidentified packing lumber)—and
finish them with just some sealer and a little linseed oil.
Now and then, for variety's sake, I'll paint a few in
either medium blue, green, or brown.
A market exists for Plain Pine Tables of nearly any quality
of wood, craftsmanship, or finish. In fact, one of the
nicest things about making them is that a builder can find
his or her own level of competence or interest and price
his or her wares to suit.
Granted, the work at best only "pays wages" . . . but it
carries with it the feeling that one is meeting a genuine
need with a genuine product made of good, natural materials
which might otherwise go to waste.
The pine table is dead . . . long live the Plain Pine
Table!
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