Skip to content
Woodworking Masterclasses
Facebook Instagram
  • Register Now
  • Video Library
  • GalleryExpand
    • Bedside Cabinet GalleryExpand
      • Assembly Table Gallery
      • Bathroom Cabinet Gallery
      • Bench Stool Gallery
      • Blanket Chest Gallery
      • Bookends Gallery
      • Book Shelves Gallery
      • Breadboard-end Cutting Board Gallery
      • Carrying Tote Gallery
      • Chess Board Gallery
      • Chest of Drawers Gallery
      • Christmas Gallery
      • Coasters Gallery
      • Coat Rack Gallery
      • Coffee Table Gallery
      • Corner Shelf Gallery
      • Craftsman-style Lamp Gallery
      • Dining Chair Gallery
      • Dovetail Boxes Gallery
      • Fly Swat Gallery
      • Frame Saw Gallery
    • Foot Stool GalleryExpand
      • How to Make a Table
      • Joiner’s Mallet Gallery
      • Joiners’ Toolbox Gallery
      • Keepsake Box Gallery
      • Laptop Desk Gallery
      • Leaning Wall Shelf Gallery
      • Mitre Box Gallery
      • Occasional Table Gallery
      • Picture Frames Gallery
      • Rocking Chair
      • Sawhorse Gallery
      • Shaker-Style Bench Seat Gallery
      • Shaker Stool Gallery
      • Sofa Table Gallery
      • Stepladder Gallery
    • Trestle TableExpand
      • Tool Cabinet
      • Tool Chest Gallery
      • Walking Cane Gallery
      • Wall Brackets Gallery
      • Wallclock Gallery
      • Wall Shelf Gallery
      • Winding Sticks Gallery
      • Wooden Plane Gallery
      • Wooden Spokeshave
      • Wooden Tray Gallery
      • Workbench Gallery
      • Other user projects vol. I
      • Other user projects vol. II
      • Submit Photos to Gallery
  • About Us
  • News
  • FAQsExpand
    • General FAQs
    • Workbench FAQs
  • Contact
Account Login
Woodworking Masterclasses

bubinga low table

Search
Previous Back to: Projects9 Replies

Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Projects / bubinga low table

  • This topic has 9 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 3 months ago by Mark Armstrong.
  • Author
    Posts
  • RL
    19 September 2013 at 4:36 am #19088

    I’m trying a few new things for my latest piece- a low sideboard framed in bubinga pommele veneer- so I thought I would write a few posts on my progress.

    It’s a really ambitious piece, over 6 feet long with metal legs. All the surfaces inside and out will be veneered with bubinga, and I am trying to use a single sheet for the sides and top, with the grain continuously flowing over the sides. To support the weight of the 1″ ply across it’s 6′ length, I am going to add some polished metal supports in the middle. If I can pull it off, the result should be a contemporary-looking table, and hopefully quite appealing.

    I was worried about the plywood showing through the edges of the veneer as the corners will be mitred, so I framed all the panels in 1″ solid cherry. Now if the veneer should become thin at the edges, there is solid wood of a similar colour underneath it.

    Today I started the veneering. The first piece did not go well at all! Either I did not use enough glue or the caul did not provide sufficient pressure in places and the veneer did not adhere to the plywood substrate at the edges. Fortunately the centre of the panel was glued up successfully. Using a syringe, I applied glue between the veneer and plywood where the adhesion was poor and clamped everything together with lots of glue and wax paper to catch the drips. That’s every clamp I own! I wish I had more. Photo 1.

    I am not taking any chances with the other panels. The two sides are in the bag with plenty of glue. Look at that lovely squeeze-out! The cauls are made of 3/8″ flexible plywood. If there are any undulations in the substrate, the flexible plywood will still apply good pressure. Photo 2.

    Hopefully tomorrow’s results will be better, but veneering with new materials is often unpredictable.

    Settings
    Mark Armstrong
    19 September 2013 at 8:48 pm #19142

    I do like what you do Richard your projects are getting bigger and bolder. You can never have enough clamps.
    Hope the rest of your veneering goes better for you.
    Thats what I intend todo on my small coffee table top edge with cherry so solid wood on edge so you can plane.
    I am going to try Scotch glue / Hide glue try a more traditional approach.

    Dagenham, Essex, England

    Settings
    RL
    20 September 2013 at 2:26 am #19147

    Thanks Mark. I’ve made several other little pieces recently as well, but this is my largest for a while. I also put strained my back today lifting one of the panels! Now I have a couple of rollers set up to help take the weight but it’s definitely a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted!

    Today’s pieces came out perfectly. The thinner cauls worked much better. As usual, I used a spokeshave to clean up the edges and any excess hardened glue drips. I prefer a spokeshave to a plane for this task as I can angle it more easily.

    I have never used Scotch glue but I’d like to hear more from you about it when you do it. I’m using white glue this time. Usually I use yellow PVA but for some reason, the white glue works better for me with paper-backed veneers. No idea why or even if it’s true.

    Here are a couple of photos from today. One, a successfully veneered panel, and two, I moved my vacuum bag on top of an old folding table to free up my workbench.

    You can never have enough clamps and your workshop’s always too small!

    Settings
    RL
    27 September 2013 at 12:38 am #19381

    Finally I have finished the main carcass. Veneering all the edges was quite a difficult task, with plenty of clamps and blue tape required. Nothing beats a nice, sharp spokeshave to trim all the excess veneer flush. Because all the veneer came from a sequential flitch, it was easy to lay it out so that it flows continuously down the box sides.

    The mitres are all good, sharp and tight and everything is square. Phew!

    Nothing is glued up yet, but I can think about the next stage of the project, namely the legs.

    A friend of mine with a good eye for design is strongly in favour of some canarywood shapely legs to offset the bubinga. I’m undecided as yet.

    Settings
    Mark Armstrong
    27 September 2013 at 9:59 am #19387

    Looking good Richard what ever you choose I do nothink you can go far wrong.
    Question for you Richard how much do you let veneer overhang work piece ?

    Dagenham, Essex, England

    Settings
    RL
    27 September 2013 at 11:56 pm #19401

    Thanks Mark. The veneer only overhangs a tiny bit, maybe 2mm? Everything works best if the veneer and cauls are similarly sized to the substrate, or at least very close to it in size. If the cauls are too large or if the veneer overhangs too much, they will bend over the edge of the substrate and you will not get sufficient pressure at the veneer edge for the glue to work properly.

    Settings
    RL
    7 October 2013 at 3:27 am #19688

    I finished the table today. I spent the last few days French polishing the visible surfaces, which was tougher than usual because my shellac flakes were not dissolving properly. I have not encountered this problem before, but apparently it can happen when the shellac gets too old. I was reaching the bottom of my bags of shellac anyway, but it’s still a shame to have to throw the remnants away as shellac prices have gone through the roof recently due to three years of poor crops, or so I have been informed. I used a blond shellac as I wanted to keep the bubinga as light as possible. Often people use oil or a garnet or orange shellac to darken the waterfall bubinga and increase the contrasting grain but I wanted to keep the piece as light as possible.

    Similarly, to further lighten the piece, I opted for a simple design for the feet of a pair of trapezoid blocks made of laminated avodire, set well back from the front of the carcass. This is a yellow tropical wood very similar to in grain and workability to mahogany. I had a small board left over which was ideal for the job. I attached it to the table using loose tenons, but to be honest, mere gravity would have sufficed. The table is too heavy for me to lift by myself (and my back is still hurting two weeks after I hurt it lifting part of it).

    It’s a simple piece, but was very challenging in its way. Tricky veneer work, mitres, and the sheer size of the piece made it difficult. I did not enjoy making it very much although I am enjoying the result. It will serve as a media component sideboard amongst other things.

    Settings
    Steve Follis
    7 October 2013 at 7:42 am #19695

    That is a beautiful piece Richard. You put in a lot of effort to make it look simple. Very well done!! I have never done any veneer work, but hope to eventually, I may be asking for tips when I do.

    Memphis, Tennessee

    Settings
    George Bridgeman
    7 October 2013 at 9:32 am #19696

    Fantastic work. Well done for persevering even though you weren’t enjoying it. As you said, the results look like it was very worth it!

    George.

    "To know and not do is to not know"

    Settings
    Mark Armstrong
    7 October 2013 at 10:56 am #19697

    Richard another beautiful piece of work. All with the hard work. 😉

    Dagenham, Essex, England

    Settings
  • Author
    Posts
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Log In

Security and Payments

Payments on this site are processed using stripe.com and gocardless.com. Customer's credit card details or bank details are stored on the secure servers of stripe.com or gocardless.com This entire site is secured by SSL.

About Our Company

Woodworking Masterclasses is a trading name of Rokesmith Ltd

Rokesmith Ltd



About Rokesmith Ltd | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | About Us


Useful Links

© 2023 - Rokesmith Ltd

  • Register Now
  • Video Library
  • Gallery
    • Bedside Cabinet Gallery
      • Assembly Table Gallery
      • Bathroom Cabinet Gallery
      • Bench Stool Gallery
      • Blanket Chest Gallery
      • Bookends Gallery
      • Book Shelves Gallery
      • Breadboard-end Cutting Board Gallery
      • Carrying Tote Gallery
      • Chess Board Gallery
      • Chest of Drawers Gallery
      • Christmas Gallery
      • Coasters Gallery
      • Coat Rack Gallery
      • Coffee Table Gallery
      • Corner Shelf Gallery
      • Craftsman-style Lamp Gallery
      • Dining Chair Gallery
      • Dovetail Boxes Gallery
      • Fly Swat Gallery
      • Frame Saw Gallery
    • Foot Stool Gallery
      • How to Make a Table
      • Joiner’s Mallet Gallery
      • Joiners’ Toolbox Gallery
      • Keepsake Box Gallery
      • Laptop Desk Gallery
      • Leaning Wall Shelf Gallery
      • Mitre Box Gallery
      • Occasional Table Gallery
      • Picture Frames Gallery
      • Rocking Chair
      • Sawhorse Gallery
      • Shaker-Style Bench Seat Gallery
      • Shaker Stool Gallery
      • Sofa Table Gallery
      • Stepladder Gallery
    • Trestle Table
      • Tool Cabinet
      • Tool Chest Gallery
      • Walking Cane Gallery
      • Wall Brackets Gallery
      • Wallclock Gallery
      • Wall Shelf Gallery
      • Winding Sticks Gallery
      • Wooden Plane Gallery
      • Wooden Spokeshave
      • Wooden Tray Gallery
      • Workbench Gallery
      • Other user projects vol. I
      • Other user projects vol. II
      • Submit Photos to Gallery
  • About Us
  • News
  • FAQs
    • General FAQs
    • Workbench FAQs
  • Contact
Login Account
Search