I just realized I hadn’t put up a post of this coffee cup rack that is so prominently featured on my homepage. Rookie mistake! My daughter Rebecca was moving to a new apartment for grad school and I asked her if she would like something like this. All she needed was to say yes and I started this project.
I had always worked with just a circular saw or hand saw and ended up with some uneven boards (to say the least.) A nice thing about a miter saw is you can cut down multiple pieces of wood to the same length at the same time; what a concept! I must say I have a lot more fun with this hobby now that I have the right tool for the job.
A friend of my daughter’s saw this creation and wanted one for herself; silly me, I thought she would want one identical to this. Well she didn’t and so I made one to her specs; that’s right, I do custom work! I used a gel stain to finish; easy to apply and looks great, if I do say so myself. And I do.
Bit of Wisdom: Better tools make for better results.
My wife liked the end table I made and decided we needed two more. So, I made two more. I realize I am I’m a beginner in my woodworking hobby, so don’t judge too harshly. In fact, please don’t judge. Experienced woodworkers use dowels and dovetail joints to put furniture together. They also use lathes, joiners, and planers. My most sophisticated tool is my DeWalt miter saw (I named her Daisy.) I do my level (get it?) best to make my tables sturdy using nails and screws. This end table and its mate are solid and even round things put on them don’t roll off! I waited until spring until I could bring these outside to finish them (see last post.) I used only one coat of stain so the grain would show through and then rubbed on two coats of Tung oil. By the by, the wife loves ’em.
Suburban Dad Man 