My First Table
This is the first piece of furniture I built back in 2007 as part of an introductory furniture class I took at the Mississauga Living Arts Centre. The instructors were local pros Kelly Couture and Britt Olauson. The main goals of the class were to be comfortable with typical woodworking machinery, learn basic safety and to build a project that incorporated mortise and tenon joinery.
This particular table is solid hard maple and finished with oil-based polyurethane, brushed on and rubbed out. Prior to finishing, it developed a major cup in the top as I made the mistake of storing the unassembled pieces in my basement for a month or so between finishing the build and applying the finish. It cupped up in the middle by nearly 2 inches. I forced it back to flat when I attached the top to the skirts. I really hope I don’t ever have to disassemble it!
