My first piece of furniture, well I helped even if I can't claim I build this myself. My fabulous hubby showed me how and I did a lot of sanding, prep and painting, but I was a bit nervous to do the drilling on such fine legs. Even with my trusty kreg-jig I am not all that good at drilling straight. With a lot of help, and a lot of spray paint (see technique tips below) the credenza went from a drawing to reality and I am delighted with it. This won't be my last wood work project.
Wood work tips
For those who want to make their own the legs are 3x3cm of Tasmanian oak. The top is 45 x 180cm laminated pine, and its stands 70cm high. We used the kreg-jig to make the base and attach the top.
The only problem with a kreg, and this is why I was nervous to join everything myself, is that even if your pieces are very square they are pulled slightly out of shape as you join them. We found the best solution was to clamp the 4 pieces of each side of the frame together, before joining them. You need a lot of clamps and patience, it doesn't take that long but it is a bit fiddly.
Spray painting tips
I used at least a can of spray paint more than I should have before I got my technique right.
Turns out I had the distance from the wood right, and I was spraying nice and steadily, but I was moving to fast. This made the paint all spackely and rough, not the glossy finish I was going for.
Slowing down the speed of my strokes a lot delivered a lovely glossy finish with no stripes or drips. I sprayed across the width of the piece taking the spray right off the edge on each side to prevent pooling on the edges.
Hope that helps, this video helped me with technique the most.
Mr B also made the mirror which is my favourite piece in the room. He cut small wooden "tiles" for the frame to create an effect something like bone furniture, actually I prefer it to the bone mirror we do have.
If you do have the skills and patience you will be rewarded with big savings. A similar table will set you back at least $400, ours cost $80 including wood and paint and took a day to build, and several days to paint properly.
Our room finally feels finished, for now of course. It's never long before I start moving the furniture around again.
For those who want to make their own the legs are 3x3cm of Tasmanian oak. The top is 45 x 180cm laminated pine, and its stands 70cm high. We used the kreg-jig to make the base and attach the top.
The only problem with a kreg, and this is why I was nervous to join everything myself, is that even if your pieces are very square they are pulled slightly out of shape as you join them. We found the best solution was to clamp the 4 pieces of each side of the frame together, before joining them. You need a lot of clamps and patience, it doesn't take that long but it is a bit fiddly.
I used at least a can of spray paint more than I should have before I got my technique right.
Turns out I had the distance from the wood right, and I was spraying nice and steadily, but I was moving to fast. This made the paint all spackely and rough, not the glossy finish I was going for.
Slowing down the speed of my strokes a lot delivered a lovely glossy finish with no stripes or drips. I sprayed across the width of the piece taking the spray right off the edge on each side to prevent pooling on the edges.
Hope that helps, this video helped me with technique the most.
Mr B also made the mirror which is my favourite piece in the room. He cut small wooden "tiles" for the frame to create an effect something like bone furniture, actually I prefer it to the bone mirror we do have.
If you do have the skills and patience you will be rewarded with big savings. A similar table will set you back at least $400, ours cost $80 including wood and paint and took a day to build, and several days to paint properly.
Our room finally feels finished, for now of course. It's never long before I start moving the furniture around again.
