Introduction
During my summer 2021 co-op, I had the privilege of working at Cannon Hill Woodworking, located in Roxbury MA. It helped sharpen my fabrication skills, along with gaining experience through product development with real clients. I was busy, from sanding rare exotic woods for eight hours a day to leading a build of a custom table. The project was a huge success and resulted in a beautiful walnut table that my coworkers and I loved, and more importantly, a product that met all the design requirements of our client, who was as excited we we were with the finished product.
First Steps
With the design already finalised, it was my job to start the build as soon as possible. The client had lots of money on the line and we had our reputation to uphold. I jumped into taking notes and sketching out what had to be done and at what stage.
Initial Cuts
I had to get the boards milled up and squared off before I could take any steps further. It is crucial to make sure you joint and plane them properly or else they will be nearly impossible to glue up flat and square. The jointer is the first stop and also the last stop while milling these.
Base Clean Up
While the top was gluing up, I got started on the base. The process to get all the individual pieces was the same, but I had to create a jig to hold the three individual rectangles square and flat. Once dry, I had to cut again and start to construct; and clean up all my imperfections.
Test!
After clean up with both the top and base, I needed to make sure everything was going to plan. First by aligning the base to the center of the table then setting in bolts to lock everything in place. It was solid as a rock, now time for more sanding, and getting ready for finishing.
Finishing
Using a spray on finish to seal everything up. By sanding all the way to 300 grit I achieved an extremely smooth surface ready to take in the finish. A few coats and I let it sit to dry for a few days before handling just to be extremely careful not to disturb it.
Final
After a couple weeks of hard pressed work, we completed this build. The team at cannon hill loved it just as much as the client did. Here it will lay and be the center piece for this family. With some quick problem solving and ingenuity, anything can be done.
