Coffee Table Top

I ran the glueable edges of each plank through the jointer, and glued them the same way I glued the second shelf. These pieces turned out to be more warped and uneven than the pieces I selected for the second shelf. That was the trade-off for clean looking, prettier pieces.

This time, instead of sanding the hell out of it, I decided to get out my hand plane. Of course, this also meant I had to get out the Japanese water stones my brother had given me; the water stones I pretty much destroyed by not understanding how to use. I read up on sharpening planer blades and got the best edge I could get with the stones.

I don't really understand hand planing, but after playing around with the settings on the plane, I found myself kind of liking it. Cutting the wood with a sharp blade is much more gratifying than scratching the hell out of it with a power sander. Each smooth pass with the hand plane leaves a beautiful glass-like surface trail. Now I understand why my brother said he never uses sand paper.


I spent the day rotating between planing and sharpening. In the end, I think I got a suitable top for my coffee table. Next, I'll have to cut the tongues and grooves to attach the glued planks to the breadboard ends.