This is a sample post showing the build-log format — swap in your own words and photos. The dashed boxes are photo placeholders. [Delete this note when publishing.]
Glue-up day is the day a table either becomes a table or becomes very expensive firewood. Today was the former, barely. Four boards of 8/4 walnut, jointed and planed flat over the weekend, finally came together into a single 40" × 84" top.
The dry fit
I spent more time arranging grain than I'd like to admit. Flipping and sliding boards until the cathedral patterns flowed across the seams — it's the woodworking equivalent of impedance matching: get it wrong and every joint reflects it back at you forever.
Cut list (for the whole build)
| Item | Stock | Dimensions | Qty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top boards | 8/4 walnut | 84" × 10" × 1.75" | 4 |
| Legs | 12/4 walnut | 29" × 3" × 3" | 4 |
| Aprons | 4/4 walnut | various | 4 |
| Corner blocks | maple offcuts | — | 4 |
Eleven clamps and twenty minutes
Titebond III gives you maybe twenty minutes of open time in a Florida garage in June, which is to say: rehearse. I staged every clamp, caul, and rag before opening the bottle. Alternating clamps over and under the top kept it from bowing, and the cauls kept the seams flush enough that tomorrow's flattening should be cosmetic, not corrective.
What I'd do differently
Glue up in two halves, then join the halves. Wrestling four boards at once with the clock running is doable, but two-and-two would have meant half the panic per session. Noted for the bench-seat glue-up in part 4.
Next up: flattening the top, breadboard ends, and the great finish debate (Rubio vs. satin poly — the comments section of my kitchen has strong opinions).