Freshly Caned and a Sneak Preview

Freshly Caned

Here's the shelf for the bottom of the Heirloom Side table and what it looks like freshly caned.  Since I'd already applied 4 of the top coats and it's cured for a day or two the finish shouldn't have any problems with the water needed for caning.  I've found that using the wedges you can buy to hold the cane in place while installing it don't work as well as simply cutting a short piece of spline and using that.  I always use a liquid hide glue for caning because it is reversible (meaning you can unglue it) and it's much easier to remove from the finished piece the cane goes into.  I really like the look of the cane, the first time I used it was on a TV stand I made at SFSU in the mid-seventies!  Since water and wood don't react well to each other I decided it would be wise to temporarily attach the shelf to the table to stabilize it just in case it wants to react to the moisture.  That gives us a sneak preview of what the table is starting to look like:

Sneak Preview

I thought I'd put the drawer in place to get the visual of how it'll look.  The walnut for this table definitely has what's called "roey grain". It's too complicated to try to explain what that is, basically the grain is wild and crazy which makes it hard to finish but looks pretty cool none the less.  There is an amber colored, glass knob on order which will set it off just right.  Several more top coats for the drawer and top, seal the marble, and it's done!  In the meantime, work is also progressing on the contemporary tables that will be for us.  Once again, the heat dictates that I use my indoor, climate controlled assembly table; aka, kitchen island, to accomplish that.  Here's one of the three tops glued up and drying:

As work progresses on them I'll add them to the blog.  As for now, Diane and I plan is to take some time off and enjoy our fifteenth anniversary.