More from the Fortress of Galootitude

I finally finished the card table I was making for my mother. After the number of gift giving occasions which have passed, this is now her Christmas/Birthday/Mother's Day gift.

It is made in the style of Hepplewhite and uses Mahogany with Pine as a secondary wood. All the wood is recycled, meaning I gathered a bunch of skids or pallets from where I work, ripped them apart, and used that wood for this project. I did a french polish on the top. Every time i do a French Polish finish, I swear it will be the last.

The table may be used as a side table until someone wishes to play cards. Here it is as a side table.


The first step in turning it into a card table is to swing out the back leg, which is hinged, like so:

Once the back leg is out, the top flips open and the table is ready for cards.

Making the table top flat was the hardest part of the whole project. Making two large leaves lie together flatly using only hand planes is a difficult task, but I got there in the end.

As with all my projects, this was a learning experience. I like doing things that teach me more about the craft. I like trying new things, although they almost never work the first time. For instance, I tried a little inlay on the legs in this project, but when I applied shellac the inlay took on the colour to the point that it is barely distinguishable from the background wood.

At any rate, that one thing that I can cross off my to do list. Now back to the other six hundred.