This project was my first real attempt at woodworking, and I did it almost entirely with hand tools (aside from a power saw to cut the lumber to the right dimensions and a drill to connect to my tenon cutter).

I used the tenon cutter to trim the top of a dowel down to the right shape for the legs, a brace and bit to drill holes in the tabletop, a spokeshave to round all the tabletop corners, a set of clamps and wood glue to piece the boards together, and a jack plane to level the surface.

The wood is called Wormy Maple, which is a hardwood but is softer than sugar maple. It also has more texture and interesting patterns in the grain.

I’m currently adding thin layers of pure tung oil, which will likely take a couple of weeks to fully absorb into the wood. Just like making a table using hand tools, using pure tung oil is way more time consuming than a fossil fuel derived blend, but the reward is a better quality finish that is absorbed deep into the wood fibers, is food safe, is water resistant, and won’t crack or chip.