Hi all, here's a console table I made from walnut and white oak.

I'm a beginner woodworker, and this was my first attempt at making a furniture piece. Prior to this I'd made only some floating frames and plant stands, so I don't really have a lot of experience. I'd greatly appreciate any advice you, guys, have on how to make some parts of the build better.

The whole build took me about 6 weeks from start to finish, working on and off. I started by making a design in SketchUp, laying out the cut sequences and double-checking the measurements. The whole project was also a huge learning experience, thus I had to spend a lot of time on thinking about how to make a cut and how to do it safely. I also didn't have access to a table saw and some other convenient tools, so these limitations forced me to spend more time on thinking about consistency of the cuts, reference planes and measurements for the project, which was fun.

The power tools I used:

• Miter saw for the crosscuts.

• Circular saw with a straight edge guide for ripping.

• Trim router (and once - on a router table thanks to a caring friend).

• Power drill. There was also a lot of hand planning and chiseling, of course.

For the joinery I used mortise and tenon for the bottom shelf, then floating tenons made with a lot of thick dowels for the legs, and figure eight connectors for attaching the base to the table top. There are furniture pads at the bottom of the legs as well.

I applied Rubio monocoat (Pure) as a finish, as it seemed like an idiot-proof solution for a beginner like me, and I was pretty happy with the final result. I did apply two coats of Rubio to the top surfaces of the table top and the shelf though, as I wanted to see more of that sweet sheen.

The finish did enhance some of the ugly mistakes too, of course. For example, on the round inside corners of the legs I didn't do a good job of sanding off the glue residue, which showed as small white blotchy spots after finishing. Also, some of the end grain accepted finish like crazy, making it look pitch black dark on walnut. I did expect that though, and tried sanding those spots to 600, but to no avail. The white oak board also accepted the finish unevenly due to the grain pattern. Definitely something to look out for in the future.

Overall, I really enjoyed making this piece, and I'll be taking a lot of lessons to the next build.