EARLY PROJECTS...
Early on in the pursuit of woodworking as a hobby, I started buying old wooden furniture from a nearby Purdue University surplus warehouse, stripping the finish, making necessary repairs, refinishing, and then selling the furniture to raise money for tools. This turned out to be a great way to improve my finishing skills and make extra money! In fact, it was with money earned in this way that I bought my first compound miter saw, belt sander, biscuit joiner, and several other hand tools.
DESKS
I paid $40 for BIG old oak desks, put a little money and a lot of sweat into them and sold them for $350-$400. Smaller desks like the one below cost me $25 and once I had rehabilitated them they sold for around $250.
CHAIRS
In addition to desks, my little enterprise started to include chairs (such as those pictured below). I was told that these chairs came from the waiting room of the Purdue University Police Department! What mattered to me was that they were very well built of solid oak, and I got them for $5 each. This is a before-and-after shot showing what they looked like when I bought them (right) and then after I had refinished them to suit my taste (left). Many of these I gave away as gifts, but I did sell quite a few of them as well.
"HYBRID" TABLE
Eventually I felt confident enough to tackle more than simple refinishing projects. In short, I wanted to build something I could call my own. I still faced the ongoing problems of too few tools (and skills) and too little money for lumber and supplies. Eventually I decided to compromise and work with a combination of recycled furniture parts scavenged from the Purdue Salvage warehouse and some components I created. The table pictured below was my first big project, and it is a hodgepodge to say the least. The legs and aprons were taken from an oak table I picked up at Purdue Surplus. That table had a ruined top, so I made a replacement top, stained to match. I made the top from 3/4" poplar boards laminated to 3/4" plywood and edge banded with oak. Since the top is glued and screwed completely to a substrate of plywood, it cannot move with temperature and humidity changes.
Amazingly, it has never torn itself apart in the few years I observed it. Since it sits in the basement rec-room of my ex in-laws I am not too concerned.
MAPLE TOP TABLE
This next table is the first piece that was more new construction than refinished parts. I consider it my first piece of furniture (the first one I'm claiming anyway). The legs are red oak with a brown stain and the top is glued up from narrow strips of hard maple and given a clear oil finish.
DINING TABLE
The dining table below was the first big project that I built completely - from rough sawn lumber to finished piece. It is made of some beautiful red oak that I got from a forestry professor and part time sawyer. The finish is Minwax stain (I forget the shade) and satin polyurethane. The chairs are inexpensive pieces purchased form a store. I haven't been brave enough to try chairs yet...
BEDSIDE TABLE
My next furniture project was this nightstand/table I made for my wife Sandi. It is made from red oak and finished with Minwax "Red Oak" stain (my favorite) and satin polyurethane.
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