Making the Table Top - Hand Planing is Work for Me

It is time to make the table top.  I had selected a portion of a large board that was used for the sides and various parts of the table.  So I could see the color and grain,  I had partially surfaced the board back then.  Well, since then it has cupped quit a bit.  So I need to take quite a bit off to get it flat.  Here you can see the board after the first pass.

The middle still is rough, so I have quite a bit to take off.
Piles of shaving after a few passes but I am getting pretty close to this side being flattened.

Here I am making the last pass before I check it for flatness.

Looks good at this point. Now for the other side.

Using a #4 smoothing plane to get a better finish on both sides.

I am using my cross cut sled here to trim the board to 33 1/2 inches.  The board is 21 3/4 wide and it just fit inside my sled.  I guess that I intended the sled to hold a 22 inch board.

After I trimmed the board, I traced the curves with my template that I had used with the apron.  I used my jig saw to cut out the shapes.  The using a spokeshave and sanding block I smoothed the edges.  So, I all set to route the molded edges.

I have to do a little maintenance in the shop this morning.  It seems that over the years the mdf board that the router is mounted in has sagged about 1/16 inch.  This is not going to work with this 33 1/2 inch top.  The edge will not be the same all along the top.   So I take the quick way out and use floor jacks to jack up the center of the top so that it is level with the sides.  Now the molding will be even across the board.

Here we have the top after I have made several passes on the three routers that I had set up and tested in earlier posts.

Now I have to carve the four baby butt corners that I have practiced in that last post.

Much easier now that I have a good one to look at while I am carving.

All done with the top.  It looks good.  

So now I have to make the knee blocks and the construction will be completed.  Then I can call my finisher.  Oh wait, I am the finisher!

Here is today's video: