Pretend you have a small, poorly equipped shop and half the skill you have. Someone asks you to help build some props for a community theatre production of Fiddler on the Roof. They need 4-6 cheap, basic "farmhouse" tables; folding plastic tables won't cut it.
I decided to try my hand at learning the rudiments of SketchUp last night, using their description of the prop tables as an exercise. I have a little less hair than I did when I started, but this is what I whipped up:
The tables would be built of 1x6 pine and some sort of square stock for the legs. Two of them would be roughly 2' x 4', the others maybe 2' x
2'. The legs should be removable for storage.Quick and dirty is the order of the day. As they explained, these will never be seen at a distance closer than 30' and hey, Tevye was a poor man. I have a few questions.
Can I simply pocket-screw the slats together to make the top panel? I know that's not the traditional way, the best way or the right way, but would it be adequate?
While the tables need only look good at a distance, I have suggested to them that the end grain on the table edge will get beaten up over time. They would probably keep the tables for future (stage) use. I'd like to put on some sort of edge, maybe 1x2 maple, oriented horizontally (meaning, as an extension of the 3/4" thick pine edge). But I don't have a biscuit joiner. I do have a router, and yes, I suppose I could rout biscuit slots, but each little thing like that adds time; time I don't really have. I'm wondering if pocket screws would be a good solution, or might they split the wood edging? Or is this yet another situation in which wood movement would rear it's ugly head and lead to problems later on?
How do I fasten the table tops to the frames? I've read about the little clips that go in grooves in the apron, but is there some method that would accommodate movement without making grooves? Should I just tell them to use plywood instead? We'd have to edge all around then, but I know how to do that.
Finishing: For all I know, they are expecting to paint these; they paint and repaint more or less everything for each show. But I'm thinking that one of those MinWax all-in-one stain/poly things would be just the ticket for speed and 30' viewing distance. :)
These are friends of mine, by the way, and my wife and daughter will be in the production.
As always, be gentle. :)