So, at work, my bosses asked me to dress up a little bit more, which means no more work boots for me – unless, of course, I’m working on conditions like these:

This now means that I’m going to be wearing more dress shoes. With dress shoes comes the inevitable chore of shining those dress shoes. Now, my dad served in the Marine Corps, and he is a whiz at shining shoes. He keeps his kit in an old Griffin Shinemaster box. It’s a classic.

While it’s a neat, self contained design, a different shine kit caught my attention – the Esquire Footman Deluxe. (Dang, I need a hobby).

There’s something about this design that I really like. For instance, I can get at the items in the kit mid-shine with the open design, instead of having to take all the stuff out and lay the items on the floor, or ask the shoe shinee (is that a real term?) to move his or her foot to get that forgotten item.

Fortunately, there are TONS of these babies for sale on eBay, and the sellers all provide measurements, so I knew the kit would have to come in at about 11 inches from end to end, stand about 10 inches tall and be about 7 inches across. I had a board of some unknown wood (maybe one of you species types can help me out) that had been in my shop for the better part of ten years. Once I planed it down, it was the right width and looked handsome.

I started by cutting the two end pieces, and shaping a taper on the bottom halves of the boards, This is a very minor design feature, but I think it makes the piece look a little more graceful. I could have tried to taper in on the band saw or table saw, but a hand plane did the job in no time flat.

After that, I used a 1/4″ router bit to rout a series of grooves into each of the side pieces. Since my plan was to capture the 1/2″ thick dividers in these grooves with 1/4″ tabs, I knew I had to make mirror images of each side so they would fit into the grooves. It took some mental gymnastics, but the grooves came out looking pretty sweet, with just a minimum amount of chisel work to make things perfect. And, yes, I did bevel the edges of the piece before I grooved it to ensure that the grooves would parallel the outside of the box profile.

Some quick work with a rasp helped curve the top of the box sides, making it look a little more elegant.

From there, I marked out where I wanted the top handle/step to live. I kept that piece at 3 inches wide to allow for a secure step, so I mated the two end pieces together and notched out the 3 inch wide by half inch deep recess for the board to sit in.

Once I did this, I cut the top piece to size, and made a rabbet on the end, ensuring the 3/4″ thick top piece could fit snugly into the 1/2″ deep notch, making a great fit that registered against the side of the box.

From there, I milled down the side pieces to 1/2″ thick, then using a rabbeting bit in my router table, gave each piece a 1/4″ thick by 1/4″ long ‘tab’ that would fit into the grooves.

I knew that only the bottom board would be glued in place, as it wouldn’t have a cross-grain situation. The dividers that break the piece into compartments just float freely. Assembly took a little bit of time to get everything into its respective groove, but it worked out great. I just took my time, glued the bottom board, slid the bottom and dividers in, then tapped the handle/foot rest into place, and clamped everything up.

After the glue dried, I sanded everything down, then opted for several coats of lacquer for the finish. First, because it’s an easy, quick finish to apply that gives great results. But, also because it’s a spray, which can get down into the assembled compartments, saving me the work of having to reach in there with a rag or brush.

I really dig the front compartment with the cutouts that holds the cans of wax. The large compartment is easy to reach for the brush, applicators and shine rag. It’s solid as a rock, and just the right size for me to stash in the closet for when I need it. And, the beauty of it all – this truly was a one-weekend project, with the work being done in about four hours.

How well does it work? Well, I may need to make another one soon to give my son Steven, so he can start building his college fund. Hey, son, I have a nickel with your name on it!

Wow, I have to be feeling better. The table I needed for work started out just a few short weeks ago as a 2 x 12, and now it’s home in my office, ready for me to conduct meetings, spread out and do some serious work.

This project was definitely a thought exercise for me. Could I build a project out of a simple piece of southern yellow pine construction lumber that I would like to use in my office, and had I accumulated the right tools and skills to build a classic trestle table?

From the first moments of picking out the board at the Lowe’s near my house, I knew I was going to be in for a treat. The 16 foot long 2 x 12 I chose was loaded with quarter sawn, nearly blemish free pieces that would easily become a top. While southern yellow pine is tough stuff, it still cuts great and planes very well as well.

This project gave me some great freedom to design a classic looking piece using some tools – such as my scrub planes and Mortise Pal – that I usually never break out. I think the results look pretty darned decent.

I also was able to convince myself that I could cut the angled through mortise that could hold the wedge to secure the base for this piece. Sure, I had my doubts, but a little patience and some sharp chisels go a long way toward accomplishing goals that seem out of your grasp.

For the finish on the base, I went with some pitch black Old Fashioned Milk Paint to give it a classic look. I topped the paint with a coat of paste wax to prevent too much wear, but I figured now if the paint does start to wear off in strategic locations, it will only make the piece look that much more sweet.

The top took a coat of shellac, followed by a sanding with some 320 grit sandpaper. After that, I hit it with four coats of my wipe on finish blend. After that, I wiped on two coats of thinned poly just to give the table a little bit more protection from spills.

Now, it’s at home in my office, giving me a place to sit and contemplate my next project.

I am really starting to get old. At last weekend’s Woodworking in America, I told someone that I was Apollo era technology, and I had to stop to explain what I meant. Oy.

And, at work, I am the oldest of the public information officers. By a pretty good margin. One of my colleagues was born after I graduated college… grumble grumble grumble…

But, every so often I ‘get’ a modern reference. For instance, I recently heard about this person named Meghan Trainor who wrote a song about my favorite musical instrument, the bass. What that has to do with the way she is dressed (and, she never picks up a bass guitar, which I also find puzzling), I’m not quite sure, but hey, I’ll go with it.

Just as with the music video, a trestle table is all about that base. After all, it’s all about that base, or there’s no table. So, I set out, to get my table base started so I could bring this sucker back to the office.

Unlike many modern iterations of the trestle table, I really wanted this one to be able to be broken down and moved. Sure, I have my corner office now, but you never know when someone might want to move me, and I’ll have to pack up the table to make the shift. So, no permanent joinery on the table base.

To make this happen, I started by attaching a pair of battens to the bottom side of the table. These battens will work together with the breadboard ends to keep the top flat. I spaced them so they would hold the tops of the trestles tightly, eliminating the need to screw the trestles to the table top.

Oh, and how about those trestles?  I cut a pair of pieces for the two tops, some larger pieces for the bottoms and some straight boards for the uprights. Before I did any joinery, I ripped the two uprights in half, then notched for what would be the through mortise to hold the stretcher. With those cut, I just glued the legs back together, and voila, you have a nice, square through mortise.

To attach the tops and bottoms, I finally broke out the Mortise Pal and got to work. I routed twin mortises for the feet and tops of the trestles, then mirrored those on the tops and bottoms of the uprights, then glued them into place. That’s a fast joint that’s just not going to go anywhere.

The stretcher was very easy to cut – I marked out the height of the mortise from the table onto the ends of the stretcher and marked out the length between the inside faces of the two uprights, then just notched those over at the Laguna bandsaw. Easy as pie.

I hogged out for the through mortises on the trestle stretcher ends on the drill press, then chiseled a 10 degree angle on the outside face. I then cut a pair of wedges with an outside slope of 10 degrees. Those babies snug in nicely, and when tapped home, there is absolutely no wiggle on the table base.

Now, just a little bit of sanding and finishing, and I think this one will be ready to go!