Table - Templewood Miniatures

Templewood Miniatures
Tudor Style Small Table Kit
(mine was labelled 2.5' table in laser cut cherry wood)
£3
(mine cost £2.50 which is what you pay if you buy four or more kits)

I forgot to say yesterday, just click on the company name if you want to look at a site.

hard to resist

Templewood's kits are nicely packed with a colour photo of the finished kit.  The package opens up and becomes simple clear assembly instructions.  I like the pieces shown in different colours and laid out the way they will fit with directional arrows.  Clever stuff.

To be fair this is such a simple little table you could assemble it without instructions so this may not be a fair test but what I found here augers well for anything more complicated.

generous layout in the wood

The first pleasure was the material - lovely silky paper thin cherry wood, no nasty nibbing or warping with this.

choice of finishes

It could be finished with just some waxing but I want to play at this stage of my career so I tested out four furniture pens, some silk varnish and some nail polish.  Not sure if I should use the latter but I fancied a polished table - most unusual for me - indeed, unheard of.  

on the wood

ready to assemble

I chose the nail polish.  If you look at the large right hand piece of waste material you can see the silk varnish finish on the right and the nail polish on the left.  This is why you need to test finishes.  The two 'varnishes' (both clear) not only give the obvious (and chosen) difference in sheen but they give a completely different tone to the wood.  This is why I opted for the nail polish I liked the warmer honey coloured tone.

You might notice the little break in the front right foot of the table leg (above).  Something learned!  Do as the maker tells you and remove the tabs with a knife, do not think you can just wiggle the pieces out - guess what - they are likely to snap.

Again I am reluctant to share a picture of the finished piece - it looks frayed round the edges.  In real life it is as smooth as a babies bottom and did not need de-nibbing.  The wood and the finish is lovely.

Until I've found an answer to the problem of the camera actually acting like a giant magnifying glass you are just going to have to trust me on this.