All in all, I really enjoyed making our dining room table. However, there were quite a few bumps and bruises along the way. Here are some of the things I've learned that might help you should you ever choose to do a woodworking project of your own.
1) You cannot stain on glue. If you use glue to hold any of your pieces together, make certain you do not get any on the surfaces you intend to stain. If, by mistake, you get some on a surface you intend to stain, you cannot just wipe it off. It must be sanding off. Use the pencil technique (below) to ensure that you get it all off. If, after glueing, you will have ridges, gaps, or grooves present that you cannot sand (because you can't get sandpaper in there" make certain you get NO GLUE on these spots. If you do, you will not be able to get the glue off and the stain will not take. I don't care how much you think you wont notice it… you will.
2) When sanding it is important to make sure you sand everything evenly. This means using the same grade of sandpaper over the entire surface. If you are inclined to think, "well, no one will touch this spot, so it doesn't have to be sanded as well as the rest" you are wrong. Sanding isn't just for feel. It levels the wood. When you apply stain to wood, any scratches or differences in the surface of the wood will be brought out with the stain. I have 4 table legs and 8 bench legs to prove it. The best way to ensure that you sand every single spot the same is to lightly scribble all over the to-be-sanded surface with a pencil. Then, when you sand, don't stop until all of the pencil is gone.
3) Stain takes differently depending on how the wood is sanded. A fine sandpaper will cause less stain to be absorbed in the non-grain portions of the wood. Get a piece of test wood, sand it several different ways, and apply stain to each to see which style you like best before staining your project.
4) Once your project is assembled, it will be difficult to sand. And you need to sand everything the same (see above). Therefore it is good idea to pre-sand certain pieces of wood before you assemble them. If in their assembled location they will be difficult to reach, or trapped in a corner where sanding is more difficult, sand it completely before you assemble it. Then sand again afterwards to make sure it's correct. If you don't, you could be in for some interesting surprises in the pattern that shows up on your wood after staining.
5) Pine is very soft. If working with pine and using screws, you don't want to screw in so hard that the wood will be dented as the screw goes in. If you do, each screw location will have a different appearance that will be apparent in the finished product. Instead, use a countersink bit on your drill before you screw and then set your electric screw driver to stun when you put the screw in. The lowest setting that will get the screw all the way in is best. In many cases, it will be difficult to screw in at such a low setting. Therefore, it is best to use a drill bit smaller than your screw and pre-drill holes where you intend to screw.
6) Stain needs to penetrate. If you want a lighter color, don't be tempted to wipe on and then immediately wipe off. If the stain doesn't penetrate the wood, the first time you get a scratch you'll see the natural color of the wood instead of the stained color. By letting it penetrate you buy yourself a but more protection this way.
7) Don't try to "make" a table saw by mounting a circular saw upside down in between a few clamps. As soon as the saw blade bites into the wood it'll jump out of the clamps and start spinning straight for your arms or legs. If you don't have a table saw, either buy one, or don't do anything that requires one.
8) Without a table saw or a very deep miter box you cannot cut accurate angles into a 2×4. Don't try, you'll just waste wood. If your angles need to be accurate (diagonal braces, etc) get the right tool for the job or find another way of doing it.
9) A belt sander with some rough paper on it can do a good job of leveling a slightly uneven surface. However, a belt sander can also be very destructive. If you do choose this method to level a surface, be sure not to stay in one spot for too long. You'll find that sanding against the grain removes a lot of wood very quickly. However, you'll want to finish off by sanding with the grain in order to get rid of any scratches. If you have a lot of leveling to do, get a power planer or a hand planer. The belt sander will just leave you angry because it isn't working quickly enough which will lead you to try moving it slower which will, of course, result in you digging a hole in your surface deeper than you had intended. One easy way to make sure your surface is level is to get a carpenter's square. Place it against the edge of the surface and use it to find the high spots. Then, scribble lightly over the spots with a pencil so you can be sure you've taken it all off. Then check again with the square and repeat as needed.
At this point my table is built, sanded, and stained. However, I haven't put the top coat on yet. That is planned for tonight, so I'm sure I'll have more tips after this evening.
