Proper order of operations for assembling and finishing

I for one do not do a lot of painting, but would think painting would come after assembly … sand/clean the parts as you go … final sanding after assembly and before you paint. Will the table ever be disassembled?

I prefer to assemble all glue joints then finish so I don’t have to keep finish off glue areas. Anything screwed gets assembled after finish. Most table/furniture tops screw on various ways to allow for wood movement, so do the top separate from the frame. Paint the bottom of the top to limit moisture travel to the same as the top to prevent warping/cupping. “It depends” – just as you did here, include the finish process in the design phase of the project. Sometimes the design will be altered for easier finishing.

Rough cut lumber
Mill to size
Cut the joinery
Sand/face prep pieces
Assemble furniture
Final sanding/inspection
Finish

This is how I did it. I also tried to prefinish anything that would be difficult to finish after assembly, like insides of cabinets or bottom of tabletops, etc.

Good luck and don’t forget to have fun.

-- Doubt kills more dreams than failure.

I for one do not do a lot of painting, but would think painting would come after assembly … sand/clean the parts as you go … final sanding after assembly and before you paint. Will the table ever be disassembled?

Noted, thank you.

And as far as disassembling the table, it’s pretty unlikely that I’ll disassemble it.

Anything screwed gets assembled after finish. Most table/furniture tops screw on various ways to allow for wood movement, so do the top separate from the frame. Paint the bottom of the top to limit moisture travel to the same as the top to prevent warping/cupping.

Sounds like a good rule of thumb.

“It depends” – just as you did here, include the finish process in the design phase of the project. Sometimes the design will be altered for easier finishing.

Oh, great suggestion. I’ll keep this in mind for future projects. Thanks!

-- Slowly learning to build things in my "spare time"

Thanks Rhett. I’m a bullet-list kinda person. That’s helpful.

-- Slowly learning to build things in my "spare time"