I started with 8/4 slabs of Paduk from McBeath Lumber in Berkeley.

After flattening and bringing them to their final thickness, I ripped clean edges and used a Festool domino jointer to keep them aligned during the glue-up.

The process of gluing this panel together in my backyard convinced me I should build myself a real workbench so I wouldn’t have to cobble a work surface together whenever I wanted to make something.

Initially, I planned to chamfer the undersides of the slab using a traditional hand plane, but after spending hours cutting the first one, I picked up a powered plane which made the remaining three a breeze.

By now, I also had the first version of my workbench frame up and running, making everything much easier.

I’ve always hated sanding and the seemingly inevitable mess it produces so it seemed worthwhile to invest in a sander with excellent dust extraction.

The addition of a cyclonic pre-separator made sanding the slab a breeze.

I decided to try something different with pore filler. I mixed metallic gold pigment power with a clear wood filler and buffed it in. I was very pleased with the effect.

As paduk’s vibrant color quickly fades when exposed to UV light, I applied several coats of a UV-blocking finish intended for marine spars.

The final effect isn’t quite as natural looking as the oil/wax blend finishes I usually use, but it has the advantage of being almost indestructible.