Final Assembly

Handling after Rubio

The finish needs time. Wait at least 24 hours before careful handling, and don't put the table into heavy use until it's fully cured (5–7 days). Use clean pads when flipping and avoid sliding the finished surfaces against anything.

Flip timing

With the underside and sides finished first and the top done last, the top should be dry to the touch and safely past the 12–24 hour mark before you flip it onto padded supports to mount the base.

Attaching the metal base

Position the base on the underside per your layout from Step 12, aligning fasteners with the mounting tabs. The right approach is slotted holes that let the slab keep moving — center fasteners snug, outer ones floating in their slots — though, in full honesty, that's a step I skipped on this build (see the lesson in Step 12). Don't over-penetrate the slab thickness.

One detail that's easy to skip: I put a drop of blue (removable) threadlocker — Loctite 242 on each bolt as it threaded into the metal inserts. A solid-wood top lives with seasonal movement and everyday knocks, and over years that works fasteners loose. Blue holds them against that vibration but still lets you break the bolts free with hand tools if the base ever needs to come off. Use blue, not red (272) — red is permanent and you don't want to fight a baked-in bolt on a piece of furniture. The threadlocker goes on the metal bolt-to-insert threads only; it does nothing in wood.

Same routine for the bench: it was finished and assembled the same way, just on its lighter steel base.

Leveling & first placement

Stand the table up, set it in place, and adjust the leveling feet until it sits solid with no rock. Take a beat to enjoy seeing the whole thing together for the first time before it goes into service.