"Billy Smith" wrote in message
. ..
(snip)

I have a good hand plane and I know how to sharpen it.
If I buy rough lumber I'll have to flatten it, remove twists
and cups, and reduce it to final thickness, all with the
hand plane. I'm aware that once I get one edge very
straight I can do some of the squaring with my table saw.
--------------
Why not use veneered MDF for the large bits and solid wood for the edges?
Unless someone is going to attack it with an axe they'll never know.

Many, many, moons ago I made a coffee table from rough oak and mahogany. No
access to power tools as it was a school project and everything had to be
done by hand, so to speak. Anyway, the bottom line is that it is do-able,
but you need access to a whole range of good hand-tools. Or, resort to
pre-engineered product that will give the desired result with less pain.

I'm strictly an amateur so time does not matter.
--------------
That has to be a big plus. I'm in a similar position, although the cost of
my tools is starting to feed the inbuilt demand chain of the wife.
Nevertheless, there are some power tools I just don't want as I consider
them to be a little too dangerous for the occasional dabbler such as myself.
Others I simply don't have space for. But I reckon we can size rough lumber
accurately without too much kit, or herculean effort, with a decent saw and
a router - and a few jigs.

I like
using hand equipment although I've never worked
oak by hand. My question is: would I be stupid to try
to do this project with rough wood and a hand plane?
---------------
I don't think you'll do the wood,or yourself, justice by attacking it
under-tooled.