Hi Stephanie,  I agree with the chat thing however sometimes some need to understand when they start writing answers to anyone trying to learn.  I can honestly tell you that I only write from my experience and that is a whole lot of years of building professionally.  I recall too many times when I have see articles written to some that are not correct in procedure and many are Google obtained information coming from some who are telling you how to do something yet have little and or no experience.  A pet peeve of mine is when a big mass of information is  dumped on someone who is trying to learn.  A good example was your experience with your table say and the massive amount of information that came in.   I am glad to see you working at learning woodwork and taking on challenges that you are unfamiliar with.  You will learn and you have the right attitude to go far in your journey in woodworking.    Thank you for extending your friendship.