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Dining Table Legs

January 7, 2012 in Dining table, Furniture, Jigs & fixtures | No comments

I’ve already discussed laying out the mortises on the legs, but I forgot to discuss the creation of the legs.  So, let’s go back in time a bit and see how that was done.

I started with my SketchUp model.  I drew the legs in the model using the BezierSpline plugin.  If you use SketchUp you need this plugin.  It’s awesome.

I printed out the leg profile at full scale, which spanned three pages.  I carefully taped the pages together and, to my surprise, had a very nice drawing of the leg.  I would normally do this by creating a full scale drawing using ship’s curves, etc, but I was very pleased with this method.  Here’s a (blurry) photo of the drawing.

I took this drawing, laid it on a piece of 1/4″ Baltic birch plywood, and transferred the lines to the plywood by poking holes through the lines on the drawing.  I then connected the dots with the aforementioned ship’s curves.  The template, or pattern, was then cut out and the curves smoothed with a spokeshave and curved sanding blocks.  (In retrospect, I should have just glued the drawing to the plywood.)

Next, I created a pattern routing jig.  I use a large custom end mill for this type of pattern routing and the jig must be very sturdy to take advantage of the process.  This is not the place for double-stick tape.

Here’s a photo of the setup:

There are two jigs necessary for the process, and both faces of each jig are used to get all four edges of each leg.  It’s a rather complicated process which, in retrospect, was overly complicated for just four legs.  But it gave me four virtually identical legs.

I start the pattern routing process by using the 1/4″ template to trace the profile onto the stock.  In this case the material was 12/4 cherry, since the total width of the flared legs is 2 3/4″.  When tracing, I’m careful to draw the pattern about 1/16″ oversize on the edges and 1/8″ oversize on the ends.  Two opposite faces are then rough cut on the bandsaw.

The two bandsawn faces are shaped first, with the other faces left flat.  The template is then used again to draw the profile on one of the shaped faces, and the bandsawing and pattern routing is repeated.  This time, however, the leg requires extra support, as shown in the photo above.

Finally, the legs must be cut to length.  Since I know they are 1/8″ oversize on each end, I start by cutting 1/8″ off one end.  It was easy to start at the top end, since it has two adjacent flat surfaces where the aprons attach.  The photo below shows the setup for cutting the bottom end.

Note the spacers taped in place to get the correct configuration.  The tape on the end of the leg is there to prevent tearout on the backside of the cut.

Mortise Layout

December 24, 2011 in Dining table, Furniture, Joinery | No comments

I typically use loose tenons for mortise and tenon joinery.  I find them to be much faster than a traditional M & T, plus it’s much easier to get accurate shoulders.  I use my Inca slot mortiser to cut the mortises.  It’s fast and simple to set up and it cuts a mortise in about a minute.

To lay out the mortise on the leg, I start by drawing the profile of the apron.  In this case, the outer face of the apron is angled.  I could get the angle from my drawing, but I prefer to get it by eyeballing what looks good as I draw it on the leg.  This angle will become the actual angle on the apron.

Once the apron profile is drawn, I draw the mortise.  I typically leave 1/2″ of material at the top of the leg, but in this case I cut it to 3/8″.  Because of the stresses on the legs and aprons as the table is expanded, I wanted all the glue surface I could get.  Smaller than 3/8″ could result in failure of the short grain at the top of the leg, so I rarely go less than that.

The photo below shows the layout.  Note that I only draw the complete layout in one location.

The other locations are only marked for the length of the mortise.  Why?  That’s all I need.  When I use my slot mortiser to cut the mortises, the height of the mortise above the table is fixed by the machine.  Once set, it’s the same for all of the cuts, so why waste my time marking more than I need to?

To maintain accuracy, I mark the mortise lengths using a combination square.  I use it like a depth gauge, with the head resting against the top of the leg.  The END of the blade is set to mark the lengths.  Once set for a given distance, I mark all the legs AND all the apron ends.  That way, every mortise is in exactly the same spot relative to the top of the legs.  Here’s an example of the apron end layout (this isn’t an actual apron).

Note that when marking the apron ends, the head of the combo square is only used to reference from the TOP edge of the apron.

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DT Inner Apron continued

December 23, 2011 in Dining table, Furniture | No comments

I’m back at work on the dining table.  I didn’t get much work done during the fall semester, and even less blogging.  It’s time to get caught up on the blog and back to work on the table.

The outer apron assembly, which includes the legs, is guided along the inner apron assembly by maple guides.  The guides, about 5/8″ square, are attached to the inner face of the outer aprons.  Grooves routed along the outside of the inner aprons locate the guides.  If that’s clear as mud, perhaps these drawings will clear things up.

I was concerned that the outer apron assemblies might bind when being pulled out, so I added center guides to minimize this.  The center guides also act as stops to prevent the outer aprons from getting pulled off the table.  The stop feature will be accomplished by attaching a brass plate on the inner end of the guide.  If you click the upper picture you can just make out the stop in the enlarged pic.

Due to the relatively small size of the closed table and the width of the leaf, which has to store between the center stretchers, there wasn’t much room for everything to fit.  Some careful planning was required.  The end of the center guide, when the table is closed, barely clears the center stretchers.  When open, the stop actually moves past the inner face of the inner apron.  To make this work, I needed to rout a mortise into the inner apron surface.  A detail is shown below.

The depth of the mortise was determined using my SketchUp model.  When the table is closed, there is 1/4″ clearance between the stop and the outside face of the center stretchers.  When the table is open, there is 1/4″ clearance between the edges of the leaf and two halves of the top (not shown in the pics above).  Because of the tight clearances, I was very careful about getting the model right.

Cutting the mortise was straightforward, but I wanted to make sure both portions of the mortise were concentric.  I carefully laid out the cuts and then clamped the apron into my slot mortiser.  I used a 3/8″ bit to rout the through portion, then changed to a 3/4″ bit to rout the shallow part.  I set the stops on the mortiser to maintain a consistent length.  Here’s the setup for the second cut.

The remainder of the material was removed using a sled on the table saw.

I started out this process thinking I would use a hand-held router and guide bushings to cut the mortise.  After starting down that path, it quickly became apparent that it was far more complicated than necessary.  The slot mortiser was by far the better solution.

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DT Inner Apron Assembly

October 10, 2011 in Dining table, Furniture | No comments

I started construction on the dining table with the inner apron assembly.  It is a rectangular structure with intermediate stretchers.  The end aprons are joined with a rabbet and dado joint.  Sliding dovetails hold the stretchers in place.  A detail from my SketchUp drawing is shown.

I cut the rabbet and dado joints first.  Both were cut using my table saw sled and the Forrest Woodworker 2 #1 grind blade.  It’s a modified WW2 blade that cuts a flat-topped kerf, even across the grain — an awesome blade for joinery.  I then laid out the sliding dovetails, carefully marking the location of the stretchers on both of the long aprons.

To rout the stopped dovetail dadoes, I have the router jig shown below.  It rests against the part to be routed and guides the router base square to the reference.  A replaceable insert is used to located the jig.  Before use, I install a new insert and then rout into it with the appropriate bit.  Note the stop to control the length of cut.

Here’s a close-up photo of the jig centered on my marks. The marks were made with a marking knife.  I used an offcut from the stretcher to get the spacing correct between the marks.

Here’s the router with dovetail bit ready to go.  I’ve already made the cut.  A nice thing about this system is that the cut is totally backed up and there is no tearout on the edge of the part.  I used a 3/4″ 14 degree router bit; the stretchers are about 13/16″ thick.

Here I’m routing the tail on the end of the stretcher.  I use the same router bit as before.  The backer board keeps the part from tipping and reduces tearout on the back of the cut.  The length of the stretchers was determined by dry assembling the aprons and measuring the distance between the bottom of the dovetail dadoes.

The fit of the tails is very sensitive; a few thousands of an inch can make a big difference.  In the photo below I show the amount the fence was moved for the last cut.  The block of wood was clamped against the fence prior to the move.  The gap shows the movement, probably about .010″ (the scale is just there for reference).  The other end of the fence was not moved, so the movement at the bit was half of what you see here.  Not much!  This movement changed a too snug fit to a fit that was a bit looser than I wanted, but not a problem.

Here’s the dry-fit assembly…

and a close-up of the dovetail…

and the rabbet/dado joint.

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Dining Table

October 7, 2011 in Dining table, Furniture | 4 comments

I don’t typically have much time to do large personal projects, so about the only way I can fit them into my schedule is to teach a class in which I can make the project.  Dining table?  I’ve been wanting to make one for our home for a while.  Which class?  Advanced Tables.  I’ve taught it before, but for some reason I can’t recall I didn’t make a project last time.  This time it’s going to work.

In the back of my head I had always planned to make a trestle table.  I had a pretty good idea what I wanted to do, but when it came down to designing a table for the space we had, it just didn’t work.  The table  top is 40″ x 60″, expandable to 40″ x 84″.  The unexpanded table was too short to work as a trestle.  Back to the drawing board.

I ended up with a leg and apron table with a butterfly leaf.  The leaf folds in half and stores under the top.  The butterfly design has been around a long time but I wasn’t really familiar with it.  A recent article in Fine Woodworking by Michael Fortune got me started, along with an older article by Paul Schurch.  Take a look here to see some examples.

One problem with an expanding leg-and-apron table is that, when open, the legs can be in the way of people seated at the corners.  I wanted the legs to stay in the corners, so some modification was needed.  All the tables I found had a center apron subassembly, above which the top expanded.  I designed my table so a second set of aprons, along with the legs, moved apart to accommodate the leaf.  I have yet to find a design like this, so I hope I’m not creating something that won’t work.

I modeled the table in SketchUp, and created an animation of the leaf being opened.

The aprons are guided along the apron subassembly via sliding dovetails.  You can see them as the table opens.

I purchased the lumber for the table from Irion Lumber in Pennsylvania.  By using them I was able to get wide, matching pieces for the top.  I sent them my cut list and they did a nice job picking out the cherry material for me.  Two of my students also purchased lumber.

The material for the top was in two bookmatched boards.  After careful selection and milling, I came up with the following layout for the top.

The outer three boards on each end are the two halves of the top.  The center three (one is a small strip) are the leaf.  In order to miss some sapwood I had to add the small strip to the leaf.  If you look carefully you can see the larger pieces that bookmatch each other.  I wanted a more random look, so I didn’t place the bookmatched pieces next to each other.

I harvested the aprons and other parts from the remaining lumber, leaving them 1/8″ oversize in thickness, 1/4″ in width, and 1″ in length.  The lumber will remain stickered for at least a week while it rests and acclimatizes to my shop.

The numbers on the ends of the boards correspond to my cut list, allowing me to easily keep track of the parts.

 

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500 Tables

April 24, 2009 in Furniture | No comments

Lark Books latest 500 series book has just come out, 500 Tables: Inspiring Interpretations of Function and Style .  I have to mention it because one of my pieces is in it.  I’m kicking myself, though, because I’m not happy with the photo.  The table is my Floating Top Table, which (at the time of this writing) is featured as the header image for my site.

I should have used the same photo the header pic is cropped from.  Instead, I sent two photos, one taken at a higher angle and a detail shot.  They only used the first one, and the underside of the table isn’t shown.  They also whited out the background, so the table looks like its floating in space.  It’s nice to see my work in print, though.  Page 262, if you’re interested.  And thanks to Mike Henika for taking the photo.

The book is great inspiration if you’re looking for table design ideas.

500tables

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Structure

October 7, 2008 in Furniture, Hall table, Jigs & fixtures | No comments

Attaching the web frames to the sides on any cabinet presents many choices.  Dado, rabbet, sliding dovetail, spline, biscuits, screws, pocket screws, nails(!), all come to mind.  They all have pros and cons associated with them related to appearance, structure (there’s form and function again), tradition, personal preference, etc.  Compounding the problem in this case, the web frame and shelf attach to the sides at an angle.

I don’t want to see plugs on the outside of the cabinet, so that eliminates the simple and strong option of a dado and screws.  For this piece, nails are out of the question, and they aren’t that strong anyway.   Pocket screws would offend the aesthetics of the piece (and me).  I presented the options to my students, and they challenged me to use sliding dovetails.  Strong and elegant, they would be the best option, and the most work…

I have done this joint before, but not at an angle.  In this case, I needed an angled dado to house the end of the shelf (or web frame), then a dovetail in the bottom of the dado.  Two routers, with simliar bases, one with a 7/8″ straight bit, the other with a 3/4″ 14-degree dovetail bit can be guided with an angled jig along the inside face of the sides.  Here’s a photo of the jig with the router.

I drew a cross-section of the jig full scale to get the dimensions right.  The angle is 11 degrees, and the router base is 5 3/4″ diameter.  I used a Makita and a Porter-Cable router, both with P-C bases on them (Makita conveniently made their bases with the P-C bolt pattern).  I carefully aligned the bases so the bits were concentric, and here’s what I got with my test cut.

The dovetail on the end of the shelf piece was cut on a router table with the same bit that made the housing.  It took a few tries to get the settings right; there’s not a lot of tolerance in this joint.  Too tight and you can’t put it together, too loose and it rattles like marbles in a can.  When it’s right, you can barely slide the parts together, and getting it apart is a bear.  Too bad no one will see it on the assembled cabinet; the front will be hidden by the face frame, and the back will be hidden by the frame and panel back.

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Where to start cutting?

October 3, 2008 in Furniture, Hall table, Jigs & fixtures | No comments

Since the doors on the table/cabinet are limited in size to the veneer I made, the cabinet must be made around them.  With that in mind, using 1/4″ MDF as a drawing surface, I created a full scale drawing of the cabinet front.  Actually, I only drew half of the cabinet, but that will give me all the information I need to cut out the parts.  Without this drawing, it would have been difficult to determine the lengths of all these parts, since none of them are rectilinear.

The photo shows the bottom half of the drawing.  The bottom edge of the MDF is the bottom of the cabinet.  The drawing shows the front “faceframe,” the interior parts, and the joinery (loose tenons).  I can now lay the parts on top of the drawing and just transfer the dimensions to the parts.  The next step is cutting them.

The tapered stiles will be mitered on their outside edges, and I decided to cut the miters after the frame is glued up.  Doing it now would complicate the frame glue-up and make the parts more difficult to handle.  To cut the taper, I use a taper jig of my own design.

Unlike most taper jigs, mine is wider at the far end.  The stop is located there also.  This means that the workpiece is used to guide the jig through the saw, instead of the reverse.  Most taper jigs give you no control over the workpiece, and you must trust the jig to push the workpiece through the saw, despite the physics of the operation working against you.  IMHO, this just works better, and I see no downsides.

Here’s the completed frame with the doors in place.  Nothing is glued up yet.

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Gluing up

September 29, 2008 in Furniture, Hall table, Machinery, Woodshop | No comments

The lumber for the hall table has stickered for over a week, more than long enough to stabilize.  I would have worked on it sooner, but have not had much shop time.  I have accomplished a few things, though, including gluing the door veneer to the doors.  This was done using a matched pair of torsion boxes, about 6″ x 18″ x 23″.  I used Pro-Glue, a urea resin glue, for the adhesive.  Since the veneer is being glued to a stable substrate (MDF), I needed a rigid glue to resist any movement of the veneer.  Pro-Glue works well for this, as well as Unibond 800 or Weldwood Plastic Resin Glue.  As with all products, they all have their advantages and disadvantages.  In this case, the Pro-Glue was handy.

I also glued the veneer to the front “rails” and “stiles.”  I know it sounds like I’m building a cabinet when I say I’m building a table, but it’s really a cabinet with a very wide top, so I am using the term interchangably depending on the context.  In this glue-up, I used Titebond.  I just use the regular old-fashioned stuff, not the type II or type III.  For a project like this, I don’t need a waterproof glue, and I’m most familiar with the working properties of the regular Titebond, so that’s what I use.  Anyway, Titebond (all types) is a semi-rigid glue.  Since the rail and stile “substrate” is solid wood, I think a semi-rigid glue is best so things can easily shrink and expand.  Not that there will be much movement in two or three inches, but there will be some.  I’m sure a rigid glue would work fine here, but the yellow glue is easy.  I use a little paint roller (Shurline 3″ Trim Roller) to spread it on both surfaces.  When not in use, I store the roller in a freezer Ziploc bag.

The photo below shows the cabinet sides in clamps, and the rest of the material stickered.  I always sticker my lumber when its being stored.  I’m a bit of a fanatic about it, but it keeps everything nice and straight.

The main reason for the photo is to show part of my shop.  I’ll show more later, when it’s a little more presentable.  I’ve been gradually moving in, after moving out of my rented space almost two years ago.  I had 1200 square feet located in an industrial area in Torrance.  I built this garage to take the place of that space, and the downsizing has been a challenge.  The garage is 21′ x 32′ (exterior dimensions of course), so the space is about half the size of my old shop, and the ceiling is a lot lower too.  And, there’s all the “garage stuff” that needs to fit.  I’m sure you get the idea.

What you see in the photo (machinery-wise) is my 16″ Laguna bandsaw, my vintage Powermatic 66 table saw (circa 1966), 20″ Conquest Industries disc sander, and just the front edge of my Jet drill press.  In the background is all the “garage stuff.”  Note the “loft” up above.  This third of the garage is the single-car-door side, and was originally slated for my wife’s car.  After she saw the space, she decided she wanted it more for her own work space than for her car, so there will be a work table there at some point.

I’ll get into more details of the shop soon.

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Making Sawdust

September 19, 2008 in Furniture, Hall table | 3 comments

I have been anxious to start making sawdust.  I resisted, though, until I had my drawing pretty much in order.  It’s not completely done, but there’s enough information on paper to create a cutlist.  That’s all I needed to fire up the jointer/planer.

I number the parts on my cutlist in order to keep track of the milled parts.  As I cut out the parts, I write the part number on each end of each board, where it won’t get milled off later (hopefully).  I go through the cutlist, finding the largest parts first, then moving on to the smaller ones.  I use my bandsaw and radial arm saw to cut the rough lumber oversize, typically 1″ longer and 1/4″ wider than the final dimension.

The lumber I’m using came from a former student.  It’s a flitch of five 5/4 rift sawn boards from a local walnut tree.  Air dried and very colorful; so much so, that I changed my mind about using the veneer for the cabinet sides.  This stuff is too pretty to cover up.  I will use the veneer for the front face only and use the other lumber everywhere else.

In the Advanced Furniture Casegoods class I’m currently teaching, I discuss the “Fifteen Steps to Squaring Lumber.”  I’m currently at Step 8, stickering.  The pieces have been milled to about 1/8″ oversize in thickness, and are now “resting.”  Tomorrow I will glue the veneer onto the front face pieces, then let everything rest a bit more.  The piece sitting in clamps on the table saw is the cabinet bottom.

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