Another coffee table

[Derek Cohen]

I began this build about 6 weeks ago, and it has now reached about the half-way mark. The coffee table is for my nephew, a wedding present - the wedding is the beginning of February, so this must be completed over the next week (I am on leave at present, and in the shop every day).

My offer was open-ended: any piece of furniture, within a reasonable size (as it needed to travel from Perth to Sydney, which is further than New York to LA). They chose a coffee table. Looking at their taste in furniture, I sent them several photos of Mid Century Danish examples. They chose the photo below ...



I must admit that my first reaction was "bugger ... that is a challenge". Why? They liked Jarrah (I've been trying to move away from it to easer woods for a change), plus those curved ends would be "fun" to complete in solid wood! I worked out that the ends would need to be first mitred through dovetails, and then rounded. And then the legs are splayed into rails. 

So ... the build is in chapters on my website. I think that there are three of five up at this moment. I shall put up the remainder today. 

Introduction: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/A...able1.html

Mitred Through Dovetails: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/A...able2.html

The Drawer Case:  http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/A...able3.html

Edit to add ....

Assembling the Carcase: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/A...able4.html

Rounding the Ends: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/A...able5.html

Currently ...



Regards from Perth

Derek

[Gary G™]

Truly, Master craftsmanship!

[C. in Indy]

Hi Derek,

    Many thanks for another inspiring build-along!

    I have had a long-standing curiosity about Jarrah wood from Australia.  How is the finish / grain texture?   (It's hard to tell on medium-resolution photos.)  Much as I have been avoiding it for years, I have started looking more at grain-filling options on some of my build-stuff.    I have appreciated the Don Williams tutorials on wax / polissoir / grain-filling, and this was a good move for me on some small workpieces, but I haven't yet tried it on anything large. 

Thanks,
Chris

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Derek,

    Many thanks for another inspiring build-along!

    I have had a long-standing curiosity about Jarrah wood from Australia.  How is the finish / grain texture?   (It's hard to tell on medium-resolution photos.)  Much as I have been avoiding it for years, I have started looking more at grain-filling options on some of my build-stuff.    I have appreciated the Don Williams tutorials on wax / polissoir / grain-filling, and this was a good move for me on some small workpieces, but I haven't yet tried it on anything large. 

Thanks,
Chris

Chris, Jarrah can range from open-pored to fairly closed. In the examples I have, the figured top panel is reasonably closed, and more so than the lower panel.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[mound]

wow! fascinating writeup.

[stav]

We have several mid century pieces in my house. The clean lines and the open minimalist feel is what really appeals to me. I really like the piece they chose and I'm looking forward to seeing your interpretation. You're off to a great start.

[hbmcc]

Looking really nice, but.... You are a glutton for punishment. So, here's what you do .... Take all the Jarrah you have and envite everyone to a Jarrah bonfire and barbecue. Just do it in whatever you call winter.....

[Derek Cohen]

We are at the stage where the base - rail with tapered and splayed legs - is to be done next. This is the photo of the model ...



I like this base, and have chosen to replicate it. The two relevant items are the angle of the splay (which I estimated as 10 degrees), and the positioning of the ends of the legs (these appear to end in line with the carcase).

I get my Jarrah these days from an urban salvage yard, but some of it is ex-roofing beams, like this ...



It is a wonderful moment when it comes out the other end ...



I planed up a couple of these to find 4 blanks that would make the legs. Each is 450mm long. The legs will taper in the round from 40mm at the top to 25mm at the bottom.

The mortices were marked out ...



... and routed out (I have a great jig for this - just made for hard, hard woods) ..



.. leaving ...



The ends of the mortices are squared up ...



.. and then onto the lathe ...



A little tinted epoxy is needed to repair some of the resin holes ...





Next step is to determine the length of the rails. This is a no-math process that simply involves laying out the parts, with the legs at 10 degrees ...





Sawing the tenons is easy enough. The rails are 19mm (3/4") and the tenon/mortice is 1/4" wide ..



The tenon shoulder needs to be fitted flush with the leg ...

[Derek Cohen]

The easiest way is to use blue tape to mark the shoulders ...





The shoulder of the mortice is levelled with a chisel and rasp ..



... until each is a good fit ..



Finally, the glue up begins ...





I pulled off the clamps a short while ago ...



I'll clean it up in the morning.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Derek Cohen]

Finishing the base ..

Splayed legs leave their tops angled with the rails, and they need to be flushed ...



... to be coplanar on both sides ...





The next step was to add corner reinforcing blocks. These were glued and screwed ...



You can see they follow the angled rails (created by the splayed legs).

The under side ..



The final stage was to level the legs. Measure the height at each corner, and use wedges under each leg until the height is the same for all ...







Hot glue the wedges so they do not move ...



Once done, scribe the bottom of each leg ...



Electrician's tape is great for marking at an angle ...



Saw off the waste, and we are done ...



I checked the result with a digital angle box. All good. Sanded to 240 grit ...



The drawer and finishing is left to do.

Regards from Perth

Derek