Table and chairs project

[Chataigner]

Tables are easy, chairs are hard. Awesome to see G&G design elements for a kitchen in France. Of all the shops on WN, yours is the one I'd most like to visit. I look forward to seeing the finished product.

Chairs are not that hard, I've made a few, it's the compound angle joinery that's difficult - master that and youre home and dry !

In the meantime I've completed the construction of the table and have started the finishing, pictures tomorrow...

[Chataigner]

This was about a week ago :

Bought some big 1/4 sawn oak boards from my local sawmill for the top of the table and a load of spare for the chairs.  3.5m boards, 45mm thick and around 400mm wide.  Works out to 40-50kg (100lbs plus) per board at estimated density of 0.75 or so.  Something of a struggle to load and unload and even more of a struggle to cut them up.

I started by cutting them in half in the length, then tried to trim off the live edge on the bandsaw.  My poor bandsaw was totally overwhelmed, it nearly fell over at one point, so I abandoned that and cut them up on blocks on the ground using a big hand held circular saw.   Lots of very messy free range sawdust, but safe and effective.  

Next step was to plane and thickness the rough cut sections, each around 1m by 150mm, 6 of them for the surround to the hexagonal top.  So lovely to see the ray fleck emerging as the boards were planed up.  Then cut to width on the table saw.  Finally marked out the 60° mitres, set up the mitre gauge and cut them to length and angle.  I was quite surprised when they all married up perfectly in a dry run.  12 angled cuts and not a fag paper gap to be seen when laid out !  I've always had to trim and correct jobs like this in the past, so I was really chuffed !



The slot around the inside is to accept the 15mm MDF central part which will have an inset oak ply panel on top to match up with the oak surround. If this was a show piece, I'd veneer it properly, but it is a kitchen table after all, so ply will do fine.  By using MDF for the structure in the middle I can glue it in and avoid panel expansion issues.  I tried this first on my desk top which is quite big and it has worked a treat.   The surround will have M&T joints with loose tenons at each corner all with drawbored pegs to keep eveything tight.

The plinth is ready to accept the top, so I hope to finish the construction this weekend - I've got all of tomorrow free since Isabelle is in Paris visiting her son, so I can get a clear run at it.  Notice the slight gap under the feet.  Our kitchen is tiled and Isabelle tends to slosh quite a lot of water around when cleaning it, so I've fitted small feet to keep the wood slightly off the ground - they are adjustable too as our floor is far from level.

[Chataigner]

This was last sunday:

Today I cut mortices in the ends of the 6 sections making up the hexagon.  Did this with a spiral upcut bit in the router with both the work and the router supported by a router box.



Then made a batch of slip tenons, cut the 16mm MDF into the hexagon shape to support the top.  It goes together with the 16mm MDF set into a slot in the inside edge of the hexagon, just like a frame and panel door then more MDF plus a ply layer on top.



The second layer of MDF is there simply to center the 16mm panel because, without it, there would only be 5mm of the oak frame above the MDF, a bit fragile in my view.  The 5mm oak face ply goes on top a bit like a veneer.  Think of it as a raised panel !

Did a dry fit just before lunch to test the fit :



The perspective effect from a wide angle lens makes it look a bit of an odd shape, but it's actually a perfect fit, I'm delighted.  Glue up this afternoon.

[Chataigner]

This was last monday :

Last post of the day before heading for a long shower - my back is killing me !

Top is glued up, sharp corners removed, top edge profiled, but still a lot of finishing to do.  



In the meantime, the oak ply is being glued into the cavity left for it in the top.  A kind friend offered me a vac bag and pump, but unfortunately,  the top is too big for the bag.  Lots of clamps and spreaders plus some heavy weights will have to suffice !

[Chataigner]

Finally caught up - this is today's work 23 feb

Yesterday I fitted ebony splines in the mitred corners of the table top and got one coat of stain on to the top and the plinth.  Today I put on the first coat of varnish  - normally I would go for carnauba wax over stain, but this is going to see some pretty rough wear and tear in kitchen, so a coat or three of hard poly seemed like the thing to do.  This is still wet, so the colour is not even, I'm hoping it will be better when dry !  



I'm increasingly convinced that the ply I bought is not oak, whatever the dealer said.  The grain is not right and the colour most certainly isnt.  However...  I rather like the effect of a different timber in the middle of the top, so I'm actually quite pleased.    Hope I dont come to regret it !!



The ebony is not yet polished, the pieces are rather small to handle, so I thought it would be easier to do once they are glued into the edge - that's the next job : sanding to 240g and then waxing.

[Steve N]

Sheesh, you are moving right along, that looks like a table
I look forward to seeing the chairs.

[Chataigner]

David, a beautiful design , table and chairs.  This will look nice with the cabinet you made last year.  After a hundred years, G & G still looks modern.  Thanks for posting and I will surely stay tuned.  Ken

Glad you like it Ken.  I've just found the post about your new toy - I'm impressed - have fun with it !