# Hall Table in Oak



## RogerM (20 Oct 2006)

I feel ever so humbled by the quality of some of the projects posted here and am a little hesitant to post my own efforts, but here's the result of a recent project to "disguise" an ugly radiator in our hallway. I was galvanised into action when SWMBO came home saying she had found exactly what she wanted, and it was "only" £595. Being in need of a new tablesaw, my previous having packed up, and my first p/t - I could see a window of opportunity!

So off to Atkins & Cripps to buy some American White Oak. This was enough to complete the job and came to £102.







Having just invested in a new TS and P/T I was anxious to get started, but had to work outside due to a Robin nesting in the garage. I much prefer working outside anyway!






Impetuosity rules. Tried out the p/t by assembling the tabletop. I should have known better as I've never used one before and had all sorts of problems. Can be seen propped against the garage door in the background. Followed up by assembling the legs. These were laminated from 2 pieces as A&C didn't have any 6cm stock.






I wanted 2 shelves, but not solid, so made up 2 slatted shelves. Mortises were cut in the rails with a handheld router and the tenons cut on the t/s.






I had never cut dovetails before so armed with a copy of FWW (Aug 2006) I decided that if I started at the back of the drawers I would learn enough cutting 4 sets of dovetails so that by the time I came to cutting the ones on the front I would have reached an acceptable standard. I cut the drawer backs and sides long so that if my first efforts ended in failure I could just cut off the pins and tails and still have enough to try again. I don't own a dovetail saw so with a bit of rummaging I found an old razor saw from my aeromodelling days which was adequate if not perfect. Not really man enough for the job in the long term, but it was OK on this occasion.






Of course I could have cut through dovetails on the back of the drawers, but as the aim of the exercise was to learn how to do the half-blind dovetails for the front, that's what I chose to do. Reasonably happy with the result for a first attempt. If I was doing them again I would think ahead a bit more and position the tails so that the groove for the side hung runners went down the center of a tail.






I now had a table in "kit form"!






And here's the finished article. Finish is 2 coats of Patina.






The baskets underneath is SWMBO's idea 'cos that's what the one she saw in the shop for £595 had!






This is my first furniture project for years and I've really enjoyed it. All things considered I'm reasonably happy with the result. Even more importantly, so is SWMBO. Given that my garage is a glory hole and I'm allergic to working inside during the summer, all work was done on a 30 yr old BD workmate, but I've been drooling over Lord Nibbo's bench and I feel a winter project coming on. 

Some of the m/t joints are not as tight on assembly as I would have liked in an ideal world which is largely down to lack of clamps. Also the 3 pieces that comprise the table top are slightly different colours despite coming from the same stack. If I was doing it again I would assemble the top from pieces cut from a single length of stock.


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## SketchUp Guru (20 Oct 2006)

Very nice Roger. I like it.


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## Adam (20 Oct 2006)

Lovely. I like that.

Adam


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## Freetochat (20 Oct 2006)

Very nice! =D>


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## Roger (20 Oct 2006)

If that's really your first piece, you've done very well indeed! I like it - simple, attractive and very easy on the eye. I like the 'Basket touch' also 8) 

You can always go back later if the top gets on your nerves and refinish it to your taste, but that's a minor point.


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## dedee (20 Oct 2006)

Yep, very nice job Roger.

Should you be at all concerned on the effects that the heat from the radiator could have on the wood?

Andy


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## Lord Nibbo (20 Oct 2006)

RogerM":1nchgp47 said:


> Also the 3 pieces that comprise the table top are slightly different colours despite coming from the same stack. If I was doing it again I would assemble the top from pieces cut from a single length of stock.




Excellent work.  

It wouldn't bother me about the colour match, Think of it like this. You can see it's two pieces but where is the joint? it just proves how good the joint really is.


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## Chris Knight (20 Oct 2006)

Roger,
A great result - I bet SWMBO was suitably impressed!


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## tim (20 Oct 2006)

=D> =D> =D> 

Cheers

Tim


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## gidon (20 Oct 2006)

Very nice Riger! Well done.
Where are you in Devon?
Cheers
Gidon


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## gwaithcoed (20 Oct 2006)

Excellent Roger I love it. Well done    

Alan.


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## Waka (20 Oct 2006)

Roger

Excellent looking table. You can now ask SWMBO if you can spend the balance on more tools.


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## RogerM (20 Oct 2006)

Thanks for the kind comments guys



dedee":1kztnpvf said:


> Should you be at all concerned on the effects that the heat from the radiator could have on the wood?
> 
> Andy



Andy - I asked the very same qestion here a few months back whilst still in the planning stage. Consensus seemed to be that provided that the timber was stored in the place where it would finally live (and it was), then humidity was more important than heat. In any event, we only use the hall radiator for background warmth so it is never blazing hot. Time will tell! The table top is held in place with toggles so it has room to move as much as it wants.



gidon":1kztnpvf said:


> Where are you in Devon?
> Cheers
> Gidon



Gidon - we are in Newton Ferrers, about 10 miles east of Plymouth. I may need to pick your brains about the finish on your oak front door sometime. That is a future project, with the savings being used to fund a mortiser and "rat". Can you see my strategy?


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## Philly (20 Oct 2006)

Very nice Roger, you must must proud!
Good to see people posting their projects,
Cheers
Philly


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## les chicken (20 Oct 2006)

Very nice Roger.

You must be doubly proud satisfying SWMBO and coming out of the task with new tools. :wink: :wink: 

Les


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## JFC (20 Oct 2006)

Very nice job !


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## llangatwgnedd (20 Oct 2006)

Lovely
better than a rad cabinet any day and how did you manage to get the Robin pose for you?


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## Paul Chapman (20 Oct 2006)

Excellent, Roger =D> 

Paul


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## dexteria (20 Oct 2006)

Very nice!

Well done =D>


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## Fecn (20 Oct 2006)

Beautiful work. And a nice talk-through of how it all came together.

Well done!


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## Anonymous (20 Oct 2006)

Well done Roger 8) 
_My wife_ likes the look of it :lol: 
Nice job, simple contempory timeless


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## RogerM (20 Oct 2006)

Sawdust Producer":3izwh4e7 said:


> Lovely
> better than a rad cabinet any day and how did you manage to get the Robin pose for you?



Thanks sawdustproducer. SWMBO had been pestering me to build a radiator cover but I have no enthusiasm for them. Her "revenge" was to come home having identified a £595 alternative! This way she got her table and I got my TS and P/T and had a lot of fun as well. 

The Robin? Little blighter was as cheeky as they come. I guess I could have carried on working but didn't want them to abandon the nest between the 3/4 empty time expired cans of paint we all keep, never to be used again, but we can't throw them out. :lol:


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## mrbingley (21 Oct 2006)

RogerM
Very nice looking piece of workmanship, and nicely proportioned too.

Chris.


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## CYC (23 Oct 2006)

Really nice.
Good job.


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## houtslager (23 Oct 2006)

yep have to say also a fine job made good there.

Only do tell how long it took you to make, this would help many other hobbists and even a few pros to think it out - if there's a profit in making such pieces .

looking good there kid


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## RogerM (23 Oct 2006)

houtslager":34mgi836 said:


> Only do tell how long it took you to make, this would help many other hobbists and even a few pros to think it out - if there's a profit in making such pieces .



Thanks houtslager. Having looked at some of your pieces on your website I think I understand where you're coming from. My guess is that it probably took 50 - 60 hours. But I wasn't hurrying - I just worked at my own pace, and sometimes stopped to think things through and just play with ideas. That's why I do woodwork as a hobby. I have enough stress and pressure in my working life that I just love slowing down to do something at a pace where it takes as long as it takes, use the other side of my brain, and there is no target completion date. It's done when it's done. 

Of course you cannot run a business that way. Assuming I "saved" £450, that means I was working for £9 per hour. But then if I was doing it for a living I'd have dovetail jigs, a mortiser etc, and much of the stuff that I hand cut would have been machined. I would have had more clamps etc and my "pondering" time would have been cut short - and I wouldn't have enjoyed myself half as much. My guess is that with a properly equiped workshop I could have made it in 1/4 the time and had 1/10th the fun. As it was, I was learning how to use a new T/S and P/T which takes time, and if I was to make another I could probably make it in half the time. I tend to work outside whenever the weather allows and it's nice to stop with a cuppa and look at the view and listen to the wind in the trees and the birds singing. 

Not sure whether this answers your question, but that's my answer! :-({|= :lol:


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## MikeW (26 Oct 2006)

Nice work, Roger!

The baskets were a good addition.

Take care, Mike


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## KarpEnter (27 Oct 2006)

Nice work !


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## amateur_chippy (28 Oct 2006)

I really like it!

I think something like that would go down very well in my narrow hallway, as it gives some useful storage whilst not being to great in depth.

I am completely with you on your take on 'saving' money, as I just bought a table saw, then made this with it. 









I saw something in a catalogue for about the 400 pound mark, but it was also fun to make only took 8 hours (well my brother did it with me!) and I spent about 2 hours paring with a chisel to let the semi recessed sink in perfectly over the front profile.


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## RogerM (28 Oct 2006)

amateur_chippy":391trfto said:


> I really like it!
> 
> I think something like that would go down very well in my narrow hallway, as it gives some useful storage whilst not being to great in depth.
> 
> I am completely with you on your take on 'saving' money, as I just bought a table saw, then made this with it.



Thanks chippy. Because this piece was designed to double as a radiator cover as well as a table, the back overhangs more than the front so that it more or less covers the gap that a standard table would leave above the radiator between the edge of the tabletop and the wall. 

I like your sink stand. Having let an inset basin into a dummy drawer front myself I can appreciate how tricky it is to get a nice even fit. I used a coping saw to get it roughly right and then a spokeshave to finalise the fit.


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## Newbie_Neil (29 Oct 2006)

Hi KarpEnter

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers
Neil


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## Newbie_Neil (29 Oct 2006)

Hi Roger

I really like it. Thank you for taking the time to post, it is much appreciated.

Cheers
Neil


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