# Side Table - Finished Photos



## OPJ (29 May 2010)

It's been a while since my last WIP so, I thought I'd get the ball rolling again with this one. It's going to be a side table, made in a similar style to an arm chair I've just finished gluing up at college:







(_Trust me - it is somewhere underneath all those cramps!!_ )

For those who didn't see it on my blog about six-months ago, I ended up buying far too much English ash - two 10ft boards, 2in and 26in wide between the bark!! :shock: Plus a few bits of English walnut for the seat. Not the highest quality but, they were going cheap at £65/ft³. :wink:






Last night, I bought all my "offcuts" home from college, leaving me with a _huge_ pile of wood to sort through this morning:






(..._Well, at least I've saved myself several trips to the timber yard, here!_ )

With only three-weeks left on the course, I wouldn't have had time to do any prep work on this at college. I decided I would start by removing a binning any badly split wood that I hadn't bothered with before. I thought these lumps would be too much for me to handle on my bandsaw so, I started with the jigsaw... And it wasn't long before one of the blades snapped (never had that happen before on a jigsaw!). :x






So, I put a sharp ¾in x 4tpi Supertuff blade in and did the rest on my Startrite 401e:






The low working height of the saw's table does help, here. But, there isn't a lot of table to the right of the blade [left, in this photo], which isn't ideal when you're trying to rip large boards on your own.

While working my way through, I wanted to get a better look at the grain on some of the wider boards. Not only to check for splits and shakes, but also to look at the colour of the grain, so I could be a bit selective. My thicknesser's only 10in wide and I don't have a drum sander so, I skimmed all surfaces with a 4in belt sander - one of my most used power tools, believe it or not! 






After two-hours of measuring, drawing lines and bandsawing, I had all the components roughed out for the frame:






(_Note the proper cutting list, for a change and rough sketches!_ )

And I still have all this left over...






Plus, two of the bigger boards, which remain untouched:






You can probably see the splits in there which, along with the heart-shakes in the other one, almost render these two lumps as _firewood_... :?

By the way, this is what the table is going to look like:






Since receiving a bit of help on this in the Design forum recently, I've decided to chop about 100mm off the legs. There was, fortunately, enough usable heartwood in my leftovers to let me keep the legs and rails slightly darker than the rest of the table. Though, I don't think I'll go as OTT (with the slats) as I have done on the chair.

This is what I've decided on for the top:






(_You'll have to imagine that as a nice piece of book-matched walnut in the centre!_ :wink

I haven't yet cut out any material for the top, as I'm a little uncertain as to how I'll do this... I was really hoping for a two-piece book-match but, I don't seem to have anything quite wide enough (the top is 400mm square, minus the lippings).






So, I'm not going to rush in to anything. I'll leave it for a few days and hopefully make a decision on Monday/Tuesday. I still have templates to make and I need to draw up a rod for all those angled tenons. Judging by the tension being released as I cut in to it, some of this ash would benefit from a week indoors, at least (though, it's already bone-dry after six-months in college).

I think I'll have to buy a new trimming cutter for my router table, as I don't fancy shaping all these parts by hand, as I mostly did with bits of the chair at college (there's still plenty of hand-work in scribing all those tenon shoulders!). This one needs to be completed in June and, even I should be able to do it in less than thirty hours... :wink:

Progress to follow in another week or so, once I've also had a chance to get my planer knives sharpened.


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## Ironballs (31 May 2010)

Nice bit of work Olly, look forward to seeing this come together. Is this your last year at college then?


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## OPJ (31 May 2010)

Ironballs":bdmoyp9i said:


> Is this your last year at college then?



Yep this is it, at last  - three-years in carpentry followed by three years in furniture! :shock: Don't know what I'm going to do come September - maybe I could start having a lie in on Thursdays and Fridays!  I have got a couple of exhibitions lined up for July so, that should be good.


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## ByronBlack (31 May 2010)

I'm interested to see how this one develops. I really like the design, and love the woods you are using (even though I wouldn't call them cheap!  )


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## Chris Knight (31 May 2010)

Olly,
I think it could look very good but ideally, I'd like to see the sections of the undercarriage all reduced by 40% - seems too heavy to me at the mo.


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## OPJ (31 May 2010)

Thanks, guys. 

Chris, this may or may not have a similar effect but, I'm proposing the thicken the top up to 24/25mm thick. I'll be cutting the walnut veneers about 3mm thick and then they'll be laminated to MDF (18/19mm thick). This could bring it back in to proportion with the rest of the table. I'm reluctant to take any material off the components or else it may look odd against the chair. I'm also still playing with the positioning of the rails.

Just had another look at my walnut this evening and I think I've found the piece I'm going to use, which has a fair bit of spalting in it - should look interesting once quartered!


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## OPJ (7 Jun 2010)

_It begins!!_

After an hour on the planer/thicknesser preparing _all_ the timber for the framework, I decided I would start by shaping the four legs. I fitted an unopened Axcalibur blade (½in x 6tpi) in my bandsaw for this and, while it did a good job and the weld was fine, I don't know, it just didn't feel as "sweet" as the blades I've always bought from Ian John...? This one came with the saw when I bought it; an unused gift from the seller, along with several other used blades.

At college, I shaped the back legs on the spindle moulder, using a 'double-station' jig with minimal risk to health and safety - given the time it took to make the jig, I doubt it would've taken much longer to have shaped them freehand! 






I don't have a spindle moulder at home and I didn't intend to spend half the day building a jig for this, either - so, I ordered a brand-new Panel Trim cutter from Wealden and did them on the router table. I was hoping to get one of their Down Shear Trim cutters except, they're out of stock until the third week of June! Oh well, that's still £10 in my pocket! 






I first saw the idea for these "hand shields" in the most recent issue of Good Woodworking magazine, where a similar setup was used by one of the Warwickshire College students at the Get Woodworking Live show. Coupled with the fact that the cutter was nice and sharp and that I only left 1mm waste on to be removed, I felt reassured; knowing that I wouldn't come to any harm from this, using a 55mm long cutter (legs are only 38mm thick).






_Is this where a template becomes a jig?!_ 

It's basically two scraps of 6mm acrylic, secured to the MDF template with wooden knobs on top for handling. I also had to place a scrap of 6mm ply in between, so I had enough clearance for the bearing and socket screw on top.

And, the end result - four perfectly shaped legs:






Cutting in to one leg revealed this terrifying split!








I'm not going to worry about it too much right now and it doesn't show through anywhere else. Might be another job for the _scraper-and-superglue_ trick...! 

I then went back to my rod to set out my mortises with all the correct angles and then, it took nearly ten-minutes to clear away for me to get the machine:






I hadn't used it for about five-months and, yes, before anyone says it - a _Domino_ jointer would've saved so much time here and they don't take even half as long to set up! :roll: Still, it's nice to have a dedicated machine and this one is a lot nicer than the Fox model I had before.






This is why I decided to do all the shaping first...






It's much easier to cut the mortises "parallel" to the curve of each leg (in case you can't see it in the sketches, the rails and slats will all follow the curve/radius of the legs).

That's all the mortising done for now. I will need to chop some more in to the side rails for the slats and also in the stretchers but, I would like to cut all the tenon shoulders before that, just in case - so I can hide my mortiser away again!  I've got to the point where I'm ready to start cutting tenons but, I've realised that I'd forgotten to make a new tenon jig for my router table!  Don't get me wrong - I still think Steve Maskery's jig is excellent. But, the plunge depth on my Freud router is limited; I can't afford a Trend T11; and Wealden's awesome Tenon Cutters aren't long enough when your jig has an 18mm thick base. So, I've started to build my own; one of which is experimental... Which is why I'm also making a simple "push-block" type affair, just in case.

I was hoping to get much more done today and to at least have most of the frame components dry-assembled.  I'll see how far I can get tomorrow morning and I might have some more time on this Wednesday afternoon.


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## OPJ (8 Jun 2010)

This morning, I finished off a new pair of jigs for my router table. One looks like a simple 90° "push block", albeit it with a hardwood wear strip down the running edge; the other is much the same - but with the addition of a sheet of 6mm ply underneath, which carries the timber past the cutter.






I made two just in case the one with the additional plywood base didn't work out!  In practice though, it works very well - the addition of 120g abrasive paper to stop the wood from sliding about really helps and, for small-scale furniture components like this, it's ideal and it also allows me to use my tenon cutter!  The handles might look odd - or, at least, not quite what you would expect - but, I didn't want to waste any more time and my lathe's buried somewhere behind three or four machines (next to my mortiser)...






Having a false fence fitted is critical, with a 50mm diameter cutter. Otherwise, with a split fence, anything narrower than the opening gets dragged in by the cutter! :? Actually, Steve's jig never really suffered from this because it had an excellent hold-down clamp. I haven't bothered with one here because the base is only 18mm MDF (not rigid enough). In future, I may try and add a simplified wooden hold-down that doesn't put any tension on the base - if such a thing is possible...!! 

So, yes, the tenons came out really well. All the side rails have square shoulders but, two of the top rails (front and back) have angled shoulders. I removed most of the waste on these with my router table jig and chiselled the waste away by hand, working back to a knife line.






In case you're wondering how I got those angles, this is where the all-important rod comes in! 






I didn't want to mess about too much resetting everything for the curved stretchers so, I just cut those tenons on the bandsaw, again, cleaning up the shoulders by hand:






_Then, I was out all afternoon..._ 

Got back this evening and chopped some more mortises - for the slats in the four side rails and also one through-mortise in each of the stretcher rails, which I'll receive a wedged through-tenon (as I did on the chair). Fortunately, I managed to squeeze in here without having to move any machines - _yes, Colin, I can see your point of view, now!!_ 






I've also stuck some more 120g abrasive paper on to the face of the clamp on my mortiser - I think that, from when I waxed the fence previously for corrosion resistance, it's all a bit too slick around there! 

Everything's just about ready for a dry-assembly, now. A few of the joints still need tweaking but, about an hour ago, I was hungry and too tired to start messing around with that (I'll save it for tomorrow afternoon/evening, if I have time).


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## ByronBlack (8 Jun 2010)

Nice jigs - you seem to making swift progress on this one.


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## Chems (8 Jun 2010)

Great progress and WIP as always Olly, looking forward to the finished article.


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## Ironballs (8 Jun 2010)

Olly, quick question on your curved leg jig, how does the template attach to the timber? Is it double sided tape and if so was it secure enough?

Need to put a shallow curve into some legs I'm doing and like what you've done here


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## Chems (8 Jun 2010)

I'm guessing by the picture with it stuck to the router table fence that he's used double sided tape. Problem with DST is the mess it leaves behind.


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## OPJ (9 Jun 2010)

Yes, sorry, I forgot to mention that - it is double-sided tape! 

It seems strong enough to me. This roll was 1in wide and came from Isaac Lord a few months ago. It seems to be a lot strong than the cheap stuff you get from the DIY sheds. It's always a pipper to get the residue off after but, if you can't scrape it then, I find it sometimes helps to 'roll' it off (like taking a small snowball and rolling it in the snow to increase its size). :wink:


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## devonwoody (9 Jun 2010)

Thanks OPJ for your latest WIP, you have given a lot of time making this one interesting and viewable.

Hope the table goes well.


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## ByronBlack (9 Jun 2010)

A bit of acetone cleans up the adhesive from DST really well. When shaping fretboards I used the same system as Olly - template on the stock with DST and shaped on the router-table, its a quick, clean and relatively safe method.

Although for curves I still prefer to bandsaw to a line and then spoke-shave smooth.


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## Mooeee (9 Jun 2010)

Hi

Great work, looks Fantastic.

Where do you get your acetone from?????? is it cheap??

Thanks


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## Noel (9 Jun 2010)

Your local pharmacy should have some or use nail polish remover, the non branded stuff is very cheap.
Personally I use Isopropyl from my local chemist. WD 40 all do a similar job, as will furniture polish (Pledge, Mr Sheen) but run the risk of spoiling a finish at a later date if silicone residue is left behind.

Lastly, I've even heard that peanut butter will also do the job


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## Benchwayze (9 Jun 2010)

Lighter fluid is good for removing gummy residue left by DST and also gets Evo-stick from your fingers... 

HTH

 
John
.


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## Chris Knight (9 Jun 2010)

I get acetone from finish suppliers (eg Morrells, Mylands etc).


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## flying haggis (9 Jun 2010)

Mooeee":27hojzpe said:


> Hi
> 
> Great work, looks Fantastic.
> 
> ...



Good old E-bay for acetone, Ok you might not need 25L but.....


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PURE-ACETONE-99-5 ... 335a73c1cb



other sizes are available and gives you an idea of the cost. I have bought Isopropyl Alchohol from E-bay with no problems.


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## adzeman (9 Jun 2010)

I have found your WIP thread very informative and like your references to your rod. 

Still being a student in your final year and this being exam time are you not also busy with your finals? All credit to you and good luck'


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## OPJ (9 Jun 2010)

Although you may've seen me online earlier today, I haven't had much time spare to work on this. I was out this morning until lunch time and then spent the afternoon doing some college work (which I meant to do last week...  ). 5pm came and I realised I'd better do some _real_ work and start making some noise - leaving it any later would leave the neighbours free to complain... 

I needed to resaw some more 2mm oak veneers for another project and, at the same time, I decided to cut in to an "interesting" lump of partially-spalted English walnut:







You may find it hard to believe that this lump of walnut started at *60mm* thick!  That gives you an idea of how much wood is wasted having to repeatedly plane/thickness both sawn faces.

Each veneer is just over 3mm thick and there's enough there to do both sides of the top - naturally, the pattern I like best will be the show face, meaning I can experiment a bit with the under side. This was using a _Supertuff Fastcut_ blade from Tuff Saws which, after cutting a series of other 2mm oak veneers (9in wide) the other week, is still going strong. I found that all the spalting, the odd knot and the frequent diversion in grain direction made this a tricky one to cut, even with a sharp blade. There were no signs of stalling and any irregular marks you might be able to see are probably down to my awkward feed-rate as much as anything else (_...maybe I should fit a power feed to this saw!!!_ :twisted. It breezed through some areas, where the spalting was, and then I hit the real wood, where I had to take things more steady.

I won't make a decision on this before next week now but, to give you some ideas of what I could do, here are a few examples:





















Yes, those knots will have to be filled, and probably with a dark-epoxy mixture - apparently, you can just use _Araldite_ with a bit of dye mixed in...?


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## OPJ (9 Jun 2010)

adzeman":xke0xy19 said:


> I have found your WIP thread very informative and like your references to your rod.
> 
> Still being a student in your final year and this being exam time are you not also busy with your finals? All credit to you and good luck'



Hi Mike,

Thanks. 

Yes, we have three weeks left on the course; two weeks in which to complete the practical exam and then one week to finish everything else off! :shock: There's no written exam this year though, I think we may have to do another risk assessment - one that's more thorough than the one we completed at Level 2...


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## OPJ (15 Jun 2010)

Picked this one up again yesterday but, with the Word Cup now under-way, I'm afraid to say that my progress has been "interrupted" somewhat...  I can't say it's been entirely worth it, either- the quality of this first week's games, overall, hasn't been that impressive - I'd have been better off in the workshop, most of the time. 

Tenons on the top rails needed to be mitred so they didn't foul each other inside the legs:






After which, I was ready for my first dry-assembly:






[_Note - I hadn't shaped the stretchers or the front and back top rails at this point._]

As I was lining up this shot, there was this niggling thought in the back of my mind that _maybe_ Chris Knight was right... Perhaps these components are a little bit on the 'chunky' side... Looking at this photo now though, I'm not as concerned. I think we'll have a better idea once the top goes on and it's sat next to the finished chair.

To get the correct length and angles for the tenon shoulders on the slats, I used a tried-and-tested method that work well with the chair - two scraps of MDF, taped together. This allows me to transfer the information directly on to the timber. Hopefully, you can see how it works:






With those lines knifed on to the blanks, I could begin shaping. It took a good couple of hours in all - marking out, shaping, marking the shoulders, cutting the tenons, fitting and then sanding through the grits, ready for finishing - a very _un-enjoyable_ process!! :roll:











While a disc sander does a good job with convex curves, even with a fine-grit disc, you're going to end up with scratchers running perpendicular to the grain. They took some time to remove by hand, as I didn't feel I could use any form of power tool to do it for me, without affecting the curve. It's at times like this that I wonder whether a horizontal linisher would help... Then again, perhaps I should give the Mike Garnham approach another try - fixing a portable belt sander on its side!! 

Trimming the tenons to width:






So, I spent the last few hours of yesterday hand-sanding :roll: all the other components, ready for a first coat of oil this morning. I would've put the oil on last night but, after all that work preparing each surface, I didn't have enough energy (plus, I wanted to see Italy struggle against Paraguay, apparently... ).

That first coat of Osmo Polyx (matt) went on this morning.

I don't like doing this first thing in the day because it means I have even less space to work in and I have to be cautious enough note to cover it all in fine dust! Not that I worry too much about first coats, anyway!  Over the weekend, I'd begun having a general tidy up and boxing up offcuts to give away as firewood on Freecycle so, I carried on and finished that off - ending up with three boxes, full :shock:.






After lunch, I decided the oil was "dry enough" (although, it was still a little sticky) so, I got things ready for the first stage of the glue up.






I just used bog standard PVA to glue the slats in, with the legs fitted dry to help keep things aligned correctly and square. I could've glued the legs on at the same time but, I don't like having clamps on, sticking out everywhere. I then spent most of the rest of the afternoon fiddling around with my planer (the *off* buttons keep falling off inside!! :shock: And, it needed a bit of a clean.).

When I get back tomorrow afternoon, I'll make a start on the top. Once I've taken the dog for a walk this evening, I may have a go at gluing the legs on - it all depends on who's playing tonight and whether or not it's on ITV!!


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## Paul Chapman (15 Jun 2010)

That's looking really good, Olly.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## Dan-K (15 Jun 2010)

Really nice work, I just wish I could produce anything half as good 


> ...boxing up offcuts to give away as firewood on Freecycle...


 :shock: I wish I lived in your neck of the wood too, I'd love to find some nice hardwood offcuts on Freecycle for making some small boxes; cheap pine gets a bit boring


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## OPJ (16 Jun 2010)

Got a bit more done this afternoon. Well, that was after gluing the legs on to the rest of the frame, last night. I left a couple of cramps on the slats, as they glue had only been given a few hours to cure (they all need twenty-four hours, really) and I didn't want to risk forcing the joints apart.






Started off with a bit of progress on the veneers for the top.

Squaring up on the shooting board:






Then, sticking it all together with Titebond's Dark Wood Glue - each veneer is over 3mm thick so, I thought it might be worth it. There's a trick to doing this and I think I first saw it in one of the Wood Whisperer's videos (or, was it the Wood_bloke_??? ) - tape them together securely with all the joints dry. Then, flip it over, carefully fold each joint to 'open' it, pour the glue in and leave it. It seems to work rather well and I've taken a liking to this blue tape... :roll: This roll came from Toolstation and it does seem to grab and hold a little better than the regular stuff. I find it slightly more reassuring.






I've decided to leave these until tomorrow evening, so that the glue has the longest time possible to cure before I set about removing the slight discrepancies between the thickness of each leaf on the surface that'll be glued face-down on to the MDF substrate.

(Sorry, I forgot to photo the other one but, you will get to see it later. )

I finished off the stretchers (shaping, sanding, etc.), cut the tenons on my bandsaw (couldn't be bothered to drag the router table out) and then wedged them together (as I did on the chair), ready to glue up in to the rest of the frame.






As I was gluing up yesterday, I realised I'd completely forgotten to groove the top rails so that I could attach the top with wooden turnbuttons and screws!  Never one to accept defeat, I reached for my biscuit jointer, which did a good enough job on the assembled frame. 






Then, progress came to an abrupt halt as my mum arrived home with this:






We basically need to replace our "weathered" back door. I'd previously suggest that this one (made from hemlock) would've been the best "budget" choice, as she didn't want to spend a lot... The one she bought home this evening is half that price and, being made from cheap spruce, I don't expect it to last long at all... 

I was going to have a go at her for buying a door that isn't suitable for exterior use except, I can hardly blame her as the packaging states that it _is_:






What exactly constitutes to a door being suitable for exterior use?! It must be the double-glazing, as the cheap, lightning-fast-growing timber aren't going to last long, especially if we have a repeat of the winter just gone. :?






You can see where they've joined two lumps of wood to create a wider rail but, it's the pith, there, that concerns me - that could open up 'nicely' if we have a dry, hot summer... This'll have to be stained or painted (I wish she'd make her mind up!! :x) and hung before I can get stuck in to too much woodwork. I would've put it indoors (where it belongs! ) but, the kitchen's going to be redecorated shortly and all of her "machines" are going to fill up the rest of the space downstairs - as they certainly aren't coming anywhere near my workshop!!! :twisted: (_I've already got one chest freezer in there!_)

Sorry, I'm ranting again! I should be able to get the rest of the frame and the top panel glued up over the next couple of evenings, with a view to getting that door out of the way over the weekend.


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## OPJ (17 Jun 2010)

Got a couple of glue-ups out of the way, this evening.

First, "flattening" the undersides of the veneers with my belt sander:






I was surprised by how strong the edge-joints felt, after a full twenty-four hours (...and a couple more). I wish I'd make a test piece now, so that I could try and snap the joint, to see which breaks first - the glue line or the timber!  Each veneer was secured to a sheet of 18mm MDF using double-sided tape (you probably know what belt sanders can do, otherwise! ).

Then, it was time to put it in the cold press:






I'm using Titebond's Cold Press Veneering glue [only available at Rutlands?], out of curiosity (ie. I could've used PVA or even mixed up some cascamite). Apparently, you get a longer open time for correctly positioning veneers and laminations but, aside from that, I don't yet see what advantages it has over regular PVA (it's also slightly darker).

There are two sheets of 18mm MDF (either side) used to create the press; both of which were given a coat of wax to (hopefully!) prevent the veneers from sticking to them, wherever there is excess glue squeeze-out. I clamped a series of tapered cauls (tapering down from the centre to about 1mm at each end) to exert even pressure across the board, where it's otherwise very difficult to get any force in the centre. I didn't have enough solo or G-cramps to finish up here so, I've had to persist with these Irwin quick-grips... They should be okay. We'll have another look tomorrow evening (though, they say you can remove it from a press after only forty-five minutes!! :shock!

With that one out of the way and resting safely on the workshop floor (!) while the glue dries, I got the frame fully assembled and squared up using a sash cramp positioned diagonally (though, to be honest, it was only 1.5mm out before...).






Nothing left to do on the frame then, except to remove the excess glue, followed by another light sanding, in preparation for further coats of oil. It is nice to see that it's sitting firmly on the MDF sheet, with all these sash cramps on - I must admit that, while doing the dry-assemblies before (without cramps), it was wobbling quite badly. 8)


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## Chems (17 Jun 2010)

Looks really really nice Olly.

Can you explain the method with the diagonal clamping, I understand its to insure a square frame, and I've seen lots of people doing it. I just don't quite understand how it works?


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## OPJ (17 Jun 2010)

There's not a lot to understand, really! 

Obviously, measure the diagonals, first. If one is longer than the other (I wouldn't normally worry if it's less than 1mm difference between them), you want to place cramp across the diagonals of the longest dimension. Tightening this cramp will shorten that diagonal measurement but, at the same time, it will "lengthen" the shorter one. You're then looking for an equilibrium between the two.

On a table like this, you can used the method of attaching the top to hold it in place as well. That might work even after the glue's gone off, if the difference is only 2mm or so. :wink:


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## Chems (18 Jun 2010)

I see, very simple, I thought it was to maybe counter-act some force of the other clamps.


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## eoinsgaff (18 Jun 2010)

Looking very nice Olly. Just wondering if you needed to take any additional precautions when gluing the end grain to end grain sections of the veneer. I think thans the sample I'd want to try snapping.

Regards

Eoin


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## OPJ (19 Jun 2010)

Hi Eoin,

On this occasion, I didn't take any further precautions with the end-grain joints and, to be honest, I didn't even think about it...  But, it does seem to hold very well indeed. If you do something similar yourself, you might find it easier to glue them up in pairs (side by side). That way, you can then shoot the end-grain edges correctly for a tight joint. That's what I should've done. :roll: But, as I was rushing, I tried shooting and gluing all four at the same time - which isn't that easy although, it did come out alright on the top one (there's a slight gap on the underside, which could always be filled).

I also agree with your last comment - next time I do something like this, I'll definitely produce a sample/spare so I can fully test the strength of the end-grain to end-grain joints. As these were sawn at 3.5mm thick though, I didn't think there'd be much to worry about.


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## OPJ (21 Jun 2010)

After gluing on the veneers last week, I made a fair bit of progress on the table top this morning.

Started by flattening both faces of the top with my belt sander and then trimming and squaring up the veneered-MDF edges by hand. At 324mm square, this was just outside the capacities of my sliding mitre saw. Lippings were also planed up to a finished thickness of 27mm (about 1mm thicker than the veneered top at present.)






Two of the edges (let's call them "front" and "back") are straight and parallel but, the other two are slightly concave, by about 6mm. So, I needed a template to cut this accurately on the router table. To make the template, I first made a convex template of the curve (which was later used to shape the inside edges of the two side lippings), stuck this on to another sheet of MDF with double-sided tape and, using a guide bush to follow the curve and a little care taking shallow cuts, I ended up with a perfect female template. 8)






Though, in truth, it would've been easier had a made both templates longer...

So, shaping the edges of the top was safe enough on the router table, due to the size of the piece (though, I still like to have a guard in place):






And the lippings didn't require anything special either. Again, I could hole the template without my fingers getting too close to the spinning cutter (unlike the legs I cut at the start of this project, which were quite narrow):






While routing one lipping, I taped the other one close to the other edge to prevent either of the lippings from 'tipping' in to the rotating cutter and ruining the edge. With the benefit of hindsight, it would've been more efficient to have put the convex curve on both edges of this template (almost like a 'double-station' jig), so that I could've shaped both parts without having to remove and re-stick anything.






I first glued the two straight lippings in place, which had mitred ends (sliding compound mitre saw) and were joined with no.20 biscuits, using Titebond I for efficiency (half-hour clamping time). I left the outer edges straight on the side lippings, so it would be easier to get firm pressure with the sash cramps. The mitres on these were scribed directly from the others (so, it doesn't matter if the saw was cutting slightly off 45°) and trimmed very carefully on the disc sander.

Since then, I've trimmed them flush and have *roughly* (being the key word!   ) shaped the outer edges. But now, I'm a little concerned that, with 25mm each side, I may have too much overhang on this small piece (approx. 660mm tall with a 400mm² top).






So, until I make a decision, I've decided to put this one on hold (...a good excuse to come in and watch the World Cup!! :roll: ). I'm also a little concerned the lippings may be a little too wide against the quartered-veneered top. At the moment, my plan is to trim 5mm or 6mm off the circumference - thereby reducing the generous overhang slightly and also the width of each lipping... At present, the lippings (at 38mm wide) are equal to the width of the legs. But, I think they need to "frame" the veneered feature, rather than to 'border' it.... I was going to make them narrower initially but, with the walnut I had available, I really would've been pushing my own luck to get veneers of this width.











What do you guys think?

Thanks for looking.


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## Chems (22 Jun 2010)

Wow that's really something, beautiful piece. Your finest work to date! That's going to be stunning when its done.


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## The Shark (22 Jun 2010)

Hi Olly,

This is turning in to a fantastic piece, thanks for going to the trouble of putting up such an in depth WIP.

As regards your query regarding the overhang, IMHO I think it is slightly too large, and could be trimmed back a bit. 5 or 6mm sounds about right from looking at the photos, but I think I would be tempted to do it in smaller steps so that I could assess at each stage.

HTH

Malc


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## devonwoody (22 Jun 2010)

Myself I prefer the overhand at its present size, Perhaps you could put the photograph into an imaging program like Paint shop Pro and adjust its appearance there without doing any work on the top before making decisions such as suggested.


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## wobblycogs (22 Jun 2010)

That's simply beautiful. I think perhaps the orderhang is a tiny bit much but without seeing the piece it's hard to tell.


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## OPJ (22 Jun 2010)

Thanks for all your replies. 

Unfortunately, I've left my camera in the workshop so, I won't have any more photos for you until tomorrow evening. 

First, I decided to trim 6mm off the circumference. For this, I used a bearing-guided rebate cutter, which removed and equal amount of material all-round and gave a neat shoulder/rebate for the bearing-guided trimming cutter to follow in my table [I didn't photo this step, anyway]. 6mm's still quite a lot for one cutter to bite (especially when there's no 'lead-on' and it tries to throw the work back at you! :?) so I cut most of the waste off, first, on my bandsaw.

Setting it on top of the frame, the width of the lippings looked much better. And, also, I was quite liking the reduced overhang - except for the square edges... Which is why I decided to bevel them slightly (by 5° or 6°, to follow the curve of the legs) and I'm quite happy with how it was looking when I put the first coat of Osmo oil on this afternoon. The spalted areas still feel quite soft, though...

Sorry, photos for you tomorrow.


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## Einari Rystykaemmen (23 Jun 2010)

Very nice piece, Olly!

Can't wait the final version of it... 8)


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## woodbloke (23 Jun 2010)

OPJ":h9328dqu said:


>


 
Nice job so far Olly. I wincned a bit when I saw this pic as the bearer blocks ought to be a tad shorter than the length, with another pair of cramps at 90deg to the ones shown. As depicted in the pic, there's a danger that the cramping pressure will cause the mitre to 'spring but by having the other pair at 90deg to support the applied pressure, you can wind on as much as you like and the joint will stay put - Rob


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## OPJ (23 Jun 2010)

No need to worry about the length of the cramping blocks here, Rob, as the two lippings being cramped were about 5mm wider than the others, where I hadn't yet shaped them. :wink:

I agree about leaving another pair of cramps on in the other direction though. While Titebond and other fast-acting glues are great for freeing up sash cramps, the joint won't fully cure for about 24 hours. I think I got away with it, this time. 

One thing I didn't get away with was a small amount of staining from the steel bars  - yes, I should've used masking or parcel tape but, it least I was able to sand it out.

Still got to fill those knot-holes but I won't have any time before the weekend.


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## woodguy7 (23 Jun 2010)

Olly

Really nice work. How are you going to fill the holes in the top ? I once seen Norm on the Yankee workshop fill some holes with "epoxy" I think it was the 2 part like the west system & he put "graphite" in it to turn it jet black. 
He poured it in all the open voids, left it to harden then sanded flush. When the finish was applied it looked stunning as the filler was jet black & i think the wood might have been "meskeet". I am pretty sure i have spelt the timber species wrong !

Anyway, the final effect was superb & i look forward to seing yours complete with the finish on it.

Thanks for sharing, Woodguy.


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## Simo Ahtola (24 Jun 2010)

Morning Olly,

This table looks great!

I wondered that have you described the chair making earlier somewhere, the one you were gluing up on the first post?


Best Regards 

Simo


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## cerdeira (24 Jun 2010)

Hi.

Very interesting work. Reminds me of my chair build.
I would have placed the slats wider apart. IMHO they look a little bulky the way they are now.
Was there any reason to cut shoulders on the slats? They would be much easier to make if they hadn't shoulders at all and also look slimmer.
I'm also intrigued about that wide tenon on the bottom stretcher. I've always thought it was good practice to use twin tenons on that occasions. Were you trying to make it easier on you or am i missing something?
The veneered top also looks excellent. It's a pity to have that large knot hole. 
Aren't you concerned about the mitres opening in the long run with moisture changes? I've never got them right. In my experience if the boards are wider than 3cm the mitres will end up opening unless you're using a very table wood.

thanks and congratulations on the nice work.


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## OPJ (25 Jun 2010)

Thanks again, guys. Sorry for the lack of response and photographs! I've got a couple of other jobs in the way at the minute that need to be done ASAP so, this one's almost on the back burner, for the minute.

woodguy7 - I'm also planning to use some kind of epoxy and I bought some really cheap "sample packs" of cement dye to colour it (apparently, this stuff's ideal and only £1 per bag). Apparently, you can just use Araldite. I keep looking at the Axminster website but there are so many options available in the West Systsems range, I don't know where to start... I'll probably be going for a darker colour, almost black, rather than trying to blend these "shapes" in with the surrounding wood.

Simo - welcome to the forum. Over the past few months, I've put a few photos and notes on the chair build over on my blog but, it may not be as in-depth as this table write-up...

cerdeira - I've kept the slats fairly wide so that they're almost in keeping with the slats on the back of the chair (and, the overall 'chunkiness' of the piece). You probably can't see this but, the central slats are wider than the outer ones. One thing I don't like is that I feel I've left the gaps either side of the slats too wide though, it isn't noticeable unless you're staring at the sides face on - hopefully, there's enough interest elsewhere to detract the viewer's eye away from this. :wink:

Not sure I understand your next point - do you mean making the slats thinner and fitting them directly in to a groove, with spacers either side; Arts & Crafts-style?

I only used one tenon because I felt it would look fine and, yes, it does save me a bit of work.  As a general rule though, when the width of a tenon exceeds five-times its thickness, it's time to split it in two. That rail is no more than 38mm wide so, it shouldn't give me any trouble.

With regards to the mitres; ash is pretty stable and I've not personally had any trouble with mitres opening up before. They're also now only about 32mm wide so, again, it shouldn't be much of an issue.

Thank you all.


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## OPJ (27 Jun 2010)

Apologies for the lack of updates; I've basically been working on or busy with other things.

Here's the table with the top, 6mm less of its circumference.






I used a bearing-guided rebate cutter in my router to remove 6mm all round, and then trimmed the remainder flush with a straight trimming cutter. As you'll see in the next photo, I did decide to bevel the edges slightly (by 5° or 6°) to follow the curve of the legs. I think it works quite well.






I've now put two coats of Osmo Polyx (satin) on the top and it's time to start filling these holes. Right in the centre, there's a small square that needs to filled though, I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do, here...






It was a piece that broke off while I was shooting the edges, earlier (ironic, that it would only happen on the best face! :roll.

I'm toying with the idea of either trying to fill it to partially match in with the surrounding grain or, carefully removing a larger section (creating a void in the centre) and then filling that. Well, I've got about two-weeks to decide...


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## Orcamesh (27 Jun 2010)

Stunning work OPJ, very nice piece. I like the curves and of course the top. Having just had a quick look at your website I can see that you make a habit of making nice things! I'd be interested to know how many hours it took you?

cheers
HM


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## OPJ (30 Jun 2010)

Hawk Moth":221oc091 said:


> Stunning work OPJ, very nice piece. I like the curves and of course the top. Having just had a quick look at your website I can see that you make a habit of making nice things! I'd be interested to know how many hours it took you?
> 
> cheers
> HM



Thanks, Hawk Moth. 

Well, I recently priced this at for an exhibition at £850! :shock: That basically breaks down to about three-days working on it [_how long's a day?!_ ], plus a bit of timber (not an awful lot of ash; walnut was cut from scraps, as I only needed veneers) and, erm, not a lot of profit...  That's actually not far off the time it should take me but, at the same time, I'm not sure whether someone would be interested in this piece if it cost £1,000 or more (it is, after all, an "accessory" to a larger arm chair  ). Anyway, now that I've made one and I have my rod and all the templates, it shouldn't take as long to reproduce this piece or one very similar to it.

In the last couple of evenings, I've had a go at filling the top and I'll try to upload some photos later on this evening.


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## Orcamesh (30 Jun 2010)

Uummmmm, I take it this was for a client then?!! Well 3 days is pretty good for a first shot, like you say you now have the rod+temps to reproduce. But anyway, nice work and something for me to aspire to... 

cheers
HM



OPJ":v2dcncxy said:


> Hawk Moth":v2dcncxy said:
> 
> 
> > Stunning work OPJ, very nice piece. I like the curves and of course the top. Having just had a quick look at your website I can see that you make a habit of making nice things! I'd be interested to know how many hours it took you?
> ...


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## OPJ (1 Jul 2010)

Well, it's for part of an exhibition in a few weeks, actually. 8)

I like to think someone will order/commission another - and 'set', with the chair in addition, would be very nice :twisted: (I think I priced that at £,1800, which is much better!) - but, I'm not prepared to sell the display model unless someone offers me a ridiculous sum of money! :wink:


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## OPJ (1 Jul 2010)

Finally! Photos of the epoxy/filling process!! 

This is what I used:






A bit of fast-setting Araldite (not much left, now!) and some cement pigment-dye sample bags from an eBay seller (). It'll be years before I'm through this lot! 8)




Here it is, freshly applied on the underside. After ten-minutes, you can pick the excess off with a sharp chisel. I left it overnight to dry, just to be sure.




It really does take the edges off you tools. After bit of hand-planing and lots scraping, I had it flush. This is just after applying a fresh coat of oil:




Those eyes... :wink:




And, the little repair piece I glued in to the centre - which, unfortunately, turned out a bit darker than the surrounding wood (but still, it's less of an eyesore than the sight of raw MDF! ).




I'm pleased with the way the knots have turned out. I did wonder whether I should've used a dark brown instead of black but, although they still don't look 'original', I think they look acceptable. 

Another couple of coats and this one will be done.

I would've done all this sooner but, erm, I've been rather busy...






:wink:


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## OPJ (24 Jul 2010)

****EDIT*** - I've fiddled around with three of the photos below, so that, I hope they're a little bit clearer now. *

It's been several weeks since I finished this but, with both the side table and chair currently sat in an exhibition in Bristol, I'm able to share these few shots with you. Even with all the daylight flooding in through the windows, I clearly still need some assistance with my photography! 






Only reason these two are so far apart is so that people can get around and view them from all angles - I don't like to create a fuss by moving things although, I am happy to play with drawers and slam doors!  Everyone I've met who's sat in my chair has commented on how comfortable it is (_more so than any other sea at this show!_). 8)






(This was the chair's _second_ public appearance in a month, in case you didn't know. )

People have also been complementary of how well this table goes with the chair (_phew!_ :wink






And the top, which is a bit of an eye-catcher:






I had a bit of trouble finishing that, with it being spalted walnut. Each coat of oil was subsequently cut back to remove all the slight undulations and low spots, which were clearly visible under the light. It took a lot of work but, it was worth the effort. 

Those are my only pieces at the exhibition, which ends tomorrow. If you want to see what else was on show, please have a look at my Flickr album - click here. Nope, the photography doesn't get much better, unfortunately - I may as well have taken them on my phone!  :wink:

Thanks for reading and for following this thread.


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## Acanthus (25 Jul 2010)

Olly, thanks so much for this wip, you have created two beautiful designs and the build quality is just outstanding. 

In fact I have been so impressed by the table and the chair as seen in this forum, that we drove down to Bristol today to catch the 'inspired' exhibition, and I can say, with no fear of contradiction ,that the pictures only show part of the story. In the flesh (as it were) these pieces are outstanding, and the chair is astonishingly comfortable - with the arms placed at exactly the right height for me. I went back over and over again to check the pieces out. Stunning and wonderful to explore with your hands - sorry but my fingerprints may be all over them. 

There was some other great pieces in the exhibition, but this table and chair were the stars. Thanks for the inspiration. 

What are you going to build next? 

David


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## Eric The Viking (25 Jul 2010)

Happy to say I got to see them in the flesh last week-end (popped into the exhibition, but you weren't there!).

I especially like the table - I think the curved sides to the top work particularly well.


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## The Shark (25 Jul 2010)

Hi Olly,

Thanks for sharing with us, they look fantastic :lol: 

Malc


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## RogerM (26 Jul 2010)

Another lovely piece of work Olly. Many thanks for the detailed write up and for all the "warts 'n all" photos that make it so informative. I have 4 very nice Golden Ash boards that are looking for a project - this has given me some great inspiration. Goes very nicely with the English Oak too!


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## OPJ (26 Jul 2010)

Thank you all for your comments. 

Delighted to hear that two of you were able to make it to the exhibition and see both pieces first hand - especially David; that's quite some distance to see a few bits of wood! :wink: Sue did mention your visit to me this morning. Glad to hear you enjoyed the chair as much as everyone else seemed to. 

Sue reckons I could've had a buyer, if only things were a little tidier where the seat meets the back legs.  ](*,) I definitely won't use that joint again! They were very touchy-feely as well; on their second visit, also.  I didn't have time before but, I think now, I'll definitely have a go at splicing something in.

Ah, well. At least I get to enjoy my chair for myself now - it would actually be for the first time since I finished it! 

Eric, sorry, I couldn't be there every day.

What's next? I've got a few DIY jobs to do at home  and, I was hoping I might have gotten some work from these two shows (all quiet, at the moment). Someone was after a fold-away laptop desk but, even in pine, they can't afford it right now. Still, if I get some spare cash, I may end up making one for myself in beech.

Based on all the comments I've received from both shows, I seemed to have got the hang of this chair-making lark, at least where comfort counts, anyway... I'd like to stick with this and try to develop a different chair every year. So, you never know; there may be another on show, this time next year! :wink:

Roger, thank you. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.


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