A New Hall Table Project FINISHED

[Lord Nibbo]

I do like tusk tenon joinery but, I don't feel it looks right as part of this piece either. A wedged through tenon would probably look best, as suggested earlier. Often the wedges are cut in a contrasting timber - would that work against walnut with a light timber? :-k

That's not a bad selection of ABW either. I think you once said you buy it from Lathams in Yate - is this from the same lot? I've got to buy some American Cherry soon and I may give them a try. Their quote wasn't the dearest I've come across, either.

Yes this came from James Latham at Yate but it's not the same lot. Everything in this lot is 1 1/2" and totaled 4.25 cuft and cost £52 per cubic ft + vat + delivery total came to £290 but I only really needed approximately 2.25 cuft so as long as I don't get much sap wood I should have a lot left over.

So those tenons
1. Should I leave the tenon flush to the face when finished ? or
2. leave them proud as in the last drawing ? (1 1/2") or
3. Leave them proud but only about 1/4"?

 

[Mcluma]

I think i'm a bit late on this thread.

So this is my input to your design

Yes the top is brillian the rest is BORING. you'r other stuff is inspirational and modern and contemporary

The legs are boring and been done so many times - SORRY

all the space between the legs is unused and therefore will not add to the design

So here is my input why not make the legs into a > and < ( I hope that is clear), the wood you are using can take some pretty nice joint structures (which you are more than capable off doing)

Well that is my opinion

S

 

[wizer]

I'd have it flush.

 

[Lord Nibbo]

I think i'm a bit late on this thread.

So this is my input to your design

Yes the top is brillian the rest is BORING. you'r other stuff is inspirational and modern and contemporary

The legs are boring and been done so many times - SORRY

all the space between the legs is unused and therefore will not add to the design

So here is my input why not make the legs into a > and < ( I hope that is clear), the wood you are using can take some pretty nice joint structures (which you are more than capable off doing)

Well that is my opinion

S

No need to be sorry, it's only your opinion, what counts here is Swmbo's

Did you mean turn the legs 90deg or 45deg? If you mean 90deg I've done that before too, infact several times

and in this pic note the dining table

As for the space between the legs unused remember the finished depth of the table legs is only 14" total and remember it's a hall table not a dining table so by it's nature it's going to be long and narrow.

I did do a drawing with the stretcher arched along the bottom edge but that got vetoed by Swmbo.

 

[Ironballs]

Flush

 

[Mcluma]

You'r furniture is very nice. like i said very contemporary

Options for the legs are
A legs
V legs
Z legs

I think the space in between the to outerlegs should be a design feature that will please the eye

I have attached a simple drawing of what i meant to say

 

[Steve Maskery]

In your photos you have all the centre pieces heart-side up. It would be better to alternate them up and down for stability. I, too, think you are asking for trouble having such a wide panel.

I recently made a new front door and had the bottom panel as a single board. One evening there was a loud band and I couldn't fine the cause. The next day though, I spotted it. The panel had split and opened up about 4mm over a width of about 600mm. The panel was a composite, two skins with insulation in between, and it was quite a lot of work to make a replacement. OK it was softwood and not ABW, but even so, I think you are asking for trouble. Veneer would have been a safer option.

Sorry, because I like the design otherwise.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Lord Nibbo]

In your photos you have all the centre pieces heart-side up. It would be better to alternate them up and down for stability. I, too, think you are asking for trouble having such a wide panel.

I recently made a new front door and had the bottom panel as a single board. One evening there was a loud band and I couldn't fine the cause. The next day though, I spotted it. The panel had split and opened up about 4mm over a width of about 600mm. The panel was a composite, two skins with insulation in between, and it was quite a lot of work to make a replacement. OK it was softwood and not ABW, but even so, I think you are asking for trouble. Veneer would have been a safer option.

Sorry, because I like the design otherwise.

Cheers
Steve

Thanks for your comments Steve, I respect your judgment and comments. Yes I do have a few pieces at one end of what you could say need turning over to even out any warping and with sixteen pieces it will be easy to remedy. With your split door panel I would imagine that warping wasn't a problem due to thin panels held in a frame but the problem being the panel was either glued in or was a little to tight to move freely to allow any movement, and with thin panels it won't need much shrinkage before any joints or even the wood fails.

Now for the two reasons of shrinkage and warping is why I'm making the centre panel 1" thick the same as the two outer rails, and the two rails will be screwed securely (no buttons) to the base top rails which at 5" wide I would hope will stop any possible warping.
To deal with shrinkage Paul Chapman has pretty well guessed how I'm planning to fix the centre panel in to allow it to move freely but to refrain it from warping. So only time will tell if I'm right or if I'm right.

Edit...
Perhaps this pic will say it all

5ft long all solid wood no veneer in sight, just 14 pieces glued together

 

[Steve Maskery]

I would imagine that ... the problem being the panel was either glued in or was a little to tight to move freely to allow any movement,

Exactly.

That finished top looks beautiful, I hope you are right!

Cheers
Steve

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Starting with the legs all four were thicknessed to 1" and cut to a fraction over 5" wide then a final pass on the edge over the planer gave an exact 5". Then all four were cut to same length of 29" using a stop on my Dewalt compound mitre saw.
Next was marking out all the mortises

Then the rails had all the tenons cut

Than everything was dry assembled to check out it all fit and finally both ends were glued and clamped up.

With the clamps removed both ends were sanded down to 240 grit
(Edit whooops thats a bit too big, back in a minute)

(Edit 2 forgot a pic of the inside faces)
The inside faces showing the mortises for the upper rails and the mortise for the lower stretcher

Next job are the rails.

 

[OPJ]

Just in case you don't already know, the slot in any mortice chisel should not be facing forwards. It shouldn't be towards the waste end on your mortices - so, if you cut from left to right, the chisel should face to the left, so that the waste is ejected in to the mortice. Otherwise, it can clog up around the auger inside and lead to problems with over-heating, which can really damage your hollow chisels. :? Very nice machine though!

How did you cut the tenons? They look too short to have been cut by machine.

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Just in case you don't already know, the slot in any mortice chisel should not be facing forwards. It shouldn't be towards the waste end on your mortices - so, if you cut from left to right, the chisel should face to the left, so that the waste is ejected in to the mortice. Otherwise, it can clog up around the auger inside and lead to problems with over-heating, which can really damage your hollow chisels. :? Very nice machine though!

How did you cut the tenons? They look too short to have been cut by machine.

Yes I know how it's supposed to be as you say but I've found that it only really matters when doing really deep mortises, doing mortises at 1"- 1 1/4" depth it's no different and anyway doing it my way the mortises are kept clean :lol: if you look at the last picture the lower mortise for the spreader, it was cut crossways using the machines other axis rather than longditudal as when used normally.

The tenons were all cut on the table saw using a tenoning jig.

 

[MikeG.]

This decision regarding how far through the tenons are going to stick is easily resolved in practice.......you make them to stick a long way through, and then keep cutting them shorter until you like them (or get final approval, signed in triplicate).

Oh, and I'm with you m'lud, on the solid top. I reckon you'll be fine. I would never even think of using veneer for the top of a table.

Mike

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Here's a pic of cutting the mortises on the front rail, there is a bit of optical distortion going on here, the blade looks to high but it's not as all the other cheeks have been cut ok.

 

[Lord Nibbo]

View of the front. All glued up and assembled and with the planers infeed table raised level with the outfeed gives me a perfectly flat base to make sure all four legs are at the same level.

View of the rear

Closer view of the left hand end.

Right hand end view of front rail

 

[Lord Nibbo]

With the clamps off you get a better picture of what the final look will be.

Those through tenons, I finally went with the forum and went for flush finish with wedges but I decided to add that little extra

The wedges are more decorative than effective, but with the end piece grain running 90 deg to the tenon I had to think about over stressing the end piece and splitting it.

 

[wizer]

you don't muck about do you nibbs? Looks brilliant so far!

 

[Mcluma]

nice wedgie :lol:

 

[OPJ]

I think the end result looks good. I really like the wedges, excellent.

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Started to do the drawer runners. They are all fitted using floating tenons. I was going to support the drawers using a rebate down each side of the drawer and fixing a rail to the table, but I've decided to let the drawer sit on the rails as seen in the pic. When I've made the drawers up I shall fit guides down each side to keep the drawer straight. I've also beefed up the front rail by adding screws top and bottom to add reinforcement.

This pic shows two off cuts that I hope will become the drawer fronts, it's still got to be sized. I have got several planks I could cut them from to get a matched set but I just couldn't bring myself to cut up more wood knowing I could make them up just gluing a couple of waste pieces together.

Being a tight buttocks again here in this pic.
It's all the pieces for drawer sides, everything cut and planed to size and plenty to spare, all cut out from off cuts.