A New Hall Table Project FINISHED

[Lord Nibbo]

Making the Drawers

All three cut and dry fitted, none have bottoms in as yet and all need a dado cut for the bottoms. The drawer fronts still have to be cut to size and fitted.

 

[Paul Chapman]

It's looking very nice, Your Lordship

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Lord Nibbo]

It's looking very nice, Your Lordship

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Thank you Paul,
I cheated in a way with the dovetails. I cut them as a 1/2" box joint, then marked them up and cut them out by hand. Then using the finished dovetails I marked up the pins as you would normally but used a 1/4" router cutter in my table to cut most of the surplus wood out. Doing the pins that way is so quick and it gives you a uniform depth for the pins that need very little to finish off with chisels.

(edit)
A picture is worth a thousand words :lol:

the blue lines show what was cut on the router table the red lines show what was cut using chisels.

 

[Paul Chapman]

I cheated in a way with the dovetails.

Not really cheating - it's quite normal to cut away most of the waste with a piercing saw; you just used a router instead. So we'll let you off

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Wanlock Dod]

So presumably the cunning plan for the top is for it to be a normal table top with breadboard ends, just with the grain going the opposite way to how it might normally be laid out.

I would have thought that the end battens would be able to keep such a short "top" flat with little difficulty.

Cheers,

Dod

 

[Lord Nibbo]

So presumably the cunning plan for the top is for it to be a normal table top with breadboard ends, just with the grain going the opposite way to how it might normally be laid out.

I would have thought that the end battens would be able to keep such a short "top" flat with little difficulty.

Cheers,

Dod

Yes but the breadboard ends will actually be the front and back rails running the length of the top. I'm not bothered about warping as the rails will be fixed to the base using pocket screws not buttons, the real problem here is the 5ft wide 8" long centre panel, I'm only guessing but I expect it to move at least 1/4" over that length.

 

[Lord Nibbo]

I've not done much for the last week but yesterday I finished the drawers gave everything two coats of cellulose sanding sealer both rubbed back hard with 0000 wire wool and managed to apply one coat of danish oil, it still needs another coat at least of danish oil but here is one pic I've just taken. More pics later when I've found time.

 

[Ironballs]

Looking superb, take it those are the handles on the bench behind

 

[mailee]

That is brilliant your Lordship! Wish I could afford some hardwood I may have a hardwood job coming up for a dining table soon anyway. I do like the look of that one, and the wedges are a stroke of excellence. I like it.

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Looking superb, take it those are the handles on the bench behind

Yes, the routed out face is actually the lower face and will be finger holes to grip it with. The walnut facing up is the front. Not sure if I will put them on though Swmbo don't like them

 

[Ironballs]

I sense another list of options and a poll coming on...

 

[Lord Nibbo]

I sense another list of options and a poll coming on...

Well I googled images "drawer handles" and don't like any so I'm open to ideas, must be minimalist in design though

 

[Ironballs]

Weeellll, I think the drawers look excellent as they are and to keep them clear of handles would be in keeping with the rest of the piece. How about a very thin strip of ebony that runs across the entire length of the very top of the drawers and is only thick enough to gain purchase to open the drawers.

This should be disguised/hidden by the top and if it was seen when you looked under the top it would appear as a thin dark strip. My thoughts only.

 

[Pete Howlett]

I can see where you are coming from with the handles - personally I would do them on colour or another. They look a bit like liquorice allsorts (no offense). When I built furniture I always tried to make the design organic rather than accidental. Accents like handles, lock escutcheons, frame beading and edge details are really hard to get right. I spent most of my time researching the work of Carlo Ponti and Emille Jaques Ruhlmann. They were an inspiration and seemed to have all the answers. A modern day equivalent it Martin Grearson - his work is stunning for its subtlety and aplomb.

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Work resumes on the hall table

With a 10mm slot cutter fitted in the router table, it took three passes on every piece to reach the desired depth of 19mm

A pic showing all the pieces routed out

Glue up and clamping of half of the top. The floating tenons are used here to align everything but they are not glued in and in the second pic they are removed while the glue goes off.

With the ends rounded off on the sander the tenons get glued in to the rails

Later I'll be gluing to two halves of the top together then adding the rails.

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Viewed the correct way up with the side rails dry fitted, plus the arises on both side of the centre panel have been chamfered

A closer view of the chamfered joints

With the top upside down and clamped all the holes for the pins were marked, then the rails were removed and all the holes drilled, the hole don't go all the way through the top but stop short of the upper surface by 1/8" so I had to be very careful not to drill right through. Then the rails were replaced and reclamped, then using a drill as a centre punch I marked the tenons as shown in this pic. Next job is to remove the rails and drill through the tenons slightly off the mark to clinch the rails tight when the pins are hammered in. All the holes in the tenons have to be elongated also to allow for any wood movement.

There will be 32 pins in all 16 in each end reaching a third of the length only the middle 8" will be glued.

Edit... PS.. I still haven't revealed the cunning bit :lol:

 

[Paul Chapman]

Looking good, Your Lordship

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Lord Nibbo]

The cunning bit

Your looking at the underside of the top

Here is a closer view of one of the pieces, glue and screwed only to the rails, the centre panel is still free to move. They will add reinforcement to the dowels to keep the outer rails from moving out. Normally these bars would be fitted to the base and they would stop the drawers from tipping when they are pulled out, but on this table they get to do two jobs

The correct way up, All sanded and awaiting the finish

A closer view

 

[Paul Chapman]

Baldrick would have been proud of you, Your Lordship

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Woodmagnet]

Yes, very cunning L.N.