Marineboy
Established Member
Hi all. Would appreciate some advice re a coffee table I plan to make using a chess board which is about 60cm square, with a rather nice veneer on the reverse. I would like to be able to flip the board so that I can use the veneered side, so am thinking of a frame with battens on the inside which the board would just rest on.
Thing is, I have little experience of working in hardwood. I have a lifetime of diy, mostly working in PAR softwood and sheet materials. I am reasonably competent, have made beds and shelving etc, and recently refitted my kitchen with 12mm ply drawers on Blum runners and new MDF doors. In the distant past I have made distinctly average small boxes from hardwood, and made mortise and tenon joints but only in softwood (to see if I could do them).
This weekend I dimensioned and planed to size some ash which was part of the pallet my logs came in. I used it to make a picture frame for my wife's embroidery, and have to say it was the best picture frame I've ever made. It's given me the confidence to try something bigger in hardwood like the coffee table, either using ash for the frame or buying something like cherry.
I am thinking of the frame legs about 30mm square in section with aprons (is that the right term?) about 15mm thick, M&T'd into the legs. Is this doable, or is there another solution? I have looked at plenty of videos re joint making and feel I would like to have a go at the M&Ts. I have a hobby bandsaw (Inca), router etc, and a fair range of hand tools. I also have plenty of time, with retirement approaching fast.
Any views would be much appreciated.
Thing is, I have little experience of working in hardwood. I have a lifetime of diy, mostly working in PAR softwood and sheet materials. I am reasonably competent, have made beds and shelving etc, and recently refitted my kitchen with 12mm ply drawers on Blum runners and new MDF doors. In the distant past I have made distinctly average small boxes from hardwood, and made mortise and tenon joints but only in softwood (to see if I could do them).
This weekend I dimensioned and planed to size some ash which was part of the pallet my logs came in. I used it to make a picture frame for my wife's embroidery, and have to say it was the best picture frame I've ever made. It's given me the confidence to try something bigger in hardwood like the coffee table, either using ash for the frame or buying something like cherry.
I am thinking of the frame legs about 30mm square in section with aprons (is that the right term?) about 15mm thick, M&T'd into the legs. Is this doable, or is there another solution? I have looked at plenty of videos re joint making and feel I would like to have a go at the M&Ts. I have a hobby bandsaw (Inca), router etc, and a fair range of hand tools. I also have plenty of time, with retirement approaching fast.
Any views would be much appreciated.
