Small oak table

[Sheffield Tony]

Please be gentle - this is only my second go at a table, and the last one I made in O-level woodwork a few decades ago ! It's also my first go at working from rough sawn timber, almost entirely by hand tools (Ok, I used an electric drill to make the screw holes for the top !) The timber was planed to size using my scrub plane, made from an old sofa and a power hacksaw blade, which gave me a perverse sense of satisfaction !

It's a bit taller than the average coffee table so that my son can get his legs under it when he's using it for drawing etc. That's also why I came up with the crossed rails. Working out the lengths and angles for those rails was harder than I had expected. Despite being a professional engineer .

 

[Silverbirch]

Excellent work,Tony! Seems like those woodwork lessons haven`t been entirely forgotten!
How about a picture of the scrub plane?

Ian

 

[AndyT]

Very tidy that. And the diagonal joints add an extra challenge!

 

[MickCheese]

Tony

That looks really well made, a bit 'chunky' for my taste but the woodworking looks really good and as it is for leaning on when drawing spindly leg would not be right.

What did you finish it with?

Mick

 

[condeesteso]

Well done, as Andy says the diagonal joints add interest and a lot of stiffness no doubt. i gather the top is screwed to the frame and will probably be OK (assuming the stock was very well seasoned and acclimatised to the room environment), traditional buttons screwed under and slotted into rebates in the frame were done to allow for top movement. I am certainly intrigued by the scrub plane.

 

[bobscarle]

... my scrub plane, made from an old sofa and a power hacksaw blade ...

Sorry Tony, but you're just going to have to explain that.

Nice looking table though. I love oak furniture.

 

[jimi43]

The simplicity of the design fools one into thinking that making those cross pieces is a breeze. I know (from bitter experience) that it is quite an achievement indeed getting that part so perfect.

As they say...a good craftsman makes it look easy and you have done just that!

Excellent my friend!

=D>

Jim

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Thanks for the kind words !

Taking the easiest question first, Mick - it is finished with Osmo hard wax oil; I had half a can left from doing the hall floor. I quite like it - hard like a varnish, but still feels more like wood than plastic ! As for the chunkiness - personal taste indeed. We like chunky here, and it had to fit in with other chunky oak furniture already in the room.

condeesteso - the top is made of 3 boards, 125:250:125 mm wide, the outer two being quartersawn. It is held on by six brass screws up through the cleats - the outer 4 screws are in slotted holes with washers to allow a few mm for movement.

The scrub plane - I've already put a picture in this thread. I do like using reclaimed materials, both for environmental reasons and because I am a Yorkshireman ... but in this case there were other reasons - the sofa had a hardwood frame, and it had been "seasoned" indoors for at least 20 years. So pretty stable. The blade from a power hacksaw blade - it was a BIG hacksaw blade - 50mm deep and 2.5mm thick. I didn't have a way of getting a blade that big hot enough to harden it (certainly not with M3 HSS), but because it was M3, it can be cut - with an angle grinder and a bit of care - without loosing it's temper. And although it won't ever be as sharp as an O1 blade, it is very tough and works well.

And the cross piece was the hard bit. I started from the linear dimensions I wanted, and did a lot of maths to work out the angle for the lap joint in the cross piece, which I cut first. Then, whilst the bevel was still set, I did the angled M&T joints in the legs. I then did a trial assembly and found that the legs did not line up with the mortices in the feet and the cleats at the top ! I had rounded the angle - 25.25 degrees - off to 25 without thinking. That puts each leg 1.5mm out. Fortunately I could work around by cutting the tenons on the end of the legs offset by 1.5mm - and nobody need know, if we keep it to ourselves :wink: