THE OVAL
The apron for this table is going to be a bent-laminated oval:
I found a great tutorial on how to draw a simple oval on a website called In the Woodshop with Howard Ruttan. Here are some of the simple drawings on his page:
And here is mine:
MAKING THE FORM
So I cut it out with the jigsaw:
Then I used the first oval as a router template to cut its clone:
(I broke my favorite spiral router bit in the process)
The two MDF form halves were already stuck together with carpet tape. So I cleaned up the edges on the Oscillating belt sander:
The reason I have two MDF ovals is that I will need my form to be 3” tall. So here is the spacer I made out of a scrap of 2×4:
The clamps align the two ovals while I screw them to the 2×4 spacers:
3” Tall:
A sewing tape is a very handy measuring tool to have in a woodshop for measuring around ovals. Believe it or not the circumference of this oval is about 7 feet around.
PREPARING THE STOCK
So here is the 2”x5” x 9 ft piece of Mahogany that will become the oval. First I cut it to approximate length:
Then I jointed it (I love my full-sized jointer)...
Ripped it to a little more than 3” wide:
Re-sawed it into strips (I rolled my bandsaw outside to save the shop from a little dust)...
Planed them down to 1/8”...
And sanded them down to about 1/16”...
THE GLUE-UP
Here is my completed form, screwed to an MDF base which was first covered in plastic painter’s tarp. Then the sides of the oval were wrapped with plastic packing tape.
I didn’t take any photos during the actual glue-up for obvious reasons. It was a very stressful process, and didn’t go quite as planned, but came out fine in the end. I enlisted the help of my wife for an extra set of hands to help hold stuff and hand me clamps, etc. (Thanks Sweetheart!)
I originally thought I would use three “Pony” strap clamps to pull the strips in tight to the oval form. But it didn’t work quite as well as I had hoped so I ended up drilling holes in the top of the form and using bar clamps over the strap clamps. If I did it again I would just use the bar clamps.
This was the result:
In the end It came out fine. I knocked it loose from the form:
Ran the edges through my thickness sander, and cleaned the glue off the inside/outside surfaces with my Oscillating spindle sander (not pictured)...
ONE SOLID MAHOGANY OVAL…
...just a peak at all the components put together…
Total Project Time So Far: 40 Hours
-- Check out my website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com
18 comments so far
Karson
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28894 posts in 1372 days
posted 220 days ago
Blake: The table looks great. The oval came out great nice job on the jig and the laminations.
I found a piece of wood in my shop last night and I thought of you and this table. I’ll have to get a picture to show you. It’s a natural edge circle maple burl. about 3’ in diam.
-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
majeagle1
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547 posts in 467 days
posted 220 days ago
I’ve been following along – wow, what a piece of art this is going to be. Can’t wait to see the completion.
Great job Blake…................and great instructions / tips !!!!!
-- Gene, Majestic Eagle Woodworks, http://majesticeagleww.etsy.com/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/majesticeagle/
bfd
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451 posts in 778 days
posted 220 days ago
That moisture in the air is me drueling …unbelieveable! Blake I am coming to you with any future laminating questions. I am currious about the seam where the oval is complete I am assuming that the layers are staggered? I am not sure if you had enough clamps though LOL.
-- Brian, Folsom, CA http://www.brianfullerdesigns.com
lew
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4919 posts in 726 days
posted 220 days ago
dang,
bfd stole my clamps comment!
I would have never thought of using the thickness sander to finish the edges!
This table is going to be awesome!
Blake
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2965 posts in 845 days
posted 220 days ago
Yes, thanks for reminding me. The seems in each layer are staggered.
-- Check out my website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com
dlcarver
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264 posts in 701 days
posted 220 days ago
Fantastic Blake! I can’t imagine doing a job like that. WOW!!
Dave
-- Dave Leitem,Butler,Pa.,http://dlcarver.etsy.com
Thos. Angle
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4062 posts in 933 days
posted 220 days ago
Very impressive, Blake. an excellent step by step tutorial as well. Well done!!!
-- Thos. Angle
pommy
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1261 posts in 662 days
posted 220 days ago
Blake the top is looking cool mate
Andy
-- cut it saw it scrap it SKPE: ANDREW.CARTER69
Todd A. Clippinger
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5999 posts in 1071 days
posted 220 days ago
Awesome job!
-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com
Beginningwoodworker
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5353 posts in 644 days
posted 220 days ago
The table looks great, Blake.
-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker
patrick m
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179 posts in 784 days
posted 220 days ago
JellyFish Go JellyFish ! Nice …. I love anything Nautical with Wood.
Repeat : Nice job clamping/jig
-- PJM.`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸ ><((((º> ""BY HAMMER AND HAND ALL ARTS DO STAND""1785-1974 nyc Semper Fi, Patrick M
a1Jim
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23674 posts in 548 days
posted 218 days ago
great job
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture ,maker, woodworking school, http://www.heirloomwoodshop.com/
Karson
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28894 posts in 1372 days
posted 216 days ago
Blake: I found the piece of wood in my shop again.
Here is the blog on it. It’s smaller than I thought. 30” high and 32” wide and about 2” thick on the flat spot. The thickness is not the same through the whole piece.
-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
blockhead
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459 posts in 280 days
posted 216 days ago
Looking great Blake. Excellent job on the laminating. This is one beautiful piece. Can’t wait to see it completed.
-- Brad, Oregon- Wood, it's what's for dinner.
Russel
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2167 posts in 910 days
posted 216 days ago
Your documentation skills are only outdone by your creativity and woodworking skills. The table will be fantastic and you’ll have a detailed story of how it was made. Very well done.
-- Working at Woodworking http://www.VillageLaneFurniture.com
Kent Shepherd
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1170 posts in 257 days
posted 178 days ago
What a craftsman!———-Thanks
-- Kent Shepherd * The goal is-----More Tools!
Brad_Nailor
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1345 posts in 928 days
posted 178 days ago
Blake this is looking very cool….I just cant help but think that when I look at the picture of the dry fit, the table looks like it might be a little unsteady. The size and mass of the tabletop, combined with the small diameter of the bearing surface (leg support, legs) and the tight diameter you put the legs in just seems to me from looking at the picture that one bump and that table is going to tip over. Maybe it is more stable in person, but from the pictures it looks like it might be a little tippy. Maybe you should have placed the legs a little farther out from the center…closer to the inner diameter of your oval apron?...Just an observation…..it’s looking like a high quality one of a kind piece!
-- David, South Windsor, CT "The ***damn Germans got nuttin to do with it" Sheriff Buford T Justice
patron
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3320 posts in 312 days
posted 178 days ago
great work !
looking forward to the finish line .
thanks for the step by step ,
easy to follow ,
much food for thought !
-- david ,new mexico ,allheart