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Enzo Mari table mod project

15K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  rtriplett 
#1 ·
The plans for "MY" table

I have a source for some wood - although I don't plan to use 1x pine (I am sure Enzo Mari would not mind), it seems a little understated for such an elegant looking paln - but still no plans. From conception a year ago, I got it into my head that my table would be an extension table.

Part of the whole point of Autoprogettazione was that the furniture user should be a part of the design, and since most people don't know how to do much with tools, the designs had to be simple enough to make with a handsaw, a hammer, and some nails. Looking over some of the plans in Stamberg's book, these are pretty amazing designs. Great structure, good looks, and really only requiring a few cross-cuts on standard lumber sizes.

Clearly my plan to make this table, even with hardwoods and slides, was not pushing the limits (mine? reality? who knows?) nearly enough. But still, no plans.

A few days ago a friend mentioned SketchUp in passing. After downloading it and watching a few of the intro videos, I remembered the table. MY table. I hit Google with renewed vigor and found a small JPEG of one of the diagrams from Autoprogettazione. Realizing that Enzo Mari is Italian, I knew everything had to be in metric, but standard sizes. The picture showed the layout of the legs and the trusses, and viola! (its the same in French as Italian…)

Table Furniture Outdoor table Outdoor furniture Rectangle


Now I've got plans!
 

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#2 ·
The plans for "MY" table

I have a source for some wood - although I don't plan to use 1x pine (I am sure Enzo Mari would not mind), it seems a little understated for such an elegant looking paln - but still no plans. From conception a year ago, I got it into my head that my table would be an extension table.

Part of the whole point of Autoprogettazione was that the furniture user should be a part of the design, and since most people don't know how to do much with tools, the designs had to be simple enough to make with a handsaw, a hammer, and some nails. Looking over some of the plans in Stamberg's book, these are pretty amazing designs. Great structure, good looks, and really only requiring a few cross-cuts on standard lumber sizes.

Clearly my plan to make this table, even with hardwoods and slides, was not pushing the limits (mine? reality? who knows?) nearly enough. But still, no plans.

A few days ago a friend mentioned SketchUp in passing. After downloading it and watching a few of the intro videos, I remembered the table. MY table. I hit Google with renewed vigor and found a small JPEG of one of the diagrams from Autoprogettazione. Realizing that Enzo Mari is Italian, I knew everything had to be in metric, but standard sizes. The picture showed the layout of the legs and the trusses, and viola! (its the same in French as Italian…)

Table Furniture Outdoor table Outdoor furniture Rectangle


Now I've got plans!
Looks like a pretty good start.
 

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#3 ·
New plans look good. But will it work?

Ok, starting with my reversed engineered model of the table, it was time to get to work (I am not a real-time blogger, so this and the last few posts cover about a week).

My design criteria -
1. Large (72×40) table extending to full-sized 108×40 table
2. Maintain design elements of original but highlight additional tooling and higher quality wood
3. Buildable (by me)

I decided to use equalizer slides rather than the ones where you move the legs. This causes some problems but avoids others. The biggest reason to use these is so one person can open the table and put in the or take out the leaves. Rocklear has these, I made a quick CAD version and dropped them in. Putting slides in means that the original cross truss under the table has got to go. I will pay homage to it with some paneling around the legs and support structure with similar angles.

I love the look of the legs in the original, but they are a little concerning structurally. I've put a panel in them which I think will look great with contrasting woods. I then rotated the legs to match the angles on the truss in the original. I had to learn a bunch of things about the CAD system to do that.

The original tabletop is quite bland. This seems like a great place to use contrasting wood colors. SketchUp (with some texture packs) lets you drop in some textures which was kind of fun. I really like the look of dark wood for the outer portion of the legs and the table edging. The striping thing was just a whim. I am planning making the table-top and the leaves have that interlocking offset pattern. It may be a bad idea (someone tell me please!), but that's how I learn.

Table Rectangle Wood Shade Outdoor furniture


My biggest concern is if the cross pieces that the slides sit on is beefy enough to support this thing. Seems like it ought to work. I Also am not sure if a glue or glue and biscuit joint is going to be enough to hold the tabletop together - do I need rabbets or something similar? Maybe just some cross pieces under the top and above the slides…

I goofed somewhere on the height - I intended the top to be 30 inches and somehow got it to 31.1 Doh.
 

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#4 ·
Got some wood

The project has grown from one simple table that theoretically could be assembled with just a handsaw, hammer, and nails into a complete dinning room set - table, buffet, chairs, and oh, yes, the china cabinet is now being sketched. Seems like I need some wood.

So I drove across town to eutree. They are a small company that processes and sells "non-forested lumber". Most of their business is selling wide planked flooring, but they sell a good bit of wood to wood-workers. In the larger Atlanta area there is a good variety of hardwood (mostly oak), and lots of trees that fall in storms or that have been taken out for development. They obtain (some of the tree companies just hand the logs over so they don't have to chip them) the logs, mill, kiln, and surface the wood. The price is always lower then I have seen anywhere else - if they have have what you want. Plus, you usually deal directly with the owner, Joel. It is in a old frozen food warehouse that is gradually being converted and the building is shared with some welders and metal workers. All the wood is on shelves labeled "frozen lemonade", "ice cream". Some of the labels are now crossed out - "frozen corn" lined out with "walnut" scribbled in Sharpie. Finally, you have to go when they are open - by appointment or 2 hours on Saturdays.

So, I had a chat with Joel -
Him - "So… what do you want?"
Me - "Big project, don't know if it will work, never done anything this big before… good wood…"
Him - "Ok then, cheap… I have a stack of wood over there - $2 a board foot for whatever you find. I need some room"
Me - "Uh, ok?"

The stack was a mix of red and white oak, mostly rift cut. There was a good bit of quarter sawn wood with some nice patterning, but pretty variable in width. There were a few pieces that would have been nice except the mill saw had some wobble and the thickness varies a lot. I took about half the stack. A few times Joel muttered something along the lines of "quarter sawn, nice markings… what was I thinking". But he said a deal is a deal - and then rounded down all the lengths/widths when we added it all up. Then he tossed a few of the pieces I had said no to onto my stack - mostly pieces that were too heavily figured for me to want for the current project. Oh, and in the mix there was about 3 board feet of oak burl.

Total price - $370.

We loaded it all into my wife's minivan - of course it would not fit. So I carefully drove across town on back roads with my lumber sticking out the back of the van. Had to stop twice and push it back in when it shifted and started to slide out the back - despite the tie-downs.

Wood Electrical wiring Garden hose Gas Engineering


There it all is in the garage. The stack looks a lot smaller in the picture. I will pick out about 40BF for a bookshelf and another 20BF for a display stand my wife wants for her gift shop. I should have enough for the buffet and a chair as sort of a proof-of-concept run. Now if only I had some spare time…
 

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#5 ·
Got some wood

The project has grown from one simple table that theoretically could be assembled with just a handsaw, hammer, and nails into a complete dinning room set - table, buffet, chairs, and oh, yes, the china cabinet is now being sketched. Seems like I need some wood.

So I drove across town to eutree. They are a small company that processes and sells "non-forested lumber". Most of their business is selling wide planked flooring, but they sell a good bit of wood to wood-workers. In the larger Atlanta area there is a good variety of hardwood (mostly oak), and lots of trees that fall in storms or that have been taken out for development. They obtain (some of the tree companies just hand the logs over so they don't have to chip them) the logs, mill, kiln, and surface the wood. The price is always lower then I have seen anywhere else - if they have have what you want. Plus, you usually deal directly with the owner, Joel. It is in a old frozen food warehouse that is gradually being converted and the building is shared with some welders and metal workers. All the wood is on shelves labeled "frozen lemonade", "ice cream". Some of the labels are now crossed out - "frozen corn" lined out with "walnut" scribbled in Sharpie. Finally, you have to go when they are open - by appointment or 2 hours on Saturdays.

So, I had a chat with Joel -
Him - "So… what do you want?"
Me - "Big project, don't know if it will work, never done anything this big before… good wood…"
Him - "Ok then, cheap… I have a stack of wood over there - $2 a board foot for whatever you find. I need some room"
Me - "Uh, ok?"

The stack was a mix of red and white oak, mostly rift cut. There was a good bit of quarter sawn wood with some nice patterning, but pretty variable in width. There were a few pieces that would have been nice except the mill saw had some wobble and the thickness varies a lot. I took about half the stack. A few times Joel muttered something along the lines of "quarter sawn, nice markings… what was I thinking". But he said a deal is a deal - and then rounded down all the lengths/widths when we added it all up. Then he tossed a few of the pieces I had said no to onto my stack - mostly pieces that were too heavily figured for me to want for the current project. Oh, and in the mix there was about 3 board feet of oak burl.

Total price - $370.

We loaded it all into my wife's minivan - of course it would not fit. So I carefully drove across town on back roads with my lumber sticking out the back of the van. Had to stop twice and push it back in when it shifted and started to slide out the back - despite the tie-downs.

Wood Electrical wiring Garden hose Gas Engineering


There it all is in the garage. The stack looks a lot smaller in the picture. I will pick out about 40BF for a bookshelf and another 20BF for a display stand my wife wants for her gift shop. I should have enough for the buffet and a chair as sort of a proof-of-concept run. Now if only I had some spare time…
I enjoyed your little trip. I'm not sure what that says about my taste in reading, but I know the woods wood and lumber buying always get my attention.
Robert
 

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