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Gamble House Entry Table

Project by dmath posted 1013 days ago 1875 views 5 times favorited 28 comments Add to Favorites Watch

This project is my reproduction of the Gamble House Entry Hall Table. The Gamble House is an American architectural gem built in 1908 in Pasadena by David and Mary Gamble (of Proctor & Gamble). The house was designed by Charles and Henry Greene as was most of the furniture. I consider the entry hall table a nearly perfect piece.

My version of the table is scaled down slightly as the original is quite large. Made of mahogany and ebony (as was much G&G furniture) the piece is finished with Danish oil and wax.

While not the most difficult piece of furniture ever built this table does present some challenges. The drawer joinery requires some care since it is one of the primary features of the table. The drawer runners are very creative and also decorative. Another significant challenge in reproducing Greene & Greene designs is that until the publication of Bob Lang’s book of measured drawings last Fall there were very few “plans” available. A lot of research was required to get details right.

David

-- David, Central Ohio


28 comments so far

View Don's profile

Don

2590 posts in 1055 days


posted 1013 days ago

Welcome to LumberJocks Dmath.

This project is a marvelous introduction to yourself. From what I can see, it’s a faithful reproduction of Green & Green furniture. Would you please provide more detail of the wood and finishing process?

Last year, I purchased Darrel Peart’s book on Green & Greene furniture, but was unaware of Bob Lang’s book. Please provide more information, ie. publisher, title, etc.

Thanks!

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/

View oscorner's profile

oscorner

4572 posts in 1189 days


posted 1013 days ago

It’s a beautiful reproduction. I like the joinery and the shape of the drawer handles.

-- Jesus is Lord!

View Philip Edwards's profile

Philip Edwards

232 posts in 1318 days


posted 1013 days ago

Great table, David! Well done!
I love G+G stuff, real eye catching yet still practical.
Don, here’s a link the Lang book.
Cheers
Phil

View Ethan's profile

Ethan

751 posts in 1052 days


posted 1013 days ago

Dave,

That was a fabulous article in February’s issue of Popular Woodworking! One of the best I’ve seen in a while, actually. I love your idea of using the brass screws and then shearing off the tops to make them look like pins. I think that idea can be adapted to lots of different situations.

One question I did have when reading the article… why are the box joints all cut to different dimensions? Is that specific to G&G furniture? Or is that a design idea you incorporated? It seems like it adds another level of difficulty to the project, but I suppose it wouldn’t look quite the same if they were all cut to the same dimensions?

Welcome to the Lumberjocks, Dave!

-- Ethan, http://greystonegreen.blogspot.com/

View dmath's profile

dmath

14 posts in 1013 days


posted 1013 days ago

Thanks for the comments guys. To answer a few questions… Bob Lang’s book is another in his series of Shop Drawings. It is available via his website www.craftsmanplans.com (it’s also available at bookstores and amazon.com though I think authors make out better when you order directly from them). I wish it had been available when I started making my table as it is one of the pieces in the book.

Ethan, thanks for the comments on my article. It was fun to do. The original Gamble table has the varying-sized fingers on the drawers. It does add a little complexity to the joinery but makes it much more interesting. I made a test piece with equal-sized fingers and it didn’t look nearly as good. I spent quite a bit of time measuring photos of the original to try to get my finger sizes as close to “right” as possible.

Don, the wood is South American mahogany with ebony for the drawer runners and pegs. I sanded most parts to 220. The ebony pegs are sanded to 1000 and the runners to 400. I applied 3 coats of Natural Watco Danish oil followed with a coat of paste wax. Not much to it really. I know some like to keep putting on the Watco forever but I get too impatient.

David

-- David, Central Ohio

View dennis mitchell's profile

dennis mitchell

3785 posts in 1193 days


posted 1013 days ago

Great to see. I love Green & Greens work. Glad to see the drawer detail…I guess this is your work. Great job.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

View dmath's profile

dmath

14 posts in 1013 days


posted 1013 days ago

I don’t want to take credit for the drawer design. The details on the drawers are as faithful to the original as possible, including the brass “pins” on the top edges. I did change the design of the drawer pulls.

David

-- David, Central Ohio

View scottb's profile

scottb

3391 posts in 1206 days


posted 1012 days ago

all your time researching this was well spent… what a great modern antique!

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

View Don's profile

Don

2590 posts in 1055 days


posted 1012 days ago

And, David, you got the ‘cloud lift’ detail just right. I’ve been thinking of a way to incorporate these in one of my boxes. I think it might work where I route the base to produce corner-legs. 9See my current WIP here I guess it’s a matter of experimenting.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/

View scottb's profile

scottb

3391 posts in 1206 days


posted 1011 days ago

Just saw your article in Pop Wood, congrats on being published. What a great article on such a beautiful piece. Very informative to boot. It’s not everyday you go flipping through magazines on the newstand and see something you recognize!

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

View scottb's profile

scottb

3391 posts in 1206 days


posted 1011 days ago

Oh, and thanks for not entering this in the Most Creative Category :)

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

View dmath's profile

dmath

14 posts in 1013 days


posted 1010 days ago

Don, when I clicked the link for your work in progress I got an error. Let me know where to look. I’d like to see the cloud lifts.

Scott, thanks for the kind words. As for not entering the Most Creative category, I didn’t think I should since the design isn’t original. On the off-chance that it had won I would have had to donate the prize to the Gamble House. :)

I have a question. I’ve tried several times to upload a buddy image but it doesn’t work. After I choose the file and click upload I get a blank browser page and nothing happens. I’ve tried resizing the image and keeping it quite small but same result. Are there some parameters I should stick to?

-- David, Central Ohio

View scottb's profile

scottb

3391 posts in 1206 days


posted 1010 days ago

David, delete the .0 at the end of Don’s link, or just use this one

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/502

I’d keep the buddy icon 72 or 96 dpi, no bigger than 1×1… if it’s a jpeg size shouldn’t be an issue. I can give you a hand with Photoshop, but can’t think of anything else that might impede uploading.

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

View Karson's profile

Karson

25274 posts in 1279 days


posted 1010 days ago

Very nice table. And welcome to LumberJocks.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

View dmath's profile

dmath

14 posts in 1013 days


posted 1010 days ago

Very strange. I tried again to upload the icon from my Mac at home. No luck. So I emailed it to my computer at work (a PC), remotely logged in to that machine and uploaded the image with no problem. I think there is a compatibility issue between the Lumberjocks server and either Mac OS or Safari (the Mac browser). Either way, I got the image uploaded.

Karson, while I’m in Ohio now (and Missouri before that) I’m from Wilmington. My maternal grandmother was from Milford and she and my grandfather retired to Millsboro. Unfortunately, they’ve been gone for quite a while now.

-- David, Central Ohio

View Karson's profile

Karson

25274 posts in 1279 days


posted 1010 days ago

So I guess you don’t get back this way much. If you are around give me a shout and we’ll meet up. and discuss the good days that are to come.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

View dmath's profile

dmath

14 posts in 1013 days


posted 1010 days ago

In the past year and a half my parents retired to SC and my wife’s mother to NC. For most of the last 15 years we got back to Delaware regularly to visit them but now I don’t guess we’ll get there much. Maybe for a Blue Hens playoff game sometime (if KC can manage to refind a winning formula—I still miss Tubby).

-- David, Central Ohio

View Don's profile

Don

2590 posts in 1055 days


posted 1010 days ago

Quote David: Don, when I clicked the link for your work in progress I got an error. Let me know where to look. I’d like to see the cloud lifts.

David, I didn’t mean to convey that I had added cloud lifts to my current project, only that I think they would work where I have added the corner feet to this small box.

What do you think?

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/

View MsDebbieP's profile

MsDebbieP

14096 posts in 1039 days


posted 1010 days ago

David, I use Safari and OS X .. no problem here.

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

View Branden's profile

Branden

320 posts in 1014 days


posted 1010 days ago

OK, I am officially inspired! I love the finger joints and how the are not flush and also rounded over. Thanks for sharing!

-- Branden - Sacramento, California - www.ShopDogUSA.com

View dmath's profile

dmath

14 posts in 1013 days


posted 1009 days ago

Don, I think by rounding the sharp transition to the feet you’d have cloud lifts and that it would look great (not that it doesn’t look great now). I left a similar comment on your project page.

Branden, thanks. I have an article in the current (Feb 07) issue of Popular Woodworking on making the drawers including the finger joints, in case you are interested.

-- David, Central Ohio

View scottb's profile

scottb

3391 posts in 1206 days


posted 938 days ago

remembering this table, I was wondering if you were going to participate in the side table contest?

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

View dmath's profile

dmath

14 posts in 1013 days


posted 938 days ago

Scott,

I thought about entering the contest but I’m in the middle of another project that I need to get done. So there’s no way I’ll be able to get something done. I had thought about making a round version of the table. I may still make it sometime.

David

-- David, Central Ohio

View MsDebbieP's profile

MsDebbieP

14096 posts in 1039 days


posted 938 days ago

doesn’t this fit the “challenge”?

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

View Karson's profile

Karson

25274 posts in 1279 days


posted 938 days ago

It would by me but since this has already been published in Popular Woodworking magazine. The editors might not think so.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

View dmath's profile

dmath

14 posts in 1013 days


posted 938 days ago

As much as I’d like to enter the contest, entering this table isn’t in the spirit. It isn’t an adaptation of the Thorsen table but a near reproduction of a Gamble table. I wouldn’t feel right using it.

David

-- David, Central Ohio

View DAN 's profile

DAN

6400 posts in 861 days


posted 813 days ago

terrific table .. really good craftsmanship and detail

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever

View abie's profile

abie

111 posts in 649 days


posted 568 days ago

David:
Thanks for the great example to follow ..
I’ve saved these photos to keep my project (The same table from Lang’s Book) on track
Thanks again… Hope mine turns out close to your great example.
Bruce

-- Bruce

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