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Small Table - American Walnut - five years in the making

Project by Don posted 557 days ago 935 views 2 times favorited 27 comments Add to Favorites Watch

I started this table some five years ago when I took a furniture design class. The purpose of the class was to teach furniture making from start to finish. We had to research the design idea by viewing classic designs and adapt our design to incorporate some of the things we liked in these designs. Then we had to draw the plans, and construct and finish the table.

One of my unfortunate characteristics is that I tend towards the impatient. I want to see progress. So, between the snail pace the course forced me to progress, and the high hourly cost of instruction and shop time, I quite.

I had milled all the components of the table and took them home. That was before I had my own shop, so the box of table parts got shuffled to the back of a storage area. I knew that they were there, but the completion of the table was something I simply put off.

Last week I came across the box and decided to finish the table. It’s my version of an Arts & Crafts inspired table with a Greene & Green influence. The joiner is traditional Mortise and Tenon and features squared pegs on the breadboard end, and split wedged through tenons at the leg stringers. The finish has a few more coats of Wipe-On Poly before it’s finished, but being the impatient type, thought you might like to see it now.

The black accent wood is African Ebony.

So much for impatience – this table took me just over five years to complete. LOL!

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


27 comments so far

View Bradford's profile

Bradford

783 posts in 701 days


posted 557 days ago

Very nice. It’s never too late to finish a job pending. I’ve got several myself. A file cabinet, 3 boxes, and just about every project I’ve seen so far today. It looks good.

-- so much wood, so little time. Bradford.

View Lip's profile

Lip

149 posts in 928 days


posted 557 days ago

Looks beautiful … is that a drawer on the front?

-- Lip's Dysfuncational Firewood Farm, South Bend, IN

View Don's profile

Don

2590 posts in 1055 days


posted 557 days ago

I failed to mention the drawer. It’s my favorite way to make drawers; have them fit flush with the front of the apron thus continuing the grain pattern.

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

View furnitologist's profile

furnitologist

189 posts in 891 days


posted 557 days ago

Hey Don…............looks good…......pretty wood…....after 5 years did you remeber for whom the piece was for???? :) I bet if you open the drawer, there’s a little box in there.

Neil

View grumpycarp's profile

grumpycarp

232 posts in 624 days


posted 557 days ago

Beautiful wood and nice design. But at the risk of being ostracized yet again I would like to gently and politely point out that the wedged tenons appear to be wrong. They should be rotated 90 degrees. As they are now they will only serve to act as a wedge to split the leg apart. I would have used two in each and oriented them so that the wedging force was tangential to the leg grain or vertical in the table. This is not a knock on your work but if people keep seeing this sort of thing then people will keep doing this sort of thing and I had to say it.
Wedged tenons should have a mortise that flares slightly to the outside and tangential to the grain direction. Otherwise as the piece racks the wedge just serves as a splitting wedge and levers the member apart.

I have nothing further to offer other than my thanks to you for sharing this beautiful piece. I hope all will accept my comments in the spirit that they are offered and feel free to tell me that I’m all wet.

View Don's profile

Don

2590 posts in 1055 days


posted 557 days ago

Yes Neil, I failed to mention the drawer. It’s my favorite way to make drawers; have them fit flush with the front of the apron thus continuing the grain pattern.

Grumpy, no offense taken, Mate, thanks for the lesson – makes sense to me.

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

View Scott Bryan's profile

Scott Bryan

20052 posts in 700 days


posted 557 days ago

Don,

This is a beautiful table. If there is one tenet to woodworking it is that you cannot rush good craftmanship. five years may be a little long but, in this case, the end product is definately worth the wait. I like the ebony accents. They add nice details to the table.

Thanks for the post and the story behind it as well.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

View CharlieM1958's profile

CharlieM1958

7459 posts in 1096 days


posted 557 days ago

Don, beautiful work as always. The attention to small details really sets it apart.

Of course, if it takes you five years to build a small table, I can understand why you haven’t been posting many project. <g>

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

View mjlauro's profile

mjlauro

239 posts in 639 days


posted 557 days ago

This is an incredible piece. I’m sure it was well worth the wait.

View odie's profile

odie

1601 posts in 718 days


posted 557 days ago

You didn’t need that class Don. You had it in you the whole time on your own. Beautiful work !!!

-- Odie, Confucius say, "He who laughs at one's self is BUTT of joke". http://woodstermangotwood.blogspot.com/ (my funny blog)

View Diane's profile

Diane

483 posts in 1001 days


posted 556 days ago

Very beautiful, I love the black accent wood, the African Ebony.

Diane

-- http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb276/DMarcella/

View Douglas Bordner's profile

Douglas Bordner

3415 posts in 942 days


posted 556 days ago

Beautiful work as always, Don. This table is a detail-fest. Pleased to see your posting.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

View GaryK's profile

GaryK

9496 posts in 866 days


posted 556 days ago

That’s half the time it took me to finish my harpsichord! Pretty good in my book.

Looks like you did a great job. (Finally :-) )

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

View jockmike2's profile

jockmike2

7222 posts in 1125 days


posted 556 days ago

Sure does’nt look like a small wooden box to me, but it is a nice piece of furniture. Good to see you Don. mike

-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com

View MsDebbieP's profile

MsDebbieP

14090 posts in 1039 days


posted 556 days ago

and you said that you don’t have patience…
Everything happens at the right moment. This was the time for the table

A beautiful piece!!

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

View Dorje's profile

Dorje

1768 posts in 875 days


posted 556 days ago

Looks great Don!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

View dirtclod's profile

dirtclod

162 posts in 739 days


posted 556 days ago

I’m currently selling walnut. Maybe you can buy some for your next table, which you can finish in, say, 25 years. lol Just kidding. It’s good to get something like this behind you. The grains are beautiful.

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

View Grumpy's profile

Grumpy

14852 posts in 729 days


posted 556 days ago

Beaut job Don. Don’t worry about the 5 years, I have been building a bar for longer than that.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

View Greg3G's profile

Greg3G

770 posts in 963 days


posted 555 days ago

Beautiful table Don. I love the grain in your wood selection. Your choice of finish was right on the mark for this one, as always. Excellent work. (I have a project like this…there are part of a blanket chest in a couple of area in my shop…just can’t seem to find the time or engery to complete if for some reason.)

-- Greg - Charles Town, WV

View DAN 's profile

DAN

6396 posts in 861 days


posted 555 days ago

Good to see this posting.

How expensive is the walnut and is it easy to get where you live ?

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

View Dick, & Barb Cain's profile

Dick, & Barb Cain

6990 posts in 1177 days


posted 546 days ago

A beautiful piece of craftsmanship Don.

The walnut is spectacular looking.

You shouldn’t have any shrinkage problems with wood thats been waiting to be

put together for five years.

It looks to me like you have plenty of patience.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

View ChicoWoodnut's profile

ChicoWoodnut

894 posts in 693 days


posted 546 days ago

That’s a sweet little table. Now that I know what Greenish furniture looks like in walnut I’ll be using some of for a future project of my own.

-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net

View TomK 's profile

TomK

501 posts in 752 days


posted 545 days ago

Beautiful piece, and worth the wait.

-- If you think healthcare is expensive now, wait until it's free! PJ O'Rourke

View jeanmarc's profile

jeanmarc

1750 posts in 594 days


posted 469 days ago

This is a beautiful table.Beautiful work

-- jeanmarc manosque france

View mcoyfrog's profile

mcoyfrog

735 posts in 472 days


posted 460 days ago

I love walnut, nice table, it was worth the wait… Dug

-- Wood and Glass they kick (well you know) Have a great day - Dug

View WoodSpanker's profile

WoodSpanker

298 posts in 270 days


posted 261 days ago

Great table, sorry I’m so late to the party.

-- Adventure? Heh! Excitement? Heh! A Woodworker craves not these things!

View AaronK's profile

AaronK

397 posts in 342 days


posted 256 days ago

yes. a very nice piece. that wood is just delicious.

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