Project Information
I wanted to start this last fall, but had trouble getting hold of some 12/4 cherry for the legs. I've always wanted to build something with cabriole legs (a bonnet top highboy is my dream project), so when my wife gave me the go ahead to build a couple of much needed tables for our TV room I thought this would be a good opportunity to try my hand at them. In January I finally acquired a 12/4 cherry board and I was off and running (at my usual snails pace).
I couldn't find any pictures of a table that I really wanted so I doodled around and came up with this design in Sketchup:
It's not terribly detailed but it sure did help me decide on some of the features such as the bowed sides:
The large oval top presented a challenge for the drawer - luckily I remembered seeing an article for wooden extension slides. This is also the first dished top I've ever tried - it didn't turn out quite as well as I would have liked, but it's ok. Lots and lots of scraping to get it smooth. I very nearly ruined it when I forgot that I had turned the plunge depth stop on my router and plunged a 1" hole about 3/16 deep in the middle! I couldn't figure out why it kept going down, and down, and down…. No sailor could have outdone my vocabulary at that point. So, as if there weren't enough challenges I got to try my hand at a patch.
The finish is one treatment of Danish oil followed by 5 (or 6?) coats of amber shellac which was rubbed out with wax and steel wool. I was originally thinking I'd give it a topcoat of poly, at least on the top, but I couldn't decide for sure. I thought I'd see how the shellac survives for a while. If it starts to look abused after some everyday use I'll dewax with some mineral spirits or naptha and then sand it and give it a coat of poly.
All in all, it turned out ok and I learned a lot. The second one will be quite a bit faster to build; partly because I have the templates ready, and partly from what I've learned. I'm thinking I'll use a lipped drawer front for the second one and see which looks best. I think I may try putting together a blog for this project, because I have lots of pictures and because I hope some of you more experienced folks might see places where I could do things differently/better for the second table.
Sorry about the cat's tail in one of the photos. I tried to get him to sit still in one pic but no go.
Thanks for looking, and I welcome any constructive criticisms anyone may have.
Cheers,
Kerry
I couldn't find any pictures of a table that I really wanted so I doodled around and came up with this design in Sketchup:
It's not terribly detailed but it sure did help me decide on some of the features such as the bowed sides:
The large oval top presented a challenge for the drawer - luckily I remembered seeing an article for wooden extension slides. This is also the first dished top I've ever tried - it didn't turn out quite as well as I would have liked, but it's ok. Lots and lots of scraping to get it smooth. I very nearly ruined it when I forgot that I had turned the plunge depth stop on my router and plunged a 1" hole about 3/16 deep in the middle! I couldn't figure out why it kept going down, and down, and down…. No sailor could have outdone my vocabulary at that point. So, as if there weren't enough challenges I got to try my hand at a patch.
The finish is one treatment of Danish oil followed by 5 (or 6?) coats of amber shellac which was rubbed out with wax and steel wool. I was originally thinking I'd give it a topcoat of poly, at least on the top, but I couldn't decide for sure. I thought I'd see how the shellac survives for a while. If it starts to look abused after some everyday use I'll dewax with some mineral spirits or naptha and then sand it and give it a coat of poly.
All in all, it turned out ok and I learned a lot. The second one will be quite a bit faster to build; partly because I have the templates ready, and partly from what I've learned. I'm thinking I'll use a lipped drawer front for the second one and see which looks best. I think I may try putting together a blog for this project, because I have lots of pictures and because I hope some of you more experienced folks might see places where I could do things differently/better for the second table.
Sorry about the cat's tail in one of the photos. I tried to get him to sit still in one pic but no go.
Thanks for looking, and I welcome any constructive criticisms anyone may have.
Cheers,
Kerry