| Project by mrbentontoyou | posted 110 days ago | 406 views | 4 times favorited | 20 comments |  |
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The inspiration for this thing came from some ancient catalogue I was sifting through while waiting for clothes to dry at the local laundro-plex. It was probably west elm or crate and barrel or something, no cover, well worn. The one in the catalogue was all square and blocky; all the shelves and the back were the same width, and all pieces looked to be 1.5” deep mdf boxes with kd hardware. The vertical supports between the shelves were square, so from a side view it would look like a staircase. The tiered shape seemed cool and I had a boatload of walnut lumber burning a hole in my garage so a couple weeks, a few design changes, a broken foot (table’s, not mine), and a can of watco later, and here she is.
The top and bottom shelf are affixed to the back with irregularly spaced finger/box joints, that is, the spacing is the same for each shelf, but the shelf fingers are smaller than the back fingers. The back is rabbeted slightly to accept them. The middle shelf gets wedged through tenons, same size and layout as the fingers, and sits in a 1/16” dado. From the back it all makes sense- the fingers and tenons all match. The feet are also through tenoned; the wedges in the front feet run from corner to corner of the tenon, the wedges in the back run with the grain. Don’t ask me why. They just do. The vertical spacers are housed in 1/16” grooves in the shelves and back. I rounded and beveled all the edges by hand with planes and sanding. Lots of sanding. The only sharp edges are on the feet.
For all the pieces, I sorted through the wood pile and picked boards with as much sapwood/heartwood transition as possible; I really like the color differentiation in walnut. Between the brown and yellow there are pink and purple and blue shades. Each shelf features live edges, some with bark. For the back, I glued up two pieces sapwood to sapwood to create a yellow racing stripe down the middle. It’s got 4 coats of danish oil, with two more to come, and a coat or two of poly to protect from whatever. Can’t decide between glossy or satin poly, opinions are welcome.
So that’s the story guys, hope you like.
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20 comments so far
jeanmarc
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1753 posts in 242 days
posted 110 days ago
Great job.
-- jeanmarc manosque france
Toolz
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226 posts in 268 days
posted 110 days ago
Very interesting project. I like it.
-- Growing older but not up!
YorkshireStewart
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652 posts in 427 days
posted 110 days ago
I love this piece; the inclusion of sapwood, natural edges and through joints; it all reminds me of my favourite woodartist, the late Tim Stead
For what it’s worth, I’d go for satin every time time with this style.
-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business.
dsb1829
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158 posts in 153 days
posted 110 days ago
I really like this one. It is visually interesting. I have been contemplating what it would look like to affix legs the way you have there. Great little table, thanks for sharing.
-- Doug, woodworking in Alabama
trifern
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4743 posts in 293 days
posted 110 days ago
Nice looking piece of furniture. I like your wood selection. Thank you for sharing.
-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.
CharlieM1958
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4458 posts in 744 days
posted 110 days ago
This is a really cool piece!
As I began reading the story, I thought something was odd…. woodworking and having to use the laundro-plex don’t usually go together. If you have a place for tools, you must have a place for a washer and dryer, right? Then I looked at the background in the photos, and I realized it looked like an urban area. My first thought was NYC, so I checked your profile and I was right on the money!
Woodworking in the city must be a challenge, huh? I’m a suburban southern boy myself, but my daughter goes to college at CCNY in Manhattan, so I’m a pretty frequent visitor.
-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"
darryl
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952 posts in 852 days
posted 110 days ago
I really like the heartwood/sapwood and live edge features of this piece. it looks beautiful.
it must be a great conversation piece.
-- ~ www.darrylmasterson.com ~ www.woodworkingdungeon.blogspot.com ~
woodnot
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51 posts in 140 days
posted 110 days ago
Great looking piece- nice job setting up the tiers~! ! ! I am a walnut lover also!!!
-- NW wood worker
DAN
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3443 posts in 508 days
posted 110 days ago
Beautiful work … a posting to remember … love that walnut and sapwood. ...so distinctive
-- ..... art for lifes sake ... danwalters@lumberjocks.com
Jiri Parkman
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566 posts in 338 days
posted 110 days ago
Good job and nice wood = beautiful table
-- Jiri
Texasgaloot
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415 posts in 226 days
posted 110 days ago
This is not your father’s shaker table! I love the originality of the design, which is followed through in the use of materials! I can’t wait to see the matching coffee table…
-- There's no tool like an old tool...
Napaman
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2022 posts in 603 days
posted 110 days ago
wow…very nice…
-- Matt, Napa, CA...119 days to sanity...
KYSean
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9 posts in 122 days
posted 110 days ago
Wow ! that really caught my eye when I first loaded the page. Nice job.
-- www.woodturneddreams.com
bfd
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293 posts in 332 days
posted 110 days ago
THIS IS GORGEOUS! The play between the sapwood and the heartwood is visually striking. I know the piece that gave you the inspiration and it would be an under statement to say you improved upon it. You knocked it out of the park. To me this sculptural piece deserves the modern look of a satin finish. A glossy finish just wouldn’t look right for this piece. Again, beautiful piece.
-- Brian, Folsom, CA http://www.brianfullerdesigns.com
mrbentontoyou
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8 posts in 111 days
posted 109 days ago
Satin it is. I’ll post pics when it’s done….
Thanks for all the kind words.
Gary
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331 posts in 850 days
posted 109 days ago
As others have said, it’s beautiful. I really like the effort put into wood selection and joinery.
It came out great. Top notch.
savannah505
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145 posts in 112 days
posted 109 days ago
Nice piece, reminds me of a cruise ship uperstructure, don’t know why that was my first impression when I saw it, but thats what I thought. Love walnut too.
-- Dan Wiggins
Dusty56
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1333 posts in 213 days
posted 109 days ago
Certainly use the Satin finish on this wonderful project….I agree with the “cruise ship resemblance” but of course it is much nicer in Walnut than steel : ) Great job indeed !
-- Dusty56@comcast.net
hap
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180 posts in 314 days
posted 108 days ago
very cool.
-- hap, gunbarrel city tx.
mcoyfrog
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236 posts in 120 days
posted 108 days ago
Nice…........ I like
-- Wood and Glass they kick (well you know) Have a great day all Dug