# Arts and Crafts Coffee table project



## Cato (May 1, 2009)

*Cutting and milling with the new Jet and EB-3*

I started a Arts and Crafts coffee table that I saw in last month's issue of Fine WWking. Gregory Paolini has a series of videos on the Fine Wwking site on building the table.

This works out nicely for me as it is a wedding present for my daughter and son in law who got married last weekend.

The table will be Mahogany with Walnut legs and breadboard ends.

Today I cut and milled the 8/4 walnut legs and the 4/4 mahogany for the stretchers and rails.

Been suffering through a cold so I took my time and just enjoyed being back in the shop, as it has been several weeks since I have been able to do so.

First time I have put the Jet through its paces on 8/4 stock and it cut just great. I am really enjoying this saw. So smooth and accurate.

Also thanks to a bunch of you helping me recently to pick out a miter gauge, I used my Osborne miter gauge for the first time. I used it both on the left and right side of the blade and it was flawless. Think I will really like having this miter gauge. Kind of bulky to find a storage spot for it, but it is great to use.

Here are a few pics of the miter gauge and the stock I cut. Tomorrow I have to get the router and table set up to cut the mortises and tenons.


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## affyx (Jan 1, 2008)

Cato said:


> *Cutting and milling with the new Jet and EB-3*
> 
> I started a Arts and Crafts coffee table that I saw in last month's issue of Fine WWking. Gregory Paolini has a series of videos on the Fine Wwking site on building the table.
> 
> ...


nice lumber, look forward to following this project


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## Cato (May 1, 2009)

*Mortise and Tenon cutting and fitting*

I was not able to work on this project last weekend as it was a yard and garden work weekend.

Today though I got back into the shop and began cutting the mortise and tenon joinery for the table base.

I used my little woodpeckers rule stop to mark out the mortises and really like this little tool.

I cut the mortises first with my plunge router and guide using a 1/4 inch upspiral bit.









It did take me awhile to cut the mortises for the upper and lower rails, but everything I do in woodworking seems to take a bit of time.

Once the mortises were cut in the legs, I switched from the handheld router to the router table to cut the tenons.









I used my new Osborne miter gauge on the router table to cut the tenons, and that worked great!!

After the tenons were cut it was time to handshape the square tenons into the rounded mortises. To do this I used a rough and a fine rasp. Again, sigh that took awhile to get the fit right and fairly tight.

However I was fairly pleased with the progress and results from this necessary detail work to get a solid base going for this table.

I rough fit all the rails and legs together and marked a few tenons that need some fine tuning as a couple would not seat entirely flush leaving me just a tad out of square at this point.









My next step will be to cut a through mortise in the lower rail at each end. That is why it is an inch thicker than my upper rails. The through tenon will be the support for a shelf underneath the table.

So, not a bad day in the shop and nothing badly screwed up that I can see at this point. That in itself is good for me, as usually at this point I am planning how to work around a screwed up section of a project.


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## Cato (May 1, 2009)

*Thru tenons for table shelf*

So worked in the yard this weekend while the weather was cool, but did get a little shop time in both days.

Saturday laid out the cuts for the thru tenons for the shelf on the coffee table. First time I have cut a thru tenon for a project.

Wasn't too bad really, the most important aspect was using a common reference side so that the router cuts on both sides would meet.

I used my plunge router base for the PC690 and the router guide. Using a 1/2 inch bit I cut a little over half way in each side of the 3/4 mahogany stock. The shelf will be wider than the tenon by 2 inches on each side and the thru tenon will protrude 1/4 inch thru the bottom rail.

Then I went back and had to use a file to tune up my tenons for a better fit than I had in my last blog entry. Once I got them fitting better I re assembled and checked again for square.

I have one tenon on a stretcher that needs a little easing to it and the base structure will be ready for me to mill and cut the shelf and tenon and fit it before glue up on the base. I also have to chisel out the mortise to square the rounded ends.

Here is how it looks after the mortise was made.










Next weekend assuming I can get the time I will mill the shelf and get it glued up and probably go ahead and mill the table top stock while the shelf is in the clamps.


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## Cato (May 1, 2009)

*Its all starting to come together- despite a few goofs*

Finally have gotten back into the shop and out of the garden tasks for a few days anyway.

So after dry fitting the coffee table base and cutting the mortise for the shelf, I milled and glued up the shelf and cut the through tenons and fit them.

Now I have milled the walnut for the table top and also the mahogany bread board ends.

I had some trouble with the tenons for the bread board ends, and if I ever build another I will go with a thicker tenon than the 1/4 inch one the plans called for. It was hard working on such a narrow tenon for a 24 inch width.

Cutting the 1 inch deep mortise in the bread boards was a little nerve wracking and the router table spit one back at me and I had to let it go.It was on the last pass at the 1 inch depth of cut and I was almost done when I heard a different pitch in the router and felt the board starting to get grabbed by the bit as in a climb cut.








I'm not sure what caused the kickback, but at least I heard the change in the router, which was an alarm bell and I knew something was going to go south quickly as the board started to move against my feed direction.

So had to mill another piece and rout another mortise very carefully.

After I fit the table top tenons to the mortise I had to drill and chisel out the pegs on each end using a square hollow chisel. My first time using one and it went well.









So after a lot of fitting and shaping of tenons today I am starting to see the end in sight.

Here is a dry fit before I start sanding the table top, cutting the pegs for the breadboards, and making some buttons to hold the top to the table.









My last pic is one of a very useful plane I used for fitting the large tenons on this project. It is a LN 042 shoulder plane with a 3/4 wide body, so it is ideal for this task.









My next steps will be to break down the dry fit and after sanding the table top I will have to tape and mask off tenons and mortises, because I will be dyeing the walnut much darker than the mahogany for a contrasting effect.

This will need to be done prior to the final assembly glue ups.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

Cato said:


> *Its all starting to come together- despite a few goofs*
> 
> Finally have gotten back into the shop and out of the garden tasks for a few days anyway.
> 
> ...


came together great! we all goof up - the real craftsmanship is hiding it so nobody will ever know


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## Cato (May 1, 2009)

*Closing in on the finish line*

An apt title as I have had some time recently to sand and apply finish to this Arts and Crafts design coffee table.

I had to tape off and finish the walnut legs separately from the rest of the mahogany base components. I kind of like doing that anyway as it saves from getting runs and drips in the corners and other hard to reach areas.

I used a 50/50 dye mixture of Transtint Red Mahogany and Vintage Brown Maple. The combo worked well for the mahogany and also for the walnut. Next time I mix this however I will go a bit lighter on the red as the mahogany really picks up any red very quickly.

I used a wash coat of shellac and then dyed each piece. When the dye dried I applied 3 coats of dewaxed amber shellac.

Here is the table base after glueing up the apron end assembly today and dry fitting the strecthers and shelf. The stretchers will be glued in tomorrow and the shelf may get a slight dab of glue but I will probably leave it free floating as it is a through tenon.









I made the pegs for the table top yesterday and installed those. That was a little nerve wracking getting them to fit just right, but I am fairly pleased with the bread board ends and the pegs.









Here is the table top finished with shellac and the breadboard ends installed.









While every thing was either in clamps or finish drying, I took the time to make the little pegs for attaching the table top to the base, and then laid out their positions on the stretchers and aprons and routed them out today.









So the end is in sight for this project, and tomorrow I will finish the base by glueing up the stretchers, and then it will be time to lightly sand with 320 grit on the table top and then begin applying the top coat. I will be using a water based poly from General finishes and each side will get 3 coats with a light sanding in between coats.

It will be my first time trying a water based poly so I will test it out on some scraps I shellaced when finishing and if it looks like it is going down nicely then I will start with the underside of the table first just to be on the safe side.

Thanks for looking.


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## sixstring (Apr 4, 2012)

Cato said:


> *Closing in on the finish line*
> 
> An apt title as I have had some time recently to sand and apply finish to this Arts and Crafts design coffee table.
> 
> ...


Shes' gonna be a beaut! Question… Is the bottom shelf/stretcher thru-tenon on the ends? Or is that decorative? Looks awesome either way but I'm curious.


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## Cato (May 1, 2009)

Cato said:


> *Closing in on the finish line*
> 
> An apt title as I have had some time recently to sand and apply finish to this Arts and Crafts design coffee table.
> 
> ...


Six string it's a through tenon on the bottom shelf.


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