# Wall Hung Console



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Getting started*

So here's the plan. I watched the Wall Hung Console episode of the New Yankee Workshop and my wife really liked the table. She thinks it would look great in the front hall. I thought it would be a good use of the walnut lumber my in-laws gave me, so now I'm finally getting started.

I took as many notes as I could from watching the episode and then plugged the dimensions in to SketchUp. I had to improvise some more of the dimensions since Norm didn't mention all of them. So here's my version of Norm's console table.



Here's all the walnut ready to be machined.



The next entry should have some work done!


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## CaptainSkully (Aug 28, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Getting started*
> 
> So here's the plan. I watched the Wall Hung Console episode of the New Yankee Workshop and my wife really liked the table. She thinks it would look great in the front hall. I thought it would be a good use of the walnut lumber my in-laws gave me, so now I'm finally getting started.
> 
> ...


That's one of my favorite episodes! I've always wanted to build one. I'm looking forward to your blog. Nice choice on the walnut. It will be very classy looking.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Getting started*
> 
> So here's the plan. I watched the Wall Hung Console episode of the New Yankee Workshop and my wife really liked the table. She thinks it would look great in the front hall. I thought it would be a good use of the walnut lumber my in-laws gave me, so now I'm finally getting started.
> 
> ...


Nice design. Now I'm going to your latest blog on this project. Thanks for posting.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*The first glue ups*

Well, I got started on the console by gluing up the boards for the top and the three large brackets. Since I had the lumber on hand and I didn't want to go buy lumber, I'm gluing together boards to make the thick brackets (Norm of course had stock that thick).

I used a planer sled to flatten the boards for the brackets since they are too wide for my jointer. That went pretty well and I was planning to do the same for the wide boards for the top, but it was just too long, heavy and unwieldy to be efficient. Instead I ripped the two wide boards I was going to glue up for the top in half so I can get them on the jointer, then I will glue four boards together for the top. Here they are getting biscuit slots cut.



Unfortunately for me, the laws of physics apply in my shop and I wasn't able to get a finished thickness of 1 inch from 4/4 rough boards. I think Norm's table had a 1 1/4" top, but mine will be 3/4". Because of that, I will probably alter other dimensions so that the whole thing will still look in proportion. The apron will be shortened to 3" from 3.5" and the brackets will shrink down as well.

Speaking of the brackets, here they are getting glued up.



You can never have enough clamps!

I'm trying to stay on top of the mess this time too and that's tough without a dust collector. At least my dust collecting box works pretty good on the jointer.



Not so well for the planer.



One of these days I'll get a dust collector and rig up a collection duct for the planer.


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## Julian (Sep 30, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *The first glue ups*
> 
> Well, I got started on the console by gluing up the boards for the top and the three large brackets. Since I had the lumber on hand and I didn't want to go buy lumber, I'm gluing together boards to make the thick brackets (Norm of course had stock that thick).
> 
> ...


Looks like the project is coming along nicely. A DC system makes a huge difference in keeping that pesky sawdust to a minimum.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *The first glue ups*
> 
> Well, I got started on the console by gluing up the boards for the top and the three large brackets. Since I had the lumber on hand and I didn't want to go buy lumber, I'm gluing together boards to make the thick brackets (Norm of course had stock that thick).
> 
> ...


A dust collector is definitely on the list, but since my little table saw has no dust collection provisions, it will have to wait until I finally upgrade the saw. I need to upgrade the electrical capacity in the garage, too, but I can make due in the meantime. Once I get the dust collector, the electrical upgrade will have to happen.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *The first glue ups*
> 
> Well, I got started on the console by gluing up the boards for the top and the three large brackets. Since I had the lumber on hand and I didn't want to go buy lumber, I'm gluing together boards to make the thick brackets (Norm of course had stock that thick).
> 
> ...


more progress keep on


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *The first glue ups*
> 
> Well, I got started on the console by gluing up the boards for the top and the three large brackets. Since I had the lumber on hand and I didn't want to go buy lumber, I'm gluing together boards to make the thick brackets (Norm of course had stock that thick).
> 
> ...


Looks good so far. You mentioned a planing sled that sounded interesting and useful. Could you show it to us? I'm not sure if it was pictured. Please forgive my ignorance.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *The first glue ups*
> 
> Well, I got started on the console by gluing up the boards for the top and the three large brackets. Since I had the lumber on hand and I didn't want to go buy lumber, I'm gluing together boards to make the thick brackets (Norm of course had stock that thick).
> 
> ...


I'll be sure to get some pics of the planer sled. I got the idea out of a magazine, American Woodworker, I think. It's simply a stack of 3/4" MDF glued together that the wide board sits on when going through the planer. The board is shimmed to keep it from rocking. After a flat side is created, the board is flipped and sent through the planer by itself to make a flat parallel second face.

I need to flatten another board in this fashion for this project, so I'll get some pics.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Some of the glue ups*

Well, the top is all glued up and belt sanded to flatten the ridges. The boards glued together quite nicely and it's not very noticeable that I had to rip them into four boards instead of two. Since the lumber I had was all from the same tree, I was able to sequence match two boards to make the top and bookmatched them.



There were a few open knots that needed filling so I mixed a little dust with some epoxy and that's what those globs are on the top. The repairs should look pretty good when sanded down. That will have to wait until at least tomorrow.

The center of the board ended up with a neat cat's eye pattern with some interesting color variations, too. Should look pretty neat when finished.



Here are the templates for the two end brackets and the middle bracket.



For the smaller bracket, I used an upside down five gallon bucket to establish the curve and for the larger bracket I used a hula hoop. This was the first time I didn't mind having those darn hula hoops laying around the garage!

I've been thinking about just leaving the brackets somewhat plain at the bottom and just stopping them at the end of the curve, but I put a little ogee on there when I cut out the templates just in case.

So here are the two end brackets all face-glued up (with sequence matching boards again to help hide the glue up).



In my rush to get something done, I cut those brackets out of the glued up board before thinking about possibly planing the board down further. Norm's console had a 3" thick center bracket and 2.5" thick end brackets. All my brackets are currently 2.5". I could still glue up another board to the center bracket boards, but since I'm scaling down some of the dimensions (since my top is only 3/4" thick instead of about 1 1/4" thick like Norm's), I was thinking about making the end brackets thinner than 2.5". I guess it's too late for that now so I need to decide whether to leave the center bracket the same thickness as the ends or make it thicker like Norm's. I just don't want the brackets to look overly large compared to the thinness of the top.

Once I decide what to do, I will finish the rough cut out of the brackets and template rout them on the router table. My next step with this project depends on what dimensions I decide on for the brackets, then I can cut out the template for the top and lay-out all the details and measurements for the the project on it. Hopefully that will be the next entry, along with some more progress.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Some of the glue ups*
> 
> Well, the top is all glued up and belt sanded to flatten the ridges. The boards glued together quite nicely and it's not very noticeable that I had to rip them into four boards instead of two. Since the lumber I had was all from the same tree, I was able to sequence match two boards to make the top and bookmatched them.
> 
> ...


good progress


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## CaptainSkully (Aug 28, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Some of the glue ups*
> 
> Well, the top is all glued up and belt sanded to flatten the ridges. The boards glued together quite nicely and it's not very noticeable that I had to rip them into four boards instead of two. Since the lumber I had was all from the same tree, I was able to sequence match two boards to make the top and bookmatched them.
> 
> ...


I really like the way you were able to glue the knot back together. Nice touch.  I'm digging your project. I wouldn't worry too much about what Norm did. I'd make sure you are happy with the scale.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Some of the glue ups*
> 
> Well, the top is all glued up and belt sanded to flatten the ridges. The boards glued together quite nicely and it's not very noticeable that I had to rip them into four boards instead of two. Since the lumber I had was all from the same tree, I was able to sequence match two boards to make the top and bookmatched them.
> 
> ...


I like the way you work and the way you think about the aesthetics as you go along. I wish I could be more like that. I usually get so involved that I forget some of the important considerations when I'm working on a project. It looks like your project is coming along well.


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## jockmike2 (Oct 10, 2006)

captkerk said:


> *Some of the glue ups*
> 
> Well, the top is all glued up and belt sanded to flatten the ridges. The boards glued together quite nicely and it's not very noticeable that I had to rip them into four boards instead of two. Since the lumber I had was all from the same tree, I was able to sequence match two boards to make the top and bookmatched them.
> 
> ...


Good work, don't sweat the small stuff.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Template, planer sled and oops!*

I decided last night to make my center bracket larger after playing around on SketchUp some more so I started today by getting another sequence-matched board ready to glue onto the existing center bracket. This involved using the planer sled again to flatten the board before planing the other side parallel. The sled is a glue up of 4, 3/4" MDF panels to make a rigid sled that holds the not-so-flat rough board in order to joint the top side flat. The only things needed are some shims to keep the board from rocking as it goes through the planer.





This project was the first time I tried the sled and it has it's pros and cons. It definitely works and it did a great job on the wide but short length boards I was using. When I tried it on the long boards for the top, I ran into the problem of not having enough support tables/rollers/shop helpers to support the thing as it went through the planer. After two passes of wrestling the heavy thing, I gave up and tried the rip, joint and glue approach instead. If I had better infeed and outfeed support for the planer, it would probably work a lot better.

Much of my time today was spent making the template for the top.





The curve was interesting. Watching the NYW video, Norm says that he used a 61" radius for the curve. When I got my bandsaw, the guy gave me the arc-cutting table/jig he made for it, so I gave that a shot. It worked pretty well for cutting out a 61" arc to transfer to my template, but that's when I discovered a 61" radius wouldn't work.

When I glued up my boards for the top, I ended up with a finished width of only 13.5" instead of the 14" dimension Norm had. This was due to cutting off both edges of the two boards I originally was using because of large knot holes, and then further narrowing them by doing the rip cut and jointing to flatten the boards.

After some playing on SketchUp again, I found that a 66" radius should work for my new 13.5" width at the center, arcing to 8" at the ends. I thought about just altering the ends to 7.5" but didn't want to cut down the end brackets to accommodate the change (I already accommodated for the 13.5" width on the center bracket). The new radius worked great and I got the top template laid out and cut out. I then started laying out all the details for joinery when I discovered another oops.

Each of the brackets has a 3/4" thick board backing them with a 1/2" reveal on each side (red).



Unfortunately, I forgot to account for that 3/4" when I made the template for the end brackets and subsequently cut out the end brackets. So now I have end brackets that are 3/4" too deep (front to back). I will probably just cut off 3/4" from the front of the brackets and just deal with the altered curve on them. It's not a mistake, it's a design feature!

At least I was able to get the center bracket glued up, rough cut, and glued again.





I didn't screw up the dimensions on it either! Well, at least not that I know of, yet.

Next time I should have the end brackets revised/fixed, I need to start cutting stock for the curved aprons and make the bending form for them. I'll try to include pics of the arc cutting jig on the band saw, too.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Template, planer sled and oops!*
> 
> I decided last night to make my center bracket larger after playing around on SketchUp some more so I started today by getting another sequence-matched board ready to glue onto the existing center bracket. This involved using the planer sled again to flatten the board before planing the other side parallel. The sled is a glue up of 4, 3/4" MDF panels to make a rigid sled that holds the not-so-flat rough board in order to joint the top side flat. The only things needed are some shims to keep the board from rocking as it goes through the planer.
> 
> ...


good start


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Arc jig, bending form, and more mistakes*

I left the last installment realizing I messed up the dimensions on the end brackets and while I'd like to say that's all behind me now, I haven't worked on that yet. I played around on SketchUp a little and realized that I might be able to alter the curve on the end brackets even though I already rough cut them. Or I might just cut off the 3/4" I need to and leave it as is. I still haven't decided.

What I did get done was work on making the curved front apron. I started by cutting out curves for a bending form on the bandsaw using the arc cutting jig I got from the band saw's previous owner.



The console's table top has a curve on the front of 66" and per Norm's suggestion, I cut a tighter radius for the bending form to allow for spring back. I just took a shot in the dark and went with the original arc radius I tried to use of 61". Hopefully that will work out for me. I'll find out tomorrow.

After putting the bending form together, I could start getting the stock ready for the curved lamination.







Since I had to cut out part of a wide 4/4 rough board to get the walnut for the apron, I was able to make four 5/16" thick boards 3" wide for the lamination that were later planed to 1/4". The remaining four boards were cut from a single piece of 8/4 rough maple scrap I had sitting around. I forgot to make an extra one for covering the face of the stack during the glue up, so I cut a strip from some 1/4" lauan ply I had on hand. I was then ready to try the first glue up.



Planing those boards to 1/4" should have been fairly simple, but planing boards that thin (in my planer at least) can be challenging. Two of the boards had a knot near one end and the grain pattern allowed the planer to catch that spot, break the knot out and kick the board back into my hand. Hard. The sharp corner of the board left me a little gash on my palm but it scared the heck out of me when it happened. I think sometimes I don't respect the planer the way I should.

With the first apron in the clamps, I moved on to cutting out the table top.



I altered the dimensions again, this time shortening the overhang of the top over the sides from 1" to 3/4" on each side. Since my top is thinner than the original design, I think the shorter overhang helps keep the proportions looking better.

I also discovered another mistake when rough cutting the top shape. I didn't plan out the location of the biscuits when gluing up the top.



Amazingly, I didn't lose my temper, despite having ruined the front edge of the top. I got my biscuit joiner back out to cut out the biscuit so I could lay in a patch.



I cut a biscuit shaped patch piece from the fall-off waste when I cut out the top. I picked a piece that was directly adjacent to the spot in question and cut the shape and rough thickness on the band saw.



I then shaped the piece on the belt sander to closely mimic the biscuit shape, only oversized.



Then glued it in.



Tomorrow I'll find out how bad the patch looks. If it's still bad, I may have to try another "design feature" to hide my screw-up.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Arc jig, bending form, and more mistakes*
> 
> I left the last installment realizing I messed up the dimensions on the end brackets and while I'd like to say that's all behind me now, I haven't worked on that yet. I played around on SketchUp a little and realized that I might be able to alter the curve on the end brackets even though I already rough cut them. Or I might just cut off the 3/4" I need to and leave it as is. I still haven't decided.
> 
> ...


Keep on blogging


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## Blake (Oct 17, 2007)

captkerk said:


> *Arc jig, bending form, and more mistakes*
> 
> I left the last installment realizing I messed up the dimensions on the end brackets and while I'd like to say that's all behind me now, I haven't worked on that yet. I played around on SketchUp a little and realized that I might be able to alter the curve on the end brackets even though I already rough cut them. Or I might just cut off the 3/4" I need to and leave it as is. I still haven't decided.
> 
> ...


I love project progress photos. Thanks for taking the time to do this.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Getting closer*

I've made a little progress over the last couple of days. The curved aprons are done gluing and are all trimmed up. The top has been flush trimmed and sanded again to even up the epoxy filler patches, but a few need to be redone. The three large brackets are cut to size, routed flush with their templates and belt sanded. They need some epoxy filler and they will be ready to receive mortises. I got started on the back board that connects the brackets and mounts the unit to the wall, but I didn't cut the tenons yet since I haven't cut the mortises yet.

Today I got the planer sled back out to get another board to 3/4" dimension for the braces. I made another template out of 1/2" MDF to shape the curves and used it to trim up the braces after rough cutting them on the band saw.



I really love the flush trim bit I have to do the pattern work. I've tried a really cheap 1/4" shank flush trim bit and then a Bosch 1/2" shank bit, but I've had some scary issues with each while routing curves that go across end grain. When I saw the shear cutting flush trim/pattern bit at Rockler I thought I'd try it. It has both top and bottom bearings, is a larger diameter cutter (5/8 or 3/4") than the Bosch (1/2" cutter) but most importantly the cutter is on an angle to make a shear cut. I'm not sure if it's the shearing action or if the Rockler bit is just a nicer quality, but that bit performs flawlessly and without any scary grabbing of the stock.

I used that same bit to rout the pattern on even the 3" thick center bracket by taking off the bottom bearing, thus making it a pattern bit, then replacing it to flush cut the remainder. Worked like a charm.

So now almost all my pieces are at least rough cut.



I still need to cut out the boards that back up the three brackets and then I will have almost nothing but joinery to do. Here's a little mock up of how it will go together.



Oh, and the little SNAFU with the biscuit that was revealed when cutting the curve on the top. Well, the repair worked, but it's not seamless. It just looks like a walnut biscuit on the edge of a walnut top.





So, I am considering a couple of options for hiding my biscuit blunder better. Since there is a little bit of purplish color in the cat's eye part of the top…



...I'm thinking of using some thin purpleheart and walnut to put an edge band on that would hopefully make the purpleheart look like an inlay. Either that, or I might use a slot cutting bit to rout a groove all around the edge right where the biscuit is and then inlay purpleheart into that slot. I'm still trying to decide and I have some time, since I don't have any purpleheart, yet.

Right now, I'm doing some more epoxy filling and then I'll be waiting for some new spiral cutting router bits to arrive before cutting the mortises for the joinery. I may not have much progress before next week, but I'll post what I can accomplish.


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## CaptainSkully (Aug 28, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Getting closer*
> 
> I've made a little progress over the last couple of days. The curved aprons are done gluing and are all trimmed up. The top has been flush trimmed and sanded again to even up the epoxy filler patches, but a few need to be redone. The three large brackets are cut to size, routed flush with their templates and belt sanded. They need some epoxy filler and they will be ready to receive mortises. I got started on the back board that connects the brackets and mounts the unit to the wall, but I didn't cut the tenons yet since I haven't cut the mortises yet.
> 
> ...


Nice. I'm assuming you're using walnut for a classic, dark, antique finish. You may not even need to worry about it. I would mock up a piece of scrap with a walnut biscuit and see if your final finish will even show.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Getting closer*
> 
> I've made a little progress over the last couple of days. The curved aprons are done gluing and are all trimmed up. The top has been flush trimmed and sanded again to even up the epoxy filler patches, but a few need to be redone. The three large brackets are cut to size, routed flush with their templates and belt sanded. They need some epoxy filler and they will be ready to receive mortises. I got started on the back board that connects the brackets and mounts the unit to the wall, but I didn't cut the tenons yet since I haven't cut the mortises yet.
> 
> ...


I'm using walnut on this project because it was free. This project actually came to be when I watched the episode on NYW and showed my wife. She thought it was as neat as I did and said it would look great in our front hall. She also suggested using the walnut that her folks gave me a year before. That walnut was from a tree on their property that they cut down and had a local acquaintance (who has a sawmill) mill it up into lumber. They brought it to me about two years ago and it has been drying in my garage ever since.

Part of why I started on this now is so I could use the remaining walnut on two other, smaller projects. I suggested making drawer and door pulls for our kitchen cabinets out of it but didn't want to cut into big boards to make small pulls. I would rather try to use smaller scraps to do that. The other reason is so I can make some jewelery cabinets for my daughters for Christmas this year. I wanted to do some walnut and maple cabinets, but again, I wanted to wait until the larger console project was done and use leftovers from that.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Getting closer*
> 
> I've made a little progress over the last couple of days. The curved aprons are done gluing and are all trimmed up. The top has been flush trimmed and sanded again to even up the epoxy filler patches, but a few need to be redone. The three large brackets are cut to size, routed flush with their templates and belt sanded. They need some epoxy filler and they will be ready to receive mortises. I got started on the back board that connects the brackets and mounts the unit to the wall, but I didn't cut the tenons yet since I haven't cut the mortises yet.
> 
> ...


As far as the biscuit repair; I wiped the whole top down with mineral spirits to get an idea what it might look like with a finish on, and the biscuit patch was still noticeable. Maybe it won't be as noticeable to other people especially after it's wall-mounted, but I will still see it. I'm actually looking forward to my idea to laminate a 1/4" strip of pupleheart and then a 1/4" strip of walnut to the edge, all the way around. I'm hoping that will not only hide the patch, but give the illusion of an inlay, and bring more attention to the purplish color in the walnut top. I'm also thinking of doing a real inlay of purpleheart on the sides of the end brackets to make the purpleheart additions look more intentional and integral to the design. I won't be able to do any more work on it until at least Monday when I get back home. Hopefully I'll be able to make some good progress and come close to fully assembling it before my next trip.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Getting closer*
> 
> I've made a little progress over the last couple of days. The curved aprons are done gluing and are all trimmed up. The top has been flush trimmed and sanded again to even up the epoxy filler patches, but a few need to be redone. The three large brackets are cut to size, routed flush with their templates and belt sanded. They need some epoxy filler and they will be ready to receive mortises. I got started on the back board that connects the brackets and mounts the unit to the wall, but I didn't cut the tenons yet since I haven't cut the mortises yet.
> 
> ...


good progress


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Swine Flu*

This past week or so has been hampered by swine flu. While I didn't get it, my wife and all four kids did. So when I got home from my trip, all my time was spent with the family. I did get to Woodcraft to pick up some purpleheart and my router bits came in the mail while I was on my last trip, but no other progress has been really been made since the last entry. All I have done is putter around touching up some of the parts, sanding a little, scraping epoxy off, but no real progress.

I will be gone again until Tuesday when I hope to get back out in the shop and get some work done. I'm pretty much ready to cut mortises and tenons and start assembling the thing, so hopefully that will happen next week.

By the way, everyone recovered from the swine flu well, but I don't recommend getting sick with it!


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## JMax (Sep 17, 2011)

captkerk said:


> *Swine Flu*
> 
> This past week or so has been hampered by swine flu. While I didn't get it, my wife and all four kids did. So when I got home from my trip, all my time was spent with the family. I did get to Woodcraft to pick up some purpleheart and my router bits came in the mail while I was on my last trip, but no other progress has been really been made since the last entry. All I have done is putter around touching up some of the parts, sanding a little, scraping epoxy off, but no real progress.
> 
> ...





















Great progress on you project. I saw the same episode and loved the wall hung table. Here's a few of my project - did mine on oak.

James


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Swine Flu*
> 
> This past week or so has been hampered by swine flu. While I didn't get it, my wife and all four kids did. So when I got home from my trip, all my time was spent with the family. I did get to Woodcraft to pick up some purpleheart and my router bits came in the mail while I was on my last trip, but no other progress has been really been made since the last entry. All I have done is putter around touching up some of the parts, sanding a little, scraping epoxy off, but no real progress.
> 
> ...


Nice job! I like how every example I've seen has an interesting twist on Norm's version. Yours is no exception.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Mortises and Tenons*

I got a little work done on the console which was to cut the mortises in the three brackets and the tenons in the aprons and mounting board.













All the tenons fit with a snug slip-fit. In the dry assembly run I did notice that the shoulders of the tenons could fit more precisely, so a little more chisel work is in order.

Once I'm satisfied with the fit of the tenons, I will start on doing the purpleheart inlays. I'm planning to rout a groove on the end brackets that follow the shape of the brackets, offset 1" from the edges. It will be 1/4" wide and will receive a purpleheart inlay. I'm also planning to do a 1/4" purpleheart then 1/4" walnut edging all around the table top, but not along the back edge. This is to cover my biscuit mistake and hopefully it will look like an intentional decorative inlay.

Work with the purpleheart should be the next installment. Hopefully next week sometime.


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## toddc (Mar 6, 2007)

captkerk said:


> *Mortises and Tenons*
> 
> I got a little work done on the console which was to cut the mortises in the three brackets and the tenons in the aprons and mounting board.
> 
> ...


Looking good. I can't wait to see the final project.


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## kolwdwrkr (Jul 27, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Mortises and Tenons*
> 
> I got a little work done on the console which was to cut the mortises in the three brackets and the tenons in the aprons and mounting board.
> 
> ...


After seeing this I had to go through the entire series. Looks like this is going to be a cool project. Nice work


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## CaptainSkully (Aug 28, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Mortises and Tenons*
> 
> I got a little work done on the console which was to cut the mortises in the three brackets and the tenons in the aprons and mounting board.
> 
> ...


You might have inspired me to design a small Craftsman version to go under the A&C mirror my father-in-law made.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*(in)layin' around*

I finally got around to working on the console again and I'm now jumping in with the inlays and edge banding the top to cover my biscuit mistake. I cut some strips of walnut and purpleheart to about 7/8" wide and 3/8" thick that would get sanded down to 1/4". Since I don't have a thickness sander, I tried out a jig I saw in an old FWW magazine to use a drum sander on the drill press to accomplish the same task on thin strips.



The jig is simply a fixed board on the work surface connected to a pivoting fence via a turnbuckle opposite the pivot point. Worked like a charm! Took a little bit of technique to get good clean results and next time I would make the pivoting fence a lot longer, but I achieved my goal nonetheless.



With the strips sized, I could glue up the walnut and purpleheart that will make up the edge banding around the curve in the front of the top. I thought about just gluing the two directly to the top in one shot, but I thought this approach might help ease any strain on the glue joint with the edge of the top.



To calculate the size of the bending form, I downloaded a Spreadsheet Calculation Program which I found thanks to newTim and his Arched Bed Blog.

With that glued up, I started routing out a groove in the end brackets to accept a 1/4" purpleheart inlay. Norm routed just a round bottom groove on his, but I thought adding a little purpleheart inlay here might make my edge banding seem more intentional, rather than as a band-aid.



I used the straight edge guide for most of the grooves, but used the wooden stick guide that's on the router in the previous pic to rout the curves.



I cleaned up and squared the corners of the grooves and cut the narrow bottom groove with some chisels. All that's left is to add the purpleheart.



I had to leave the progress as it was in the last pic, but hopefully tomorrow I'll have a little more to show. I was originally hoping to just bend one of the purpleheart strips into the curve, but after I refreshed my memory with the tightness of the curve, I know that won't be possible. I will have to cut some curved strips and hope I can shape them accurately. That will hopefully be my next installment along with edging the top.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *(in)layin' around*
> 
> I finally got around to working on the console again and I'm now jumping in with the inlays and edge banding the top to cover my biscuit mistake. I cut some strips of walnut and purpleheart to about 7/8" wide and 3/8" thick that would get sanded down to 1/4". Since I don't have a thickness sander, I tried out a jig I saw in an old FWW magazine to use a drum sander on the drill press to accomplish the same task on thin strips.
> 
> ...


Nice work great start


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## CaptainSkully (Aug 28, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *(in)layin' around*
> 
> I finally got around to working on the console again and I'm now jumping in with the inlays and edge banding the top to cover my biscuit mistake. I cut some strips of walnut and purpleheart to about 7/8" wide and 3/8" thick that would get sanded down to 1/4". Since I don't have a thickness sander, I tried out a jig I saw in an old FWW magazine to use a drum sander on the drill press to accomplish the same task on thin strips.
> 
> ...


Could you do a rubbing and glue that onto the purpleheart blank as a template pattern to drum sand to? This is a complicated project. You're doing great. I can't wait to see it come together.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *(in)layin' around*
> 
> I finally got around to working on the console again and I'm now jumping in with the inlays and edge banding the top to cover my biscuit mistake. I cut some strips of walnut and purpleheart to about 7/8" wide and 3/8" thick that would get sanded down to 1/4". Since I don't have a thickness sander, I tried out a jig I saw in an old FWW magazine to use a drum sander on the drill press to accomplish the same task on thin strips.
> 
> ...


I was thinking about using the template I made to pattern the end brackets off of to give me a curve to work off. It probably won't be exactly the right radius, but it will likely be close enough that I can bend the strip into place. After template routing one side, I will band saw the other side just over 1/4" and then use my handy little drum sanding thicknesser jig to sand the other side to final thickness. If this idea doesn't work, then I might try the rubbing idea.

I don't think I'll get to it until next week, however since any time spent in the shop today will be to install some much needed lighting. I've been working with the garage doors open during the day all summer and I forgot how lousy the lighting is at night or with the doors closed.


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## CaptainSkully (Aug 28, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *(in)layin' around*
> 
> I finally got around to working on the console again and I'm now jumping in with the inlays and edge banding the top to cover my biscuit mistake. I cut some strips of walnut and purpleheart to about 7/8" wide and 3/8" thick that would get sanded down to 1/4". Since I don't have a thickness sander, I tried out a jig I saw in an old FWW magazine to use a drum sander on the drill press to accomplish the same task on thin strips.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I added eight shop lights in my garage a couple of months ago. I took the opportunity to plug them all in with extension cords, which gives me eight power drops all around the garage. I hung the main extension cord across the ceiling to run the other bank of lights, so they all turn on by plugging in one end. Everything is on the same breaker, so it didn't matter. I sometimes flip it when cutting through thick stock on the table saw while the dust collector is running.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *(in)layin' around*
> 
> I finally got around to working on the console again and I'm now jumping in with the inlays and edge banding the top to cover my biscuit mistake. I cut some strips of walnut and purpleheart to about 7/8" wide and 3/8" thick that would get sanded down to 1/4". Since I don't have a thickness sander, I tried out a jig I saw in an old FWW magazine to use a drum sander on the drill press to accomplish the same task on thin strips.
> 
> ...


One of my neighbors just told me he can probably get me a bunch of 8' dual bulb fluorescent lights dirt cheap from his company since they're shutting down some of their operation. Looks like I might be able to get a whole bunch more light in the garage! I'm taking out the three little light bulb fixtures in the garage and extending the electrical boxes underneath to allow for running conduit to the new fixtures. I suppose I'll post pics of that when I'm done, too.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Adding the Purpleheart*

I was able to get the purpleheart inlay done on the end brackets. To make the curved purpleheart pieces, I used the template for the end brackets to trace a line on a piece of purpleheart then cut it out on the band saw. After sanding to the line on the disc sander, I traced a line 5/16" from the edge and cut that out on the band saw.



I then attached the piece with the inside curve to the movable fence on my drum sanding jig so the curved strip could pass by the sander with a little more stable support.



Once I got it down to 1/4" thickness and it fit in the slots I cut in the end brackets, I ripped it in half on the band saw to make two.



Then I just needed to cut and sand the curves to fit the slots nice and tightly.



Here they are dry fitted.



And after belt sanding them flush.



Now I turned my attention to the edge banding on the top. The curve for the front was formed a little on the long side so I could sneak up on the final cut to make it fit just right. First I had to get it close to fitting so I simply clamped it in place on one end and bent it up tight on the other to make pencil marks.



There was a little more spring back on that front edge banding than I expected, but it's still thin enough that it shouldn't pose a problem when gluing it onto the top.

I was able to use the same gluing form I used to laminate the two edge pieces after trimming it's length a little. Even though the curve was a tighter radius, enough clamp pressure drew the MDF form in to create a good clamping caul for the edging.



After this dries overnight, I can start adding more edging to the rest of the front and the ends of the top. Now I have a bunch of sanding to take care of so I can see about finally doing some assembly!


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## CaptainSkully (Aug 28, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Adding the Purpleheart*
> 
> I was able to get the purpleheart inlay done on the end brackets. To make the curved purpleheart pieces, I used the template for the end brackets to trace a line on a piece of purpleheart then cut it out on the band saw. After sanding to the line on the disc sander, I traced a line 5/16" from the edge and cut that out on the band saw.
> 
> ...


That ended up being a very nice touch.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Adding the Purpleheart*
> 
> I was able to get the purpleheart inlay done on the end brackets. To make the curved purpleheart pieces, I used the template for the end brackets to trace a line on a piece of purpleheart then cut it out on the band saw. After sanding to the line on the disc sander, I traced a line 5/16" from the edge and cut that out on the band saw.
> 
> ...


Thanks, I thought the end brackets turned out pretty good too. There are a couple of gaps where the purpleheart didn't fit perfectly, but hopefully I will be able to get them filled. I hope the edging on the top looks as good.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Adding the Purpleheart*
> 
> I was able to get the purpleheart inlay done on the end brackets. To make the curved purpleheart pieces, I used the template for the end brackets to trace a line on a piece of purpleheart then cut it out on the band saw. After sanding to the line on the disc sander, I traced a line 5/16" from the edge and cut that out on the band saw.
> 
> ...


great blog very nice work.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*The end is near!*

I made some good progress today and it looks like the next time I can spend a decent amount of time in the shop, I should have this thing assembled. I started today sanding the three brackets and the aprons in preparation for assembly.

I noticed a decent sized dent in the face of one of the aprons and decided to try out the wet rag and iron method to raise the dent. I forgot to get pics, but it worked like a charm. As I was sanding one of the end brackets and looking at the inlay that had a couple of places with slim gaps, I thought about trying the iron technique here, too. So, I wet a rag, wet the inlaid area where the fit was a little loose and applied heat from the iron. Success! It didn't close up completely, but the gap was noticeably reduced.

Here are the brackets before the iron technique (note the gap at the bottom of the inlay on both brackets)...



And here they are after…



After finish sanding those pieces, I was able to start some assembly. The center bracket was glued and screwed to the mounting board first. Then, the aprons and end brackets could be glued and clamped.



I didn't have a clamp long enough, so two pipe clamps clamped to each other spanned along the mounting board.

Extra F-clamps help hold the aprons to the assembly table to make sure it stays nice and flat.



While that dried in the clamps, I turned my attention to the top. I already glued the curved edging on the large curve at the front of the top, and glued together some strips to go on the corners, so now it was time to fit them. After cutting the first piece I realized the curved edging that was glued on already was the culprit in the poor fit at this joint.



To fix it, I clamped the next edging piece in place and used a hand saw to cut the joint line. Cutting both pieces should make the joint fit together perfectly.



In my case, the joint wasn't perfect, but at least this fixed the glued-on piece. I was then able to fine tune the loose piece by adjusting the miter angle on my miter saw and all was well. Here's a look at the edging all glued and brad-nailed in place.



To account for wood movement across the grain of the top, I only glued the edging on at the front corner and used brads only for the rest of the edging.

With the support structure now out of the clamps, I could cut the bracket-backer boards to size and rout a 1/8" round-over on them.



These were then glued and brad-nailed to the backs of the three brackets.



With the glue now dry on the edging, it was time to go crazy with the belt sander to make them flush with the rest of the top.





I went back and sanded the top some more with the random orbit, but didn't have time to complete the sanding. I did get a chance to fill the brad holes so I can sand them smooth tomorrow.

Hopefully tomorrow will allow time for me to finish sanding the top, cut out the braces for the three brackets, sand them, install them, and then install the top. That's all that's left! I know I won't have time to get to the finishing process, but hopefully it will be completely assembled tomorrow. I'll keep my fingers crossed.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *The end is near!*
> 
> I made some good progress today and it looks like the next time I can spend a decent amount of time in the shop, I should have this thing assembled. I started today sanding the three brackets and the aprons in preparation for assembly.
> 
> ...


Good save it's coming together nicely


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## CaptainSkully (Aug 28, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *The end is near!*
> 
> I made some good progress today and it looks like the next time I can spend a decent amount of time in the shop, I should have this thing assembled. I started today sanding the three brackets and the aprons in preparation for assembly.
> 
> ...


It's been really great watching you build one of my favorite NYW projects, especially with the nice inlay. I can't wait to see it finished. That wood is going to look very dramatic.


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## kolwdwrkr (Jul 27, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *The end is near!*
> 
> I made some good progress today and it looks like the next time I can spend a decent amount of time in the shop, I should have this thing assembled. I started today sanding the three brackets and the aprons in preparation for assembly.
> 
> ...


it's looking great


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*It's assembled*

It's finally assembled.

I started today by fitting the curved braces that connect the center bracket to the two end brackets. After quite a few trips to the miter saw to shave off "just a hair," I finally had snug butt joints and evened-up braces. The problem was that the 3/4" braces were butting up against the 3/4" bracket-backer boards which already had a 1/8" round-over on them. This wouldn't do.


The fix was to run the curved braces through the planer again to make them 1/8" thinner. This resulted in a nice snug butt-joint. The braces now have a little step back as they join the other boards which I actually prefer. So another problem averted with another unintended "design feature." 




The braces were then attached with a couple of pocket screws on either end.



Norm used pocket screws to attach the top on his, so I did likewise. There are three pocket holes in each of the aprons as well.



I clamped everything down to the assembly table to make sure it was all straight and even. There was a slight cupping of the top (or bending of the support structure) that was clamped straight so the screws only had to hold the top in position and not draw it tight to the structure.



So here it is.








I am really looking forward to putting a finish on this thing and getting it mounted on my wall. I'm planning to do a few coats of tung oil with steel wool between coats and finally ending with a wax. I've used the tung oil on a number of projects before and really like the way it brings out the character of the wood. This will be the first time using the wax, though, and I hope it adds the final sheen to the finish (and protection) I'm looking for.

I won't be home until Tuesday, but I hope to get cracking on the finish then. Look for new project pics next week hopefully!


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *It's assembled*
> 
> It's finally assembled.
> 
> ...


It's turning into a real WOW piece.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *It's assembled*
> 
> It's finally assembled.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Jim. I've really enjoyed building this thing and am very pleased with the way the "unintended design features" worked out. I never intended to use any purpleheart in it and that is now my favorite part.

Descriptions are now in place.


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## CaptainSkully (Aug 28, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *It's assembled*
> 
> It's finally assembled.
> 
> ...


I think Norm might have found his replacement at NYW! Awesome. I love the way tung oil works its magic on dark wood.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *It's assembled*
> 
> It's finally assembled.
> 
> ...


I don't know about being Norm's replacement, but this project has just fanned the flames on wanting to do more elaborate projects. Thanks for the compliment, though.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Finishing*

Touched up the last bits of sanding when I got home today, cleaned it up and was able to apply the finish. First coat of Tung oil. I'll let it dry tonight, rub it down with some steel wool tomorrow morning and apply again. I'm thinking of doing three coats with steel wool after each and then a coat of wax. Here it is with the first coat of Tung oil still wet.


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## Julian (Sep 30, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Finishing*
> 
> Touched up the last bits of sanding when I got home today, cleaned it up and was able to apply the finish. First coat of Tung oil. I'll let it dry tonight, rub it down with some steel wool tomorrow morning and apply again. I'm thinking of doing three coats with steel wool after each and then a coat of wax. Here it is with the first coat of Tung oil still wet.


Looking REAL good!


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## CaptainSkully (Aug 28, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Finishing*
> 
> Touched up the last bits of sanding when I got home today, cleaned it up and was able to apply the finish. First coat of Tung oil. I'll let it dry tonight, rub it down with some steel wool tomorrow morning and apply again. I'm thinking of doing three coats with steel wool after each and then a coat of wax. Here it is with the first coat of Tung oil still wet.


That's pretty spectacular. Don't forget to post this on NYW's site.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Finishing*
> 
> Touched up the last bits of sanding when I got home today, cleaned it up and was able to apply the finish. First coat of Tung oil. I'll let it dry tonight, rub it down with some steel wool tomorrow morning and apply again. I'm thinking of doing three coats with steel wool after each and then a coat of wax. Here it is with the first coat of Tung oil still wet.


Thanks for the tip. My dad mentioned I should send Norm a link to this blog, but I didn't look into how to do it yet. I'll check out the NYW site.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Finishing*
> 
> Touched up the last bits of sanding when I got home today, cleaned it up and was able to apply the finish. First coat of Tung oil. I'll let it dry tonight, rub it down with some steel wool tomorrow morning and apply again. I'm thinking of doing three coats with steel wool after each and then a coat of wax. Here it is with the first coat of Tung oil still wet.


Wooo eee thats one great table beautiful well done.


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## zlatanv (Jul 18, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Finishing*
> 
> Touched up the last bits of sanding when I got home today, cleaned it up and was able to apply the finish. First coat of Tung oil. I'll let it dry tonight, rub it down with some steel wool tomorrow morning and apply again. I'm thinking of doing three coats with steel wool after each and then a coat of wax. Here it is with the first coat of Tung oil still wet.


Wow! nice job.


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## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*It's finished!*

It's all done! Up and installed. I put on three coats of tung oil with 0000 steel wool in between each coat. The top got a fourth coat. Then a coat of finishing paste wax, with the top getting two more coats.

Check it out!


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *It's finished!*
> 
> It's all done! Up and installed. I put on three coats of tung oil with 0000 steel wool in between each coat. The top got a fourth coat. Then a coat of finishing paste wax, with the top getting two more coats.
> 
> Check it out!


Great Job


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## gagewestern (Mar 24, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *It's finished!*
> 
> It's all done! Up and installed. I put on three coats of tung oil with 0000 steel wool in between each coat. The top got a fourth coat. Then a coat of finishing paste wax, with the top getting two more coats.
> 
> Check it out!


i have always liked that type of table.NICE!!!!!!!!!


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *It's finished!*
> 
> It's all done! Up and installed. I put on three coats of tung oil with 0000 steel wool in between each coat. The top got a fourth coat. Then a coat of finishing paste wax, with the top getting two more coats.
> 
> Check it out!


Looks mighty fine. Pretty unique too. Great job!


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