Huge Mahogany Coffee Table !


wdwerker

Recommended Posts

Brilliant!! You and others may have known this method all along but this is the first I have heard it described. I have seen literally dozens of blogs on flattening one side with hand planes to begin powered planing. While I enjoy that method, I see your method to be a tremendous time saver if needed. Thanks!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

post-6363-0-14216200-1377962036_thumb.jp

This is the flattened parts stickered up ready to be cut to final size. Today we are going to cut the joinery.

The top frame around the 2 glass panels will be 6" wide. Started out with 1 3/4" thick stock. After glue up and flattening I have 1 1/2" to work with. The top will be a big figure 8.

1 1/2" x 6" x 80" rails connected by 3 crosspieces. 6 butt joints with (4) 10mm Domino's.

The legs are 1 1/2 x 12" x 15 1/2. They will get a row of dominoes to attach them to the underside of the top.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today we started cutting all the parts to exact size. I quickly realized that special care would be needed to keep all the edges square. So I clamped all the matching parts into a set with offcut scraps on the outside. Marked the surface with a pencil, then sanded with 50 , 100, and 120 grit in quick succession.

post-6363-0-75498700-1377998068_thumb.jp

post-6363-0-26052300-1377998574_thumb.jp

Lather , rinse , repeat...... Cleaning up all the edges will save time later but it ate up a couple of hours.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

After all the edges were cleaned up we trimmed everything to exact size. My energy and focus were slipping so I just clamped up a test fit of the top.

post-6363-0-09439800-1377999045_thumb.jp

Then I set up the parts for the base. A few quick measurements and everything was within a 1/16 !

post-6363-0-08250800-1377999342_thumb.jp

Dripping sweat and afraid of making a mistake I called it a day. It is taking shape nicely I think .

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

160 mortices, (80) 10 mm dominoes and we got it dry fitted together today. I was a little worried the 80" long pieces might sag a little, so I stepped up and stood on the center crosspiece. It only moved 1/8" ! I think once it is all glued up there will be even less flex in all the joints.

post-6363-0-34036400-1378164570_thumb.jp

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I decided to use 4 dominoes on each joint in the top. Simple butt joints have little strength from an end grain glue joint. 4 dominoes gives me 16 square inches of glue surface. If you look closely you can see 2 tenons on each side.

post-6363-0-58246600-1378216062_thumb.jp

Due to the size of this coffee table I wanted the top removable for delivery and easier finishing. I used a row of 4 tenons to attach the legs to the underside of the top. The dominoes will be glued into the legs and loose in the top. I drilled 2 pocket holes for screws to intersect the tenons to lock them in place, clean simple and cheap, no hardware will show through the glass inserts.

post-6363-0-06009600-1378216570_thumb.jp

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sanded all the inside faces and places that are hard to get to after its glued up today. Drilled the legs for leveling feet then tackled the big glue up!

post-6363-0-13409000-1378251333_thumb.jp

20 clamps worth about $900 looks something like this. The diagonal ones are to force it to be exactly square. Measure corner to corner, put the clamp across the longer corner , tighten until both measurements are the same.

post-6363-0-31614900-1378251443_thumb.jp

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Titebond III which has a slower set and I was on the verge of babbling many times in the couple of hours it took to get the whole thing perfect. Did it in stages got the top clamped up and just right and let it sit 45 minutes while we were assembling the base then the nightmare began, getting the base and top aligned before the glue set.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Took the whole thing apart sanded it again to remove clamp marks and scuffs. Stained it once,wipe on and wipe off to get a color base established.

post-6363-0-44704800-1378425509_thumb.jp

Then I sprayed a second coat of stain on to even out the color and make it darker.

post-6363-0-16839200-1378425612_thumb.jp

After wiping the second coat back and drying for an hour or so I sprayed on a couple of coats of sanding sealer.

post-6363-0-88816100-1378425732_thumb.jp

I always make color samples for clients that want a specific color level on their project. Making sure I match the sample is important. The client wanted a pretty dark stain. I made it as dark as possible without completely covering up the grain and losing any variation between the different boards.

post-6363-0-29348200-1378426281_thumb.jp

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We got more coats of sealer on the table today but we had to build dividers for 2 drawers on the gift shop job. Amazing how much time can be involved in making adjustable dividers for a drawer. Cut multiple parts to a tight accuracy , sand, spray, and sand again. Then assemble and hope for the best fit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Who's Online   0 Members, 0 Anonymous, 28 Guests (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online
  • Forum Statistics

    31.2k
    Total Topics
    421.8k
    Total Posts
  • Member Statistics

    23,758
    Total Members
    3,644
    Most Online
    R Parekh
    Newest Member
    R Parekh
    Joined