Live edge Entryway table Walnut/maple


arbiterr

Recommended Posts

Very pretty!!  thanks for posting!

 

2 comments.....

1. I'm reminded of a presentation by Jim Heavey (Wood Magazine) at one of the Woodworking shows.  He spoke about how most woodworkers are their own worst critic - when someone complements their work, he/she is the first one to point out all the flaws. Now, maybe in this forum it's appropriate because we all want to learn and better ourselves (see #2, below) but Jim's advice was basically "Say thank you.  and shut up". :)

2. To make it better.....hmm, good question.  I would say to make the rectangle "cutouts" cleaner looking, i suggest you could rip the boards lengthwise into three pieces; cut the center piece in the middle to 'remove' the rectangle where the opening would be; and then glue the boards back together again.  The grain should match almost perfectly and hide the glue line.  This is a common method in making the opening for a drawer in a desk apron from a single board, keeping the grain continuity. 

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Jfitz said:

2. To make it better.....hmm, good question.  I would say to make the rectangle "cutouts" cleaner looking, i suggest you could rip the boards lengthwise into three pieces; cut the center piece in the middle to 'remove' the rectangle where the opening would be; and then glue the boards back together again.  The grain should match almost perfectly and hide the glue line.  This is a common method in making the opening for a drawer in a desk apron from a single board, keeping the grain continuity. 

I did not know that.....Thanks. Jfitz.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice table! 

2 hours ago, Jfitz said:

I would say to make the rectangle "cutouts" cleaner looking, i suggest you could rip the boards lengthwise into three pieces; cut the center piece in the middle to 'remove' the rectangle where the opening would be; and then glue the boards back together again.  The grain should match almost perfectly and hide the glue line.  This is a common method in making the opening for a drawer in a desk apron from a single board, keeping the grain continuity. 

This would be the best application if the cutout needed to be preserved, like in the case of a drawer front. This is just a straight up through mortise which would be easily achieved with a simple jig and a router. 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That could work too.  But instead of having to chisel out the corners, the rip-n-glue method is pretty foolproof.

Now, rounding the corners of the tenon is an option too, to match the rounded corner from the router.  As always more than one way to skin a cat....but find the one way that works for you.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Had you just posted and said, hey, here it is, I would have said "damn fine looking table"! And I still think it's a great looking piece. But, you asked for comments! I agree that the bark should have been left off but, there's so little showing, it looks good. On the stretcher, I would have made a tenon on each end,instead of the whole board going thru the mortise (hole).  I don't see any gaps but assuming there might be? This would have given you a shoulder to hide any imperfections on the inside and you could have cut the mortise from the outside. Might have made for a little more stability too, as my projects need as much as I can give them;). Also a wedge dealie on the outside of the tenon would look cool. I'm sure there's a correct word for that? And yes, the edges would look better with a round over. What would have really looked cool is if the the front of the legs would have been live edge as well. But again, I think you've done a good job and it looks great!!!!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Jfitz said:

2. To make it better.....hmm, good question.  I would say to make the rectangle "cutouts" cleaner looking, i suggest you could rip the boards lengthwise into three pieces; cut the center piece in the middle to 'remove' the rectangle where the opening would be; and then glue the boards back together again.  

 

 

2

That's a brilliant idea, never thought about it. 

 

14 hours ago, shaneymack said:

This would be the best application if the cutout needed to be preserved, like in the case of a drawer front. This is just a straight up through mortise which would be easily achieved with a simple jig and a router. 

 

 

 

13 hours ago, Jfitz said:

Now, rounding the corners of the tenon is an option too, to match the rounded corner from the router.  As always more than one way to skin a cat....but find the one way that works for you.

 

 

 

So many ideas. I have seen the wood whisperer round off many of his tenons, I like it.. better than chiseling out the entire hole. I'm surprised I never thought of using the router lol.. maybe it was the excitement of the new chisels I had. had some tear out on the other end too since I was working on carpet. big mistake. 

13 hours ago, drzaius said:

Nice looking table. But since you asked for critique; the bark should have been removed. Live edge is fine, but bark only belongs on rustic, made of logs furniture.

 

I was contemplating that. but was vary only because I never tried it and didn't want to ruin this piece. My plan is to make a live edge cutting board next time I visit the lumber yard and practice bark removal on those. barkless really looks neat. 

9 hours ago, K Cooper said:

 On the stretcher, I would have made a tenon on each end,instead of the whole board going thru the mortise (hole).  I don't see any gaps but assuming there might be? This would have given you a shoulder to hide any imperfections on the inside and you could have cut the mortise from the outside. Might have made for a little more stability too, as my projects need as much as I can give them;). Also a wedge dealie on the outside of the tenon would look cool. I'm sure there's a correct word for that? And yes, the edges would look better with a round over. What would have really looked cool is if the the front of the legs would have been live edge as well. But again, I think you've done a good job and it looks great!!!!

6

Ah, it was initially my plan to have the wood stay flush outside with maple wedges for good contrast.. but I went with the overhang instead. I agree, a hidden mortise tenon would be much cleaner.  live edge legs is a great tip I'll keep that in mind next time. I'll try to round over the legs when I decide to switch the finish to wipe-on poly. 

 

Thanks everyone for the compliments and tips/tricks. I really enjoyed making this. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a nice project.  Just wondering how you keep the legs from bowing in?  I made a similar table console table, but longer ~ 10"x6'  One of the other members of the shop pointed out the the legs where going to be really unstable with it that long, and I ended up adding some stretcher bars at the bottom secured with pegs to prevent that.  Was that ever a problem for you?  How did you secure the middle shelf?

20160629_200944.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/21/2017 at 9:58 PM, Anna S said:

That's a nice project.  Just wondering how you keep the legs from bowing in?  I made a similar table console table, but longer ~ 10"x6'  One of the other members of the shop pointed out the the legs where going to be really unstable with it that long, and I ended up adding some stretcher bars at the bottom secured with pegs to prevent that.  Was that ever a problem for you?  How did you secure the middle shelf?

 

2

Thanks. To be honest Anna, I never considered bowing in (from the weight of the table?) to be an issue here. All 4 pieces of wood are 1" thick (maple could be 3/4") and seem quite sturdy so it never crossed my mind. I am not worried about the legs bowing in because the walnut is quite light for hardwood. My walnut slab is only 45" long and from what I've seen it hardly adds stress on the legs.. especially on maple legs. At 6' wide, If I were to make it with the little knowledge I have and warning you provided I'd set up a skeleton frame on top of the legs for the table to rest on instead of just having the slab rest directly on legs... this evens out the weight distribution across the length. 

The support you added at the base looks nice and well crafted too. 

The way I secured the bar was simple. the cutouts on the legs are made slightly smaller than the bar (basically chiseled out the insides of the outline i made). And on the bar, I lightly planed off the ends (both face ways and edge) with a hand planer. That made about 2-3" of the bar's both ends narrower on all sides. I inserted them into the cutouts and hammered (rubber mallet) the legs into the bar until there was resistance from the unplaned part of the bar (lucky the overhang was even on both sides). They actually hold pretty tight after the hammering... so tight that the legs and bar hammered together stayed sturdy without the slab on. There's a picture below, you can see the legs clearly.  Let me know if my explanation is unclear. 

IMG_1508.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On January 25, 2017 at 10:13 AM, arbiterr said:

The way I secured the bar was simple. the cutouts on the legs are made slightly smaller than the bar (basically chiseled out the insides of the outline i made). And on the bar, I lightly planed off the ends (both face ways and edge) with a hand planer. That made about 2-3" of the bar's both ends narrower on all sides. I inserted them into the cutouts and hammered (rubber mallet) the legs into the bar until there was resistance from the unplaned part of the bar (lucky the overhang was even on both sides). They actually hold pretty tight after the hammering... so tight that the legs and bar hammered together stayed sturdy without the slab on. There's a picture below, you can see the legs clearly.  Let me know if my explanation is unclear. 

That makes sense, and looks pretty stable.  Did you end up gluing the shelf in?  Any loosening with wood movement?  I ended up going with the tusks because I wasn't sure I'd get a tight fit, and having a wedge to take up any slack worked reasonably well.  There's a little peg on the end side of the stretcher boards that it pushes against  (Not a  perfect solution though,  the first piece of furniture I used those wedges on, I put so much wax on them that they would just slip right out, not enough grip to hold them in place when you pushed the tusks down.)

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

nope. no glue used either. ill have to keep an eye on wood movements. nothing has happened yet, but my main concerns are the cracks I filled in the slab. At this moment I have no idea what to anticipate in terms of movements, season change into summer should be interesting though. I like the tusk tenons never knew about it until after I posted my project here, So I wouldn't have any input in regards to grip. I've never worked with wax except cutting boards so if I were doing it, I'd simply have a rough coat of poly.. might give it some traction. 

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   4 Members, 0 Anonymous, 59 Guests (See full list)

  • Forum Statistics

    31.2k
    Total Topics
    421.8k
    Total Posts
  • Member Statistics

    23,759
    Total Members
    3,644
    Most Online
    R Parekh
    Newest Member
    R Parekh
    Joined