Chris H Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 I promised the boss lady a new dining room table after she "accidentally" broke the leg off our existing table. I mended it make to functional, but it's time to upgrade from the "scratch-and-dent" room special we bought when we first got married. We need a table big enough to sit four, but expandable to 8+. The rest of our kitchen furniture is oak with a dark cherry stain, so I intend to stick with that. It's economical and I definitely don't want to be tasked with re-building chairs, a buffet, and refinishing cabinets. With nearly a decade of hauling the leaf up and down from basement, and having to store it, I have settled on a butterfly leaf design (I think). I would love any feedback from anyone with some experience with these. FWW has a great article for anyone who is a member if you are interested in the mechanics. They lay out the mechanics of the leaf mechanism pretty well. So I am hoping that is enough to get me through! Holtzer Dining Table V05 Curves.skp I would love any feedback on design choices, or aesthetics. This is going to be a long slow build, since I have started my MBA program this fall, and business is going well. So I will be squeezing this in when I can. I appreciate any feedback! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombarde16 Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Nice curves, consistently applied. What sort of chairage will this table have? Might you extend the project further to include benches that match? Only thing that jumps out is the sequence of reveals and thicknesses for the undercarriage. The long stretcher on the bottom has a small reveal where it joins the short stretchers. Those short stretchers in turn have no reveal where they join the legs. Furthermore, they carry a decorative slat in the middle which is not centered but offset. I'd go with a consistent reveal through all three. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G S Haydon Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Rob, Chairage, I love it . Chris H, I think this is a very appropriate design for a dining table. Rob has a fair point on the reveals but that said they are far from a car crash. I think I would make the "undercarriage" the same size as the short stretchers. Just my 2 cents though, it is a nice design. You avoided the temptation of adding fussy details, which is nice.; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted September 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 I started with equal reveal on both, but later decided to use a heavier stock for the bottom supports. I did this more for function than form. this allows for a longer tenon for more robust support. In my experience, these supports often double as foot rests, as well will the long brace on the bottom. I want to be sure both are sufficiently over built to allow for any potential misuse it may encounter. I could go thicker on top to achieve equal reveal though. EDIT: The boss lady has an order in for a bench on one side. I am holding off plans for the bench until I see what scraps I have from the actual build. We will use our existing chairs for the rest of the seating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted September 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 I got a couple hours in the shop today. So I got the base components rough cut and the tenons cut. Next up will be the shaping of the curved pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted September 28, 2013 Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 Wow, that's a nice day's work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBaker Posted September 28, 2013 Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 Looks good, Chris. Keep us updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted October 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 Got another couple hours in the shop today. Mortises and curves are rough cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 Wish I could get that much done in a couple hours! I'm enjoying the progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted October 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 Wish I could get that much done in a couple hours! I'm enjoying the progress! Well, it was a good 3 hours, and I didn't get any of the Mortises cleaned up or the curves shaped well. Just rough work, its the finish work that takes so much time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 Very impressive! I am looking forward to seeing how you orient the grain for the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted October 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2013 The grain will be oriented parallel with the leaf slots (width of the table) so that expansion and contraction can be absorbed by the slides that top will sit on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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