Ishitani Kigumi Slab-Top Table


Denette

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Great look! Love the lamination for the legs. Kind of wish I did something similar for my cherry dining room table. I would be highly tempted to cleanup the area where the bullet came from, put it back and then cover it clear epoxy. Quite the conversational item that way.

 

 

 

Had I not already taken it out and epoxied the hole, I might have done that!

 

 

Well guys, good news and bad news. The good news is that I've got my resawing done. The bad news is that one of the vertical leg parts exploded:

 

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The good news is that I'm not hurt.

 

 

The bad news is that my planer now has a bent blade and I'll definitely need to replace at least the blade - let's hope I don't have to replace more.

 

 

The good news is that I can compensate for the screwup in my design, since the part I lost is the same width as the top piece of the trestle leg. The bridle joint up there will just swap out for a mortise and tenon. Nobody will ever know, and nobody will ever see the table from that angle anyway.

 

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Here's my SketchUp version of the fix.  It took 1.25" off the height of the table, which I'm not crazy about, but it was already 30", so 28¾" isn't too bad.

59a1f7f5d60cb_ScreenShot2017-08-26at5_34_13PM.thumb.jpg.4995ce773182c37310384b7a8c5dddd2.jpg59a1f7f6af652_ScreenShot2017-08-26at5_35_17PM.thumb.jpg.8de8ae8db48d18457f805ca1d117d456.jpg

Basically the top is a mortise and tenon instead of a bridle joint.  Should be just as sturdy, and it will actually be easier to machine, too, because I won't have to worry about the sliding dovetail being in the path of the bridle joint waste.  It's not quite as attractive as the previous plan, but it's really a small difference that nobody will think twice about.  At least, I hope, haha!

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Hey Russell, I spent a few hours last evening watching all of Ishitani's videos.  I'd heard the name mentioned before but never took the time to investigate.  Great stuff.  I enjoy his relaxed pace and simple approach, and I can totally see why he inspires you.  Thanks for turning me on to him.

He does live edge the way it should be done: with thought.  There is harmony in his pieces.

I'm surprised you're just now checking him out, he seems right up your alley. I love his all-wood joinery. There's something magical about a piece that doesn't need screws.

 

What, you mean you don't love seeing hairpin legs screwed to the bottom of a live edge slab that has been slathered with ten coats of polyurethane?

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I like the ice-cream sandwich legs!

 

lol, hadn't thought of it like that. Now I want ice cream.

 

I know the mixed-wood approach makes some people cringe, and I'm not married to it yet. I'll do a few tests to see how it'll look, but I think it'll look good. We'll see.

 

 

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46 minutes ago, Denette said:

 

lol, hadn't thought of it like that. Now I want ice cream.

 

I know the mixed-wood approach makes some people cringe, and I'm not married to it yet. I'll do a few tests to see how it'll look, but I think it'll look good. We'll see.

Is your primary turnoff not using the material from the same tree throughout the project, or the expense of buying additional cherry?

I understand the sentiment if it's the former, but ultimately I don't think it will matter in the scheme of the project, since while it's obviously a single piece and consistency is always a priority, the top and the base are kind of two unique parts of a whole.  My point being, you wouldn't have the same concern as if you were mixing and matching the boards in just the top or just the base, where color and grain-matching issues are front and center.  The base and top are almost two separate entities and no one will be the wiser if you bought additional stock to build the base.  Ultimately I think that would be your best option of the three we've discussed.  Obviously it would mean additional cost, but it wouldn't be that outrageous considering the moderate price of cherry.

If it's the latter and that baby's got you flat broke, then I get it. :)

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Ouch.

 

A fine lesson for all of you out there: when routing the inside of a dovetail groove, be sure to remember which side of the bit is making contact. If you miscalculate, you may launch your board across the room and drag the very tips of your fingers across the top of the router bit.

 

I just learned that lesson the hard way. Thank the Lord I only got the very tip of my middle finger. 1/16" deep flesh wound. Alcohol and neosporin to the rescue.

 

At least I am not repeating my mistakes. I hadn't had that one happen before...

 

So that means I'm done for today, haha.

 

In actual project news, I have decided that since the trestle top connection has to be a mortise and tenon, I want the top rail of the trestle as wide as possible. To save ½" of height (and therefore gain ½" of tenon depth) I decided to route a dovetail groove in both the underside of the table top and the top of the top trestle rail, and machine a dovetail key to join the two.

 

I made the dovetail keys without much trouble. The narrower side will go into the trestle base; I needed to make the key narrower so enough material would still be there on either side of it on the base.

 

1c09f55dbc1592c402fb2d5bd244baa8.jpg

 

I decided to save my dovetail bit some strain and cut out the majority of the trestle top's waste on my table saw. I then adjusted my router table fence, cut the first pass without a problem, and then when I reversed the board to center the cut... Zip! And suddenly I was reminded of how much I love all my fingers. I've never had a router table just grab something like that. Man.

 

Here is the dovetail groove as it looks post-launch:f646dc68a2caadd0f71953160e58c880.jpg

 

So I'm gonna go lick my wounds and take it easy for a day or two. Y'all stay safe out there. Remember to consider which side of a dado your router is grabbing onto, otherwise you might get hurt.

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Russel, a good practice to follow, assuming the dovetail dado is wider than the bit, is to start the groove with a straight bit no wider than the opening of the slot. For through dados, the ts could work, too. This removes a lot of the waste, and gives your dovetail bit room to eject chips with less clogging. The feed direction is still important, though.


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Russel, a good practice to follow, assuming the dovetail dado is wider than the bit, is to start the groove with a straight bit no wider than the opening of the slot. For through dados, the ts could work, too. This removes a lot of the waste, and gives your dovetail bit room to eject chips with less clogging. The feed direction is still important, though.

 

What's crazy is that I actually did do that. I ran the pieces across the table saw first. The first pass across the dovetail bit went great and the second sucked right out of my hands.

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