Dining Table


lewisc

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Work has begun on my table! Not the most complicated thing I’ve tried but certainly the biggest. 

The base will be painted so the legs are a mix of various sized timber. I went with what was available rather than purchasing new timber for the legs. They were glued up in the same orientation so there shouldn’t be any problems. 

I’ve made one leg as a sort of prototype and I’m happy with it. The taper was cut on the bandsaw and then cleaned up with the jointer.  The other legs will be finished tomorrow and I can then start marking out joinery. 

 

I have have a feeling that breadboard ends will be a good option but haven’t made up my mind on that one. 

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The leg tapers were cut today. A little finessing and sanding and they’ll be done. 

I marked and cut mortices on the legs for the short aprons. I did a quick dry fit and it might be a bit narrow. I’ll do some reading tonight and make some decisions regarding the width. 

 

Because I’m using loose tenons, it shouldn’t be too much work to make new aprons if I do decide to make the table wider. 

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Make sure there is room under the apron for a chair & a person seated.  Remember that " thunder thighs " exist more frequently these days. 

I inherited a table that the aprons block the 2 arm chairs from being pushed under. Lower the arms or narrow the apron, probably a bit of both would have been the best solution.

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I tinkered with some loose tenon stock today. I’ll need to adjust the round over slightly on the router table but it was still a tight fit. 

How tight should these be? I had to tap it in with a mallet but it would probably push the glue out. It was a nice, square fit though. 

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Loose tenons cut today. I’m going to go ahead and do a test for the rails and place a sheet of MDF on top to do some sizing. I have a feeling the rails need to be a touch bigger length and width ways to be a comfortable fit. If that’s the case, I can repurpose the long rails to be short ones and make up new long rails. Once that’s done , I can clean the legs and rails and glue up. 

I’ve seen a few videos of people using ratchet straps to glue a dining table up in one go. Is this a good move? For smaller tables I’ve done, I normally glue the two short sides, and then the long sides. 

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I would glue the two short sides first then the long sides, I've done it that way before and it seemed to work well. the ratchet strap idea would take a few extra hands and with the glue drying you don't have a lot of time to adjust ratchet straps. connect some pipe clamps together or use this as an excuse to get more clamps. looking great so far.

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I milled up some new rails today. They’re about 250mm longer than the previous ones. The extra length will be good so 3 people can fit nicely. I’ve got to start practicing a sliding dovetail for the inner support beams. It’s been a while since I’ve cut one. 

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I’ve gotta work on my handtool game. I tried some half sliding dovetails for the inner rail support pieces today. Attempt one was not so great. Attempt two was a little better.  The fit was good but they’re not that pretty. 

I have a theory that this timber isn’t the best for chiseling. Of course, it’s  probably more my technique than anything.  They were a touch tight so I end up with some chip out. 

I’ll give it a few more goes but probably end up using a dovetail bit in the router - at least for the channel. Cutting the end of the board went ok. 

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5 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

Looks better than mine would. When it comes to chiseling a clean line, sharp and slow is what its all about. My impatience (taking big bites) usually gets me into trouble.

I have come to learn this lesson too.

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Test round 3 went better.  I mixed up my approach and used a mitre saw to establish the edges of the channel. I then used to a chisel to clean up all the waste. I cut the other part by hand though. 

I’m happy enough with it to start cutting the main parts. 

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