Chip Sawdust Posted January 8, 2019 Report Share Posted January 8, 2019 That's an interesting piece, thanks for sharing it Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted January 11, 2019 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 11, 2019 Last time the base was completed, and we had a quick look at the parts together. It is not fully sanded yet, and no finish obviously. It feels very solid in the legs - I know there were some that were concerned about the 10 degree splay .... The - almost - last lap is here, the building of the drawer. I do not want to bore the pants off all with yet another dovetailing, so rather here are some pictures of the decisions and tasks that need to take place for a well-fitted drawer. The first decision was to choose the wood for the drawer front, and the panel at the other side (the drawer will open on one side of the coffee table, and the other side will be a fixed panel similar to the drawer front). There is just enough of the Fiddleback Jarrah for these panels. The orientation of the figure needs to be chosen, otherwise it will look like a dog's breakfast ... It is beautiful wood, but very interlocked. The double iron works its wonders .. The length is short enough to joint on a shooting board .. Mark the width .. ... and shoot to the line. The ends are squared ... I frequently read how important it is to have a backing board when shooting end grain to prevent spelching. This is not important at all. The best strategy is to score the line you will plane to, and then add a chamfer at the end. Use the shooting plane for this ... Now plane until the chamfer disappears ... No spelching ... The fitted drawer front ... ... is tight to the sides and has about 1mm gap at the top. The back board of the drawer, and the rear panel ... These are the drawer parts: the front is 19mm thick, the quarter sawn Tasmanian Oak sides are 10mm (slightly thicker than my usual 8mm as it needs to be a little beefier) and the rear is 12mm ... A peek at the drawer ... All the details in the last chapter next time. Regards from Perth Derek 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted January 11, 2019 Report Share Posted January 11, 2019 As usual Derek, very enlightening. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted January 11, 2019 Report Share Posted January 11, 2019 Beautiful work as always Derek!! I need to try a set of those tiny DT's they are awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted January 12, 2019 Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 I am impressed with the workmanship. Wonderful piece. I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 12, 2019 Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 That's a lovely table, Derek! Did you consider the option of having the drawer pull out both ways? I've seen magnets used in the center to 'soft lock' the drawer when closed. Thanks for sharing the constuction details. Tons of useful tidbits for those of us paying attention! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted January 12, 2019 Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 Looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekcohen Posted January 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 1 hour ago, wtnhighlander said: That's a lovely table, Derek! Did you consider the option of having the drawer pull out both ways? I've seen magnets used in the center to 'soft lock' the drawer when closed. Thanks for sharing the constuction details. Tons of useful tidbits for those of us paying attention! That was my plan at the start of the build. In the end I thought it would be impractical, and have ended with a drawer from one side, and a panel (same as the drawer front) on the other side. Regards from Perth Derek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted January 12, 2019 Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 Derek, fantastic craftsmanship and beautiful wood! Your last post, second pic, far right. There is a check in the board in your layout. Did you use it anyway and how did you treat it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekcohen Posted January 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 Hi Coop Thanks! No checks. It may have been a pencil mark. All good. Regards from Perth Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted January 12, 2019 Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 I hope your nephew appreciates what he’s getting here. Last year I made a coffee table for a friend and he actually selected the very same table design, but after pondering it, I politely declined that design as I just wasn’t confident I could pull it off. I really appreciate seeing your approach to the challenges here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted January 14, 2019 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 This was the model for the coffee table my nephew chose when I offered to build them a wedding present ... Let's see how we did .... Before the coffee table was assembled from the parts, I was mindful that it would be shipped from Perth to Sydney (which is the further than New York to LA). The main concern was that the container might bounce (be dropped or be handled roughly), and the weight of the heavy Jarrah top coming down on the splayed legs might cause them severe damage. (I am not concerned about the strength of the legs for normal home use - the construction is strong. More shortly). So, I build a table out of MDF that could be placed under the coffee table, and would take all the weight ... The top and base were connected with steel angle brackets ... Part of the strength in the splayed legs comes from the corner brackets, which act to lock in the mortice-and-tenon joint by preventing movement. These steel angle brackets further lock in the base from any possible twisting. The brackets are angled to 10 degrees to match the inside of the rails ... Incidentally, the best, and cheapest, anvil is this section of steel angle, the insides of which are lines with Hard Maple scrap, and then clamped in the leg vise over a leg .... The finish for the wood - Fiddleback Jarrah for the top of the carcase and the drawer fronts, and Jarrah for the base of the carcase and base/legs - was chosen for durability. It needs to be capable of resisting water marks and heat, and still have a natural appearance - not a sit-on-top finish, such as a poly or varnish. Most oil finishes are not durable enough. What I went with in the end was Evolution (satin), a hard wax oil by Whittle. This is a floor finish, and in the examples I saw it looked more like a waxed oil finish. The reports and reviews were highly favourable. I must say, after using it, I was completely sold. It is fantastic! The surfaces were sanded to 400 grit (Abranet), and then two coats were rubbed on with a micromesh cloth, 8 hours apart. Any residue was removed immediately. There was no grain raising that I could detect, however I did rub down the first coats with 400 grit grey mesh. The drawer case was waxed (only) with Lincoln Furniture Wax. This is a shellac-based wax. The inside of the drawer was finished with Ubeaut Hard Shellac diluted 50% with methylated spirits (alcohol). All of the above are Australian products. The interior of the drawer was lined in leather, which was waxed with Renaissance Wax. This is a close up of the Evolution. It is so much nicer in the flesh. Silky ... OK, to the coffee table ... The front, with the drawer (and the agonised-over-drawer-handle-pull-whatever) .. The colour, figure, and those rounded dovetails look fantastic ... Other end ... The rear has a closed panel. At the start of the project I had planned to make the drawer run all the way through, and open from each side. On reflection, this created more problems than it was worth, and so the one side was closed in with the same panel used as a drawer front ... The Jarrah base and splayed, tapered legs ... Finally the drawer ... The drawer stop used was the same design as used in the Apothecary Chest. This is adjustable, which enable the position of the drawer front to be fine tuned ... The 10mm drawer sides are Tasmanian Oak, which I find great for this purpose as it all comes quarter sawn. It is a moderately hard wood (by Oz standards). Plywood was used for the drawer bottom, as it was inset in grooves and covered in leather. Jarrah cove moulding was made to finish. Inside there is an inscribed brass plate for remembrance ... Thanks for all the contributions and discussion along the way. Regards from Perth Derek 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmac Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 Thanks for sharing this project, really enjoyed it and an excellent result! Beautiful grain and figure in that wood also, looking forward to seeing another one of your projects. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 Like the piece is amazing but the finishing touches on the drawer take this from amazing to one step above that. I think the designer of the coffee table you used for inspiration would be jealous. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 I show NY, NY to LA,CA at 2,700 odd miles and Perth to Sydney at about 2,400 miles. That is hair splitting. On par with for sure. Knowing only a little of Australia, I’d say it is a lot more desert to cross by percentage. Any concern there? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 This is the first time I had a professor that lived so far away. Derek, as usual, you knocked it out of the park. Beautifully done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 On 1/14/2019 at 8:14 AM, Chestnut said: Like the piece is amazing but the finishing touches on the drawer take this from amazing to one step above that. I think the designer of the coffee table you used for inspiration would be jealous. I agree. I think the construction and finish on this piece exceeds that of the piece which served as inspiration. This would be at home in a FWW magazine spread. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 The jarrah under finish leaves me envious. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 Another stunning piece Derek!! I love the DT's with the rounded edge. Thanks for sharing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 And there it is . . . just beautiful Derek. Another outstanding piece. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted January 18, 2019 Report Share Posted January 18, 2019 Wow. The table turned out great. Love the drawers - face and joinery. I like it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted January 18, 2019 Report Share Posted January 18, 2019 Although I personally don’t care for the design, the execution couldn’t have been more perfect. Beautiful piece for their home. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted January 18, 2019 Report Share Posted January 18, 2019 Incredible piece. I love the look, and obviously the execution was (nearly?) flawless. Thanks for sharing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyoak Posted January 19, 2019 Report Share Posted January 19, 2019 Museum quality. Beyond perfect. I would like to see an album of your work. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post derekcohen Posted January 19, 2019 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 19, 2019 You can see some on my website, at least some of the builds I posted in recent years. http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/index.html Here are a couple: Kist (Fiddleback Marri and Jarrah) .. ... with a secret drawer ... Hand crafted copy of Hans Wegner's "The Chair": This won the Popular Woodworking Excellence Award for 2016. "Lingerie Chest" in Makore (carcase) and Figured Jarrah (drawers). This has curved sides and bow-front drawers (i.e. a contemporary "Bombe" build): The drawers are all compound angles ... The top has a secret mirror .. and the top drawer has jewellery trays and a secret lock .. This won Best of Show at the Perth Wood Show in 2016. A sofa table in Hard Maple (carcase) .. .. and WA Sheoak top ... This won again in 2017. It also has a secret drawer And I recently posted on this bow fronted Apothecary Chest in Black Walnut ... .. with curved drawers ... Regards from Perth Derek 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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