Popular Post Ronn W Posted December 14, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 14, 2018 This project is for my daughter. It will live in a small octagonal alcove in her new house. Table is 30" tall and26" in "diameter". First the base. I, unfortunatley, did not take progress pics of the base. These pics are after 2 costs of ARS. Center post is 8 sided with a full length shallow dado on 4 sides and the legs on the other 4 sides. Legs and top supports are attached to post with stopped sliding dovetails. Dovetails were done on the router. Duting practice cuts I learned that there is precious little difference between too tigh and too loose. These dovetail slide in by hand with a little effort and then a couple ot gentle taps to seat them at the end of the dovetail. No glue. The curved legs were cut from an mdf pattern using bandsaw and then pattern bit on the router. Each leg has a grain reversal so I cut them long to start with to avoid chip out when cutting the dados in the curved legs with dado bit on the router. Then cut the round ends. The top is veneerd MDF with a walnut frame (with ebony stripe). Show side veneer is brazilian rosewood. Back side is red birch. I started with a 22 pack of the Brazilian Rosewood. Spent much time with mirrors trying to decide what part of the veneer pieces to use. Cutting the first cut on each piece. I used the grain on the first piece to located my cut on the second pieice, etc. Here you can see piece #14 alyed on top of what will be piece #15. Cutting the second cut on each piece. I use a piece of plexiglass with a strip of tape that is 4 pieces of tape thick to act as a stop. This keeps that angles of all the pieces the same. The tape stop is on the underside of the plexiglass and against the stop. The 2 strips of brown that you see are adhesive backed sand paper to keep the piece from sliding during cutting. Checking the metching grain as I work through the pieces...Notice the order of the numbers. Even one direction and odd the other. If I lyaed them out 1,2,3.... in one direction, Iwould end up with #1 next to #16 and, since the grain pattern moves just a ltttle from piece to piece, I would not have a grain match from 1 to 16. Show side ready for the vaccum bag. Back side ready for the vacuum bag. I have to come clean and adimit that first table top, that you see here, failed in the vacuum bag. I used a bottom caul under the piece and only a piece of screening top of it. While this worked in the past on smaller pieces like boxes and saves having to cut a top caul to fit my workpiece. But this veneer piece was 22" across and It did not work here. As I watched the bag start to apply presure to the veneer, the outside edge (circumference) of the veneer developed a slight wave. That is to say that not alll of the circumference contacted that MDF at the same time. as the pressure increaed the venner pinched and crinkled in 2 places. Too late - piece ruined. After much !!**&^%#, I examined the veneer that I had left and found that I could get another set of 16 pieces from them. This time I took every precuation I could. I flattened each piece with and iron (they were pretty flat to begin with. I kept weight on the pieces after cutting them. I assembled just 2 at a time and pressed them while they were witing to be joined to the next 2 pieces and I used a top caul in the vaccum bag. No problems. Lesson learned. Did some layout work with a compass and straight edge find the corners of the final octagon and cut the veneer to shape by clamping it of my cross cut sled and cutting - x8. I cut rabbets in the 8 pieces that would be the frame for the top and glued 1/4" x 1/8" pieces of ebony (pen blanks from Woodcraft) into the frame pieces. I used the jig that I built ( and posted) to cut the miters for the 8 corners. This jig allows me to set up the meter cut for each corners individually using the w ork piece as the pattern. Why? Because The octogon is not absolutely perfect. General jig pic Place pice on jig with corner on kerf and clamp in place Place removeable fences agains pieces and clamp in place Remove the work pice and cut right and left miters. Pretty good fit..... Start with one piece and work you way around. Getting the length of each piece is critical. So you have to cut the miters for one corner and not change the jig stetting until after those pieces are glued in place and you know you won't have to trim with of those miters. Then set the jig and move on to the next corner. The little caul is used to press the pieces tight to the table for perfect thickness alignment. I was nervouse about gluing to the edge of the mdf, so I precoated the mdf with glue and let it dry to the touch. I cut plines into the frame pieces for strength and alignment. I intentionalliy left the frame proud of the veneer top so palning was required. Planed but not sanded.... Sanded but not finshed....( A power sander on veneer makes me pucker) Finishing now in progress......more later. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted December 14, 2018 Report Share Posted December 14, 2018 Very nice. I really like the contemporary take on the classic base design. Beautiful wood & superb grain matching. Can't wait to see some finish on that top. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 14, 2018 Report Share Posted December 14, 2018 Ron this was like reading a novel with all the success and hardships like a good story. The table top looks beautiful so far and i'm excited to see it finished. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted December 14, 2018 Report Share Posted December 14, 2018 The customizable miter jig is impressive ! Table top & base look great ! Sanding veneer any way except by hand either takes nerves of steel, the confidence of experience or ignorance. A high end ROS, fine grit abrasives, experience and laser sharp focus works but it's still risky. Hand sanding and sharp card scrapers may take time and effort but doing it over after a disaster is painful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted December 15, 2018 Report Share Posted December 15, 2018 Great job on this project, Ronn! The more veneer work I do, the more I enjoy it. It allows for a level of design freedom you just can't get with solid wood. Nice jigs! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted December 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2018 2 hours ago, Chestnut said: Ron this was like reading a novel with all the success and hardships like a good story. Great, I can cross "write a novel" off my bucket list. I finally decided on the final finish for the top. I want the Chatoyance of the wood but think that I will stop short of a polished high gloss finish (shoes every little defect) Last coat or 2 will be satin MIN-wax fast dry poly. So far I have 2 coats of clear shellac and 1 coat of gloss poly on it. The grain is pretty tight so I should be able to get it to fill in completely. 1 hour ago, wdwerker said: Sanding veneer any way except by hand either takes nerves of steel, the confidence of experience or ignorance. A high end ROS, fine grit abrasives, experience and laser sharp focus works but it's still risky. Hand sanding and sharp card scrapers may take time and effort but doing it over after a disaster is painful. I had a box project that looked good until I applied the finish. Then the damn little circles from the residue of the veneer tape appeared. Learned to be a little more agressive with my sanding but not much. Onthis table, I used a clothes steamer to soften the tape glue just enough to peal or scrap it off easily. Then went to 120 grit on the ROS lightly and stopped when the tape pattern was gone. Then 2 light passes with 180 grit. Stop. Having a frame helps a great deal since san throughs often occur at the edges and corners. 1 hour ago, Mick S said: Great job on this project, Ronn! The more veneer work I do, the more I enjoy it. It allows for a level of design freedom you just can't get with solid wood. Nice jigs! I totally agree. but I have to admit that making sawdust is more fun. Final pics in a few days. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted December 15, 2018 Report Share Posted December 15, 2018 Really great work Ronn. I’m totally impressed! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted December 15, 2018 Report Share Posted December 15, 2018 Beautiful craftsmanship. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted December 15, 2018 Report Share Posted December 15, 2018 Ronn, this is the sort of thing that makes building furniture worthwhile. Bravo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted December 15, 2018 Report Share Posted December 15, 2018 6 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said: Ronn, this is the sort of thing that makes building furniture worthwhile. Bravo. You’re right. Challenging. Makes you want to up your game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmac Posted December 15, 2018 Report Share Posted December 15, 2018 Wonderful job, was really neat to see you walk through the process of putting the top together, can't wait to see the final piece. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyoak Posted December 15, 2018 Report Share Posted December 15, 2018 It will be an heirloom. This work is part of your legacy. My guess is by seeing this work, there must be more pieces out there too. Well done! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted December 15, 2018 Report Share Posted December 15, 2018 Wow! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan McCully Posted December 15, 2018 Report Share Posted December 15, 2018 Incredible work Ronn and thank you for walking us through your process. Your attention to detail with grain matching is superb. As a novice at this craft, I see things like this and aspire to them one day, but don’t feel like I’ll ever quite get there. And I think a table like this will leave a far better legacy for your family than any novel that might be written. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted December 15, 2018 Report Share Posted December 15, 2018 Hey Ronn the table looks amazing! I'm heading down your way and will have some time Thursday Morning if your around and the table is still there I would love to check it out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 Coming along nicely. I always enjoy a build thread. The material selection on the base show your care toward details. Love the jig that allows you to fit the trim to the existing angles; I'm filing that one away for later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 Looking very nice Ronn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ronn W Posted December 24, 2018 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted December 24, 2018 OK, I'm calling this one done short of a little rubbing in a couple of weeks................. 6 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted December 24, 2018 Report Share Posted December 24, 2018 That turned out awesome Ronn! Well done! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 24, 2018 Report Share Posted December 24, 2018 That would be a solid entry to the northern woods show the local guild does every year. I think you said it's a gift so it's too bad it's probably impractical to enter it but it would be a solid entry. Beautiful! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDi Posted December 24, 2018 Report Share Posted December 24, 2018 Absolutely gorgeous! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted December 24, 2018 Report Share Posted December 24, 2018 Way to go Ronn, ya done good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted December 24, 2018 Report Share Posted December 24, 2018 On 12/15/2018 at 7:12 AM, Mark J said: Wow! I'm repeating myself, but Wow! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted December 24, 2018 Report Share Posted December 24, 2018 Awesome job Ronn! I was lucky enough to see this piece in person and it is just as stunning up close. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted December 24, 2018 Report Share Posted December 24, 2018 This journal passed me by some how but I just caught up. That was some really outstanding work all the way through Ronn. I am totally impressed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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