Queen Anne tea table

[Ronn W]

Thank you all for your response to my post about wood movment for thsi table. You will see that I wnt with the option the created a gap in the frame around the top.  This should eliminate the potential problems for movement.  I built this table to be used as a place to show my Pennsylvania Spa\ice Cabinet.  The most difficult part of the project is coming to an agreement with my wife and where to put it.  Somewhat complicated by the presence of a Christmas tree.  Here are some pics.  Table is African Mahogany.  My first project iwth this species - I like working with it.

 

Merry Christmas to all.

[RichardA]

Ya done good my friend.

[Coop]

Beautifully done Ronn! The two pieces certainly compliment each other.

[Dave H]

Beautiful work.

[gee-dub]

That came out wonderfully.  The solution looks like part of the original plan.  The mahogany looks great.  In my experience the color will warm over time.

[wtnhighlander]

That spice cabinet stand came out beautifully! 

[Chestnut]

Wow that is some amazing work. Nice job!

[Mark J]

Beautiful piece.  

It would be interesting to see how much those gaps change with the seasons.

[Chet]

Very well done Ronn.  Really great work.

[pkinneb]

Another awesome piece Ronn!!

[treeslayer]

Agree with all Ronn, that’s some next level work there, they look great together, you can sure produce great work at an incredible pace, well done !

[Ronn W]

Thank you all so much for your support and comments.   I will share some random thoughts......Probably nothing new to you experienced woodworkers but maybe food for thought if you are less experienced.

1.  While there is a lot of conversation and emphasis put on joinery, when you get to projects that are not squares or rectangle or projects with embelishments, the bulk of you time is not on the joinery but on the embelishments.  So being able to layout and execute joinery well means that you can spend more time on making the piece special.  So learn the joinery well.

2.  I tend to make my own designs which means that when my design creates a problem to solve, I am basically on my own to solve it.  That, in the long run, is a good thing.  When you successfully solve the problem and it works, it is a good feeling.  Don't be afraid to try something new even if you can't find a You tube video to help you.  Sometimes I feel like I am reinventing the wheel.  But unless I were making a period reproduction, there is more than one way to make a piece.   

3.  When you are not sure how to do it or if it will work take some scrap and practice.  I made 4 full sized practice legs before starting on the real thing.

4.  Every piece of furniture has a critical point or line in the layout that just has to be accurate.  The other lengths and lines reference from there.  Find out what the critical part of your layout is, you will thank yourself later.  The cabriole legs and aprons for this table are a good example.  The critical line is the bottom of the apron which has to be exactly in line with where the curve of the leg meets the vertical top part of the leg and that line must go all the way around the table.   I can plane the top of the aprons if necessary.  The overall dimensions can vary a little.  I  can play with the length of the legs if a really have to but that crirical line could not be adjusted after assembly.

Enuff rambling.

[sjeff70]

On 12/14/2021 at 10:57 AM, Ronn W said:

Thank you all so much for your support and comments.   I will share some random thoughts......Probably nothing new to you experienced woodworkers but maybe food for thought if you are less experienced.

1.  While there is a lot of conversation and emphasis put on joinery, when you get to projects that are not squares or rectangle or projects with embelishments, the bulk of you time is not on the joinery but on the embelishments.  So being able to layout and execute joinery well means that you can spend more time on making the piece special.  So learn the joinery well.

2.  I tend to make my own designs which means that when my design creates a problem to solve, I am basically on my own to solve it.  That, in the long run, is a good thing.  When you successfully solve the problem and it works, it is a good feeling.  Don't be afraid to try something new even if you can't find a You tube video to help you.  Sometimes I feel like I am reinventing the wheel.  But unless I were making a period reproduction, there is more than one way to make a piece.   

3.  When you are not sure how to do it or if it will work take some scrap and practice.  I made 4 full sized practice legs before starting on the real thing.

4.  Every piece of furniture has a critical point or line in the layout that just has to be accurate.  The other lengths and lines reference from there.  Find out what the critical part of your layout is, you will thank yourself later.  The cabriole legs and aprons for this table are a good example.  The critical line is the bottom of the apron which has to be exactly in line with where the curve of the leg meets the vertical top part of the leg and that line must go all the way around the table.   I can plane the top of the aprons if necessary.  The overall dimensions can vary a little.  I  can play with the length of the legs if a really have to but that crirical line could not be adjusted after assembly.

Enuff rambling.

Did you model your piece from a published plan?  Did you create a scaled or full-scaled (if doing templates) drawing, bill of materials, cut list, etc?

[Ronn W]

On 12/15/2021 at 3:41 PM, sjeff70 said:

Did you model your piece from a published plan?  Did you create a scaled or full-scaled (if doing templates) drawing, bill of materials, cut list, etc?

I did not use a plan.  I like to do my own designs starting with rough sketches then, when I thought I was getting close I looked at images on the internet to fine tune my ideas.  I use a CADD program left over from my Engineering days (not sketch-up)  to work out the proportions and joinery.  It's basically just and electronic penciI, nothing fancy.  I am fortunate to have the ability to print the profiles at full size ( or any other scale) to use to make leg templates but I could have drawn the profiles by hand on paper and cut them out.   When it comes to Bill of materials or cut list, I use the CADD program to copy each piece of the project onto the outline of the boards that I plan to by ( like 8" wide by 96" long).  That works until get to the lumber yard and have to adjust for waste, knots, etc.

The one thing I I tend not to do is buld a model of my projects.  Iknow that I should to help with the aesthetics of the design, I just don't.

[sjeff70]

On 12/16/2021 at 11:40 AM, Ronn W said:

I did not use a plan.  I like to do my own designs starting with rough sketches then, when I thought I was getting close I looked at images on the internet to fine tune my ideas.  I use a CADD program left over from my Engineering days (not sketch-up)  to work out the proportions and joinery.  It's basically just and electronic penciI, nothing fancy.  I am fortunate to have the ability to print the profiles at full size ( or any other scale) to use to make leg templates but I could have drawn the profiles by hand on paper and cut them out.   When it comes to Bill of materials or cut list, I use the CADD program to copy each piece of the project onto the outline of the boards that I plan to by ( like 8" wide by 96" long).  That works until get to the lumber yard and have to adjust for waste, knots, etc.

The one thing I I tend not to do is buld a model of my projects.  Iknow that I should to help with the aesthetics of the design, I just don't.

I went to school for Autocad back when it was Autocad 13, I think (1989), but even if I had the program I wouldn't remember how to use it.  If only I knew then what I know now.  I still have my old drafting board which I plan to use. I want to build some Federal pieces that I haven't seen plans for and some of the dimensioned drawings from published books appear daunting to create plans for.  Once I do a few from established plans it might not be bad.  I'm still working through the run of FWW via DVD.

Your piece looks awesome and you're doing what I want to do, so I was curious how you were going about it.  Thanks for sharing.

 

[Ronn W]

On 12/16/2021 at 5:04 PM, sjeff70 said:

I went to school for Autocad back when it was Autocad 13, I think (1989), but even if I had the program I wouldn't remember how to use it.  If only I knew then what I know now.  I still have my old drafting board which I plan to use. I want to build some Federal pieces that I haven't seen plans for and some of the dimensioned drawings from published books appear daunting to create plans for.  Once I do a few from established plans it might not be bad.  I'm still working through the run of FWW via DVD.

Your piece looks awesome and you're doing what I want to do, so I was curious how you were going about it.  Thanks for sharing.

 

FYi,  When I was a practicing structural engineer, It was about 1993 that I had a slow business period and decided to investigate posssible cadd programs.  I found Auto cadd to be cumbersom with a very steep learning curve and very expensive.  I chose a $700 program called General Cadd and used it for over 20 years - no regrets.  Don't know your age but I grew up with and spent a large part of my career at a drafting table.  I still love to draw by hand.  So - use the drafting board.

I will share a couple of books with you. 1) Illustrated Cabinet Making by Bill Hayton has lots of exploded views of furniture and give you a good idea of the joinery although is is not really a "how to" book.  2) American Furniture (The Federal Period) by Charles F. Montgomery.  This is not a how to book either but has a lot of historical information about Federal Furniture.  Buy it used since it a large volume that could easily be at home on your coffee table.

Start with simple Federal pieces ( federal period pieces can be very simple or more ornate).  Do not be afraid to work from your own ideas.  Here is a simple example.

Here is a more elaborate example.

 

While I like the federal style, I don't let it confine me to a particular "look".  If I like my design, that 's good enough for me.  Good luck - contact me any time.

[wtnhighlander]

@sjeff70, I'll echo Ronn's opinion about hand-drawing and full-size sketches for the way they help visualize a design. However, there are times when a good drawing tool, or even better, a 3D modeling tool, are invaluable. I find that 3D models are critical when designing a piece for my lovely bride. To that end, I use FreeCAD, since it is open-source, and runs on Linux, Mac, or Windows. Seems able to do most anything the better-known commercial tools like Solidworks or Fusion 360 can do.

Did I mention, its free?

[sjeff70]

On 12/16/2021 at 6:44 PM, Ronn W said:

FYi,  When I was a practicing structural engineer, It was about 1993 that I had a slow business period and decided to investigate posssible cadd programs.  I found Auto cadd to be cumbersom with a very steep learning curve and very expensive.  I chose a $700 program called General Cadd and used it for over 20 years - no regrets.  Don't know your age but I grew up with and spent a large part of my career at a drafting table.  I still love to draw by hand.  So - use the drafting board.

I will share a couple of books with you. 1) Illustrated Cabinet Making by Bill Hayton has lots of exploded views of furniture and give you a good idea of the joinery although is is not really a "how to" book.  2) American Furniture (The Federal Period) by Charles F. Montgomery.  This is not a how to book either but has a lot of historical information about Federal Furniture.  Buy it used since it a large volume that could easily be at home on your coffee table.

Start with simple Federal pieces ( federal period pieces can be very simple or more ornate).  Do not be afraid to work from your own ideas.  Here is a simple example.

Here is a more elaborate example.

 

While I like the federal style, I don't let it confine me to a particular "look".  If I like my design, that 's good enough for me.  Good luck - contact me any time.

Thanks Ron, I'm 51.  I ended up going another career route entirely but wow what a sort of similar career path initially.

I actually read the Hayton book and it's helpful and I think it has links to plans for most of the pieces.  That desk is awesome!  Thanks again and I appreciate your time.  

[sjeff70]

On 12/16/2021 at 6:52 PM, wtnhighlander said:

@sjeff70, I'll echo Ronn's opinion about hand-drawing and full-size sketches for the way they help visualize a design. However, there are times when a good drawing tool, or even better, a 3D modeling tool, are invaluable. I find that 3D models are critical when designing a piece for my lovely bride. To that end, I use FreeCAD, since it is open-source, and runs on Linux, Mac, or Windows. Seems able to do most anything the better-known commercial tools like Solidworks or Fusion 360 can do.

Did I mention, its free?

Thanks Highlander, I'll check it out