Pedestal Dining Table

Pedestal Dining Table

One of the first projects for 2010 will be a pedestal dining table using walnut and maple. The table will be 40" wide by 72" long. The base will be made of walnut based on the one shown below.

I designed and built the above table in 2004 using cherry for the base and cocobolo for the top. It's a modification of and open pedestal that I have used for various tables, however in this instance I have "stretched" the base to accommodate a rectangular top.



In conjuction with this table I'll be making four chairs and four barstool all which require 8/4 walnut. So here's the starting pile.
For the two "hubs" on each end of the pedestal I'll use 12/4 walnut laminated together.









Gluing up the hub.

The four legs of the table require three piece each, that are tenoned together. The center part is cut at 45 degress on each end. I lay these three pieces out and trace the final shape from the template on them to determine where to situate the mortices.

Using a morticing machine (I have had that old router for 20 years now, first router I ever bought) cutting the mortices on all 12 parts is fairly quick.

All these parts will be joined using "loose" tenons. In this case I'm using 1/2" poplar.

Shown below is my fancy angle clamping jig, a vice and two clamps.

Next up is laying out the center "arch" and routing the mortices, plus final sizing and cutting of the "hub

2009 Year in Review

2009 was busy year at the shop with a total of 20 pieces being built, making a total of 133 pieces in 10 years, everything from a spiral staircase to jewelry boxes.

2009 started with a tall cherry "Bistro" table. The table is 36" in diameter and 40" in height. The design is based on early pedestal tables that I have built.












After the table, next came a walnut rocking chair, the second walnut rocker I've made, making for a total of nine













The third item was a "tray" table made of bubbinga and maple. This item was entered in the "Dual Personalities: Multifuctional Contemporary Furniture"at the Grovewood Gallery in Asheville, NC. The top of this table comes off and can be used as a serving tray. The table is still on display at the Grovewood Gallery.




About this time I lucked out and came into the possession of another table saw, and since I wanted keep my old one as well, I ended up building a cabinet to house both saws. Not quite furniture but definitly handy for cutting wood.








Also this year I branched out and made three different bathroom vanities, this particular one went into a master bath in the historic district of West End in Winston Salem, NC. I also made a matching mirror for this vanity.












I also made a series of seven tables made from cherry, maple, birch and walnut. Four of these tables went as a wedding present and the other three were entered into a juried exhibition in Knoxville, TN








Also entered in the exhibition were these two barstools. This was my first attempt at a juried exhibition and I had the good fortune of being accepted. This was only my third exhibition, including the one for the tray table at the Grovewood Gallery.









The exhibition was the 15th Tennessee Master Woodworkers Exhibition in Knoxville, TN. It was a great event and very nice exhibition space. This is my humble display.














This is a bed that I made for delivery early next year, was hoping to put the finish on this year but it looks like I'll finish it up after the holidays.













Finally the last three pieces for 2009 were these tables. The tall sofa table is for one cousin and the two end tables are for another cousin. The walnut for these tables came from the property where my cousins grew up.

Catching up on updates

Since I haven't had a chance to post any updates since last November I thought I would do a quick review in reverse chronological order.

In May of 2009 I finished two projects one being a "tray table" more on that below, and the other being a walnut rocking chair shown below. I was very happy with this rocker the grain of the wood turned out to be just spectacular.




The other project was a "tray table" which I did for an exhibition at the Grovewood Gallery adjacent to the Grove Park Inn, The theme of the exhibition was "Dual Personalities" so each piece had to have more than one function. In my case its a table where the top is removable and becomes a serving tray. The base is made from Bubinga and the top is made from rock maple from the family farm in Michigan. Then following is a link to the exhibition: www.grovewood.com/dual_personalities.php?artists=bradford .

Prior to these two projects I made a Bistro Table for a client in early March. The tables is over 40" in height with a radius of 36". The table was made to be used with existing bar stools and to fit into there current kitchen. The table is made of solid cherry.

And finally late in 2008 I made a ladder for a client in Va to work with their recently built post and beam home. The ladder was made from cypress with cherry treads and it blended well with the materials used in the home construction.

The wood pile

This may not be furniture but should be someday. This is about 1100 board feet of walnut, maple and cherry.








The wood is from the farm I grew up on in Michigan. There still one truck load left there that I'll get in December. Most of the wood is walnut. The logs on top of the stack are chestnut from a tree here in Winston Salem. As you can see below some of the walnut is 16.5" wide by 10' to 12' long.





Almost all this is cut at 8/4 thickness, so it will probably take about 2 years to dry. Most of it is also clear of any defects and has some pretty spectacular grain. Currently I'm a little over 800 board feet of walnut, and 200 of maple and 150 of cherry. Still more to come.



With all this lumber to store I went ahead and added storage space to the back side of the shop






The total size is 10' wide by 18' long. As you can see its built into the hill so I ended up doing a alot of digging there for awhile. So far its been very handy for storage, and my roofing job seems to be keeping it pretty dry.

Oak and Walnut Chairs

Here are two chairs made from Oak and Walnut. These chairs are a hybrid from chairs produced by George Nakashima and Sam Maloof. George Nakashima (and family) are famous for his two legged cantilevered chair, and the leg joinery and seat construction is based on Sam Maloof 's process. These chairs are great for a carpeted room since the feet act like ski's so the chair can slide up to the table very easily. Also since there are no front legs there very easy to get in and out of in a crowded space. I made a prototype of this style late last year so these are #2 & 3. These were completed in September.

Lacewood Rocking Chair

Another project I need to update, is the Lacewood rocker shown above. I had forgotten how dense lacewood can be, it machines and works alot like oak but this batch seemed much heavier and denser than I remembered.





The seat is made from 5 pieces cut at opposing angles and glued up. Prior to glueing the leg joinery is cut, and the seat profile is cut on the bandsaw. The seat is glued up using dowels for additional strength. The profile of the seat is completed using an angle grinder.





The legs for the chair are joined using a modified hip joint. These joints can be easily produced using a router. The back legs are at 3 degrees, while the front legs are perpendicular . The legs are rough cut on the bandsaw then finished using a template and a router.





The rockers and back slats are produced using bent lamination. I rip the stock to a thickness of 3/16" then using a male/female press I glue and clamp the pieces. After the glue has cured I shape the pieces using an angle grinder and hand rasps. Then its on to final assembly and sanding. Alot of sanding, then a hand rubbed oil and wax finish.

Kitchen Islands

These are several Kitchen Islands that I made for a clients new house. The Islands mimic the post and beam structure of the house. The Islands are 3' wide by 6" long with a 2" solid hard maple top and cherry and maple bottom. All three Islands are on 3" caster so that they can be moved to different spots in the house.

The top was edge glued using biscuits then cut to length and width. Using a plunge router with a 3/4" planer bit, and the jig in the picture I was able to "dish" the top out leaving a 1" rim a 1/4" high all around the top. The bottom frame was constructed of 8/4 cherry using mortice and tenon joinery.







The following picture shows the clamping and glueing of the base for the Islands.

To keep the base rigid the corner braces are morticed into the frame. All mortice and tenon joints are glued and pegged as well. The last part of the Island is a shelf on the bottom I made from maple and laid out in a grid work using half - lap joinery.

The top was finished using a "salad bowl" finish so its safe for food contact, and the base of the unit was finished using oil/varnish mixture and then an oil/wax mixture.