Brian Peters
11-10-2013, 11:06 PM
I think this is the first project I've posted here. I've always enjoyed other people's builds, they are all fantastic. I'm proud to be a part of a very friendly and skilled group of woodworkers.
This project is for my wife, who normally is in the shop with me every day helping me with projects, but since she is abroad, I am trying to sneak this Christmas gift in! Last Christmas I made her a swivel dressing mirror, from an old woodsmith plan I had. I like spanish cedar, but I don't love it. I used what I had at the time to make the dressing mirror, so naturally I need to make a table for it to sit on, (the end table it is on is not a great fit) and I need to match the other piece.
I hunted for some good 12/4 spanish cedar, it's not easy to come by around here. It looked great in the yard but once I started opening it up I Noticed some small knots. These aren't tragic, I'm not a perfectionist and the majority was cut out. I started with the legs as they will require the most effort. They are queen anne/cabriole style. I am not a fan of ball feet or claw feet, I like the simple curvy lines. I started with an MDF template that I made up to lay out the legs. I glued up some scrap poplar to make a sample to check the height and layout of legs and to prove I am not too rusty with bench tools. I haven't made legs like this in years. No fear!
After resawing the boards in half and milling up roughly 3" square blanks, I got started on layout and the mortises. I decided not to go with blind mortises. These are easier for me since I don't have a mortiser, and there really is nothing wrong with this method. A quick pass on the router table hogs it right out. I made the mortises 5/8" deep in one pass.
274781274782274783
Then over to the table saw to take care of the shoulder. I recall doing these with a bandsaw once, and even with a fence you still have a lot of cleanup. This took care of most of the meat, the rest was resolved with a sharp chisel and a card scraper.
274784274785274786
274787274788
This project is for my wife, who normally is in the shop with me every day helping me with projects, but since she is abroad, I am trying to sneak this Christmas gift in! Last Christmas I made her a swivel dressing mirror, from an old woodsmith plan I had. I like spanish cedar, but I don't love it. I used what I had at the time to make the dressing mirror, so naturally I need to make a table for it to sit on, (the end table it is on is not a great fit) and I need to match the other piece.
I hunted for some good 12/4 spanish cedar, it's not easy to come by around here. It looked great in the yard but once I started opening it up I Noticed some small knots. These aren't tragic, I'm not a perfectionist and the majority was cut out. I started with the legs as they will require the most effort. They are queen anne/cabriole style. I am not a fan of ball feet or claw feet, I like the simple curvy lines. I started with an MDF template that I made up to lay out the legs. I glued up some scrap poplar to make a sample to check the height and layout of legs and to prove I am not too rusty with bench tools. I haven't made legs like this in years. No fear!
After resawing the boards in half and milling up roughly 3" square blanks, I got started on layout and the mortises. I decided not to go with blind mortises. These are easier for me since I don't have a mortiser, and there really is nothing wrong with this method. A quick pass on the router table hogs it right out. I made the mortises 5/8" deep in one pass.
274781274782274783
Then over to the table saw to take care of the shoulder. I recall doing these with a bandsaw once, and even with a fence you still have a lot of cleanup. This took care of most of the meat, the rest was resolved with a sharp chisel and a card scraper.
274784274785274786
274787274788