scaling down a table

[Tom Jones III]

I've created a complete plan for a pembroke table based off antiques and plans from books. I was just about ready to start building it when I put a mock up in the space I was planning to put it in. It is too big for the intended use, so I need to scale it down.

Would it still look correct if I simply reduce the size of all the parts by the appropriate %? For example, I had planned for the overall height to be 28.25" but I need the overall height to be 24" or 17.7% smaller. The main top was to be 20" wide, should I then make the overall top 20 * 0.823 = 16.46" wide?

Is there a better way to get the proper proportions for a project? What things do I need to take into consideration?

[Charles Hans]

Tom, I'm no expert but I would think that if you reduce all the parts by 17.7% that you would get a reduced version of the original table. I have done this with several pieces and it worked very well for me. I'm sure there are others here that can give you more advise on this project. I would suggest that you scale it down the plans and check the results to see if it is what you can use.

[Jim Becker]

Scaling the physical size of the piece requires that you not only consider the total size of the piece and it's components, respectively, but also the thicknesses of your material. Keep that in mind...the human eye is particularly keen on this and even an unpracticed eye may pick up "discomfort" from a detail like that if it's overlooked. The Shakers were masters of this. If you look at any of the books with dimensioned drawings of their designs, you'll find all kinds of interesting thicknesses used to maintain proportion. You may want to build a prototype of the whole piece at it's new dimensions, or at least one end with two legs and partial aprons and top to check out how you feel about it before committing to the "good stuff".

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

That's a very good point, Jim...and one I wouldn't have though of.