Curly Maple Sofa Table

[Chris Barton]

So, this is my interpretation of what a sofa or coffee table would look like if built in the late 1700s in the PA area. All finished surfaces are solid curly maple and the drawer sides and backs are poplar. Drawer bottoms are 1/4" cherry plywood.

Thanks for looking,

Chris

[Chris Barton]

Another view of dwarer and turning details...

[Roy Wall]

Chris,

That piece is terrific!! Beautiful job on keeping the grain / figure together......

Tell us more (everything)......:)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Chris....I like your interpretation and attention to detail! Great job!

[Michael Stafford]

Very nice work, Chris. An heirloom piece and I am glad to see your brand identifying you as the maker for posterity. A beauty!!!! ;) :)

[lou sansone]

real nice

I also build 18th century pieces and finding a sofa table is pretty hard to do. you have done a good job of capturing the essence of that period. nice color and finish.

lou

[Chris Barton]

Thanks for the complements everyone!

Roy, I have been working on this piece after hours and on weekend for about a month. The lumber was rough cut curly maple that I milled using a jointer, planer, tablesaw and my indispensable Preformax 22-44 drumb sander. I glued up the leg stock since I couldn't find any good looking 8/4 curly maple. I worked from my own original drawings and didn't copy any particular design. I worked hard to keep large board surfaces intact with no interuption to the grain patterns. This can be seen in the fron drawer section where I did some creative ripsawing and regluing to "free" the drawer fronts from the board they were in. I rejoined the fron face with Kreg pocket screws and glue and everything fit perfectly. I used TransTint "amber brown" mixed in alcohol to dye the wood to the finish color commonly seen in 17-18th century PA products. I finished the table with 5 coates of blond shellac toned with more of the TransTint and then rubbed out the finish by hand using steel wool and paste wax.

Lou; thanks for your compliment. I too specalize in pieces from this period and from the Federal period. Most people don't realize that the coffee table or sofa table is a product born from the 20th century. So, one can only guess how a John or Thomas Seymour would have executed such a commission in their days...

[John Scane]

Great piece! It's inspiring to see nice work with an attention to detail and improvisation.

[scott spencer]

Beautiful coffee table Chris....nice job!

[Jason Tuinstra]

Chris, very nice job. Maple is the only wood that I could ever imagine putting stain on, and you did a first rate job. The curl really pops. Nice job.

[Dan Forman]

Gorgeous piece!!! Your attention to detail really adds to the overall effect.

Dan

[Mike Cutler]

Very nice Chris. I'm not even really a fan of that period furniture, and I like it alot.
It has very pleasing proportions and looks like a very comfortable piece that goes with a room instead of into a room.
The joinery appears first rate, and I like the dovetail drawer joint especially. A very nice touch.
Well done.

[Chris Padilla]

Awesome table!

[Gail O'Rourke]

Chris, although I haven't made any of these types of pieces, I love this period of furniture. The finish that you executed is right on with the look you were going for. That is quite an accomplishment along. I love the wood along the drawer fronts.

Too pretty to put a coffee cup on, so you should think about making some matching coasters...

[John Hart]

I'm still thoroughly impressed with the fact that you turned the legs without a duplicator. Awesome work Chris!!!

[Earl Kelly]

Chris, I really like the way you handled the drawer fronts, with the continuous grain and figure. The amber tone is warm and inviting a very good color for curly maple especially a period piece.

Is the top 5/4? Looks a little thicker than1".

[Chris Barton]

Hi Earl,


The top is just at 1" thick. I bought this lumber rough cut so it was about 1.25" to start and I milled it to 1". In the lot that I purchased, some of the boards had tremendous coloring and grain patterns that were not spalting so, I tried to keep these patterns intact such as in the drawer fronts. The pictures really fail miserably to really demonstrate the curly maple nuiances and complexity. I experimented with my digital camera while trying to take the pictures and realized that the only way I would be able to really get a good picture would be to take it outside in the sun. Like most digitals, when you use the flash indoors it does distort the colors and make the surounding background look dark. SO I took these picture without flash. Better estimation of true color but, a big trade off in detail.

Thanks for looking,

[John Renzetti]

Hi Chris, Very nice work. Is that your "Maker's Mark" on the drawer side. That's a nice touch.
take care,
John

[Martin Shupe]

Chris,

What a wonderful piece! I really love the curly maple, and your finish is outstanding. The color is perfect.

Very nice!

[Joanne Adler]

Chris,
I love how you cut the drawer fronts right out of the front piece and got them to fit so perfectly. Great grain match. While I'm not one to stain or paint beautiful wood, this color suits the maple wonderfully and the grain still shows through clearly (although, I am sure it is even more amazing in person than photo).

I like the wide spacing of the dovetails for these drawers. Are they hand cut? The contrast of the lighter poplar looks nice with the stained maple. Beautiful job.

[Richard Wolf]

Nice job Chris. I really like the turned legs. Most people don't include turnings in their case work, it just adds an extra dimension. Looks like some beautiful wood also.

Richard

[Von Bickley]

Chris,
Great looking table.... :)