The bevel lies in the details: Sofa Table IV

[Derek Cohen]

Earlier posts on the Sofa Table build may be found here:


http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/SofaTableAprons.html
http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/SofaTable-Legs.html
http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/SofaTableIIIEndRails.html


We are at the stage where the legs are to be completed and the base will be glued up.


Now Bill will nag me to death if I do not provide more detail this time around, so blame him for the extra photos. :)


The first item on the agenda was to add a curve to the front of the legs that paralleled the table top bow, and continued that from the apron. Two legs had been completed near the beginning of the build. This was premature as I lost a parallel side when the legs were required to be planed on the bench or held in a vise. As a result, the other two legs were left until this stage.


Here is an unshaped leg (on the left) and a shaped leg (on the right) ..


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/Legs/7a_zpsvgnbnvxo.jpg


The curve was drawn in using a template of the top ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/1a_zpsclzwtfnr.jpg


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/2a_zpslpbqpt5p.jpg


The curve was continued down the leg. In all, it removed 5mm.


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/3a_zpsqyctqz3n.jpg


The waste was removed with a handplane.


Once the curves were added, the legs needed to be tapered on the inside. The aim here was to create the illusion that the legs were slightly splayed. They are, in fact, 90 degrees on the outside, since the added curve is constant down the legs.


The width of the leg at this stage is 40mm. It will remain this width down to 5mm below the apron, and then taper to 25mm at the foot, thus ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/4a_zpsjlmpq9yg.jpg


Here the bevel is drawn in and the line may be seen where it ends below the apron ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/5a_zpsf7eurm7j.jpg


As with other waste removal, I found it easier to use shorter planes, first a jack and then a #3 than a long plane, such as a jointer ....


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/8a_zpsn5amhmus.jpg


Once this was completed, the legs were essentially shaped, and the next task was to, firstly, smooth everything perfectly ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/1a_zpstjigneta.jpg


... and, secondly, to freehand a 2mm bevel to all edges (all sides of the legs and the lower edge of the apron) ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/3a_zpsg8da4lh2.jpg


The reason for the 2mm bevel was that the shadow line juncture of the apron and legs is 2mm. The bevel on the legs will blend into the sides of the apron, thus ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/1a_zpsdqmqgjk0.jpg


All parts were dissembled and finished in 2 coats of Ubeaut White Shellac. This is an unwaxed concentrated shellac (diluted 50:50 in denatured alcohol/methylated spirits) which adds the very lightest touch of amber to the pale Hard Maple. It brings out detail and seals the wood. Then 3 coats of General Finishes Satin water-based poly were wiped on-and-off. The GF provides a finish that will retain the pale colour of the wood, and avoid the yellowing that occurs with oil-based finishes. This is the process I used when finishing the Hard Maple doors and drawers in the recent kitchen built, and the sofa table is intended to be an associated piece.


The finishing process for the kitchen is here: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/Kitchen%20Rebuild.html


Before glueing up, it was necessary to add slots for buttons, to later fasten the top to the apron. The issue was this: the buttons needed to be less than 10mm in height, which was the thickness of the dovetailed rail for the drawer (the rail alongside a piece of scrap) ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/6a_zpsuiocu1xw.jpg


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/5a_zps7glv5vod.jpg


... otherwise the long drawer that was to run from the side of the table would catch on the buttons.

[Derek Cohen]

I decided to use my new Domino DF500 to cut 5mm slots that were placed 4mm below the surface, and then use 5mm dominos as buttons ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/7a_zpspngzalj6.jpg


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/8a_zpsyjo7cfmr.jpg


All done! Finally, to the glue up, and ...


Here is a side view of the legs, showing the taper (and the continuous bow) ..


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/4a_zpsmekwespj.jpg


This is the inside of the table, with the drawer blades ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/3a_zpsjbxiazqd.jpg


And, lastly, a shot of the front elevation at this stage ...


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Furniture/Sofa%20Table%202/The%20bevel%20is%20in%20the%20detail/2a_zpsskdlumdl.jpg


Next, building the drawer.


Regards from Perth


Derek

[Jim Koepke]

I like it, the bevel is in the details...

jtk

[Jeff Ranck]

Fantastic work. I always really enjoy your build threads. Not only do I get to see great craftsmanship, but it reminds me of how far I have to go in my skills.

[Patrick Chase]

That's a very nice piece! Thank you for sharing.

And now a very trivial nitpick...



Once the curves were added, the legs needed to be tapered on the inside. The aim here was to create the illusion that the legs were slightly splayed. They are, in fact, 90 degrees on the outside, since the added curve is constant down the legs.

That "illusion" is helped by the fact that the lens you used to photograph it has a fair bit of distortion. They really *are* splayed in the image. Technically the lens has what's called "moustache" distortion - barrelled at the extreme periphery, pincushion inside of that (you can see the barrel distortion in the brick wall in the upper-right corner).

Also we tend to see the "center of mass" of things more than the inner or outer edge, and the CM truly does splay a bit. I wouldn't call that an illusion personally, since it's not causing an outright misperception the way a Mondrian would.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Patrick

This table is difficult to photograph. Whatever angle I shoot is not quite representative of how it all is.

This is my experience with pieces that have curves. It is made worse when shooting in a workshop where there are conflicting angles in the background.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[glenn bradley]

Coming along beautifully Derek. I share your challenges with getting a good representation through pictures. Even more so on this piece as the angles and curves add that element of challenge. The leg flare versus the arch in the apron looks well balanced in the pic. I judge a lot of these dimensions by how they visually "feel" to me. Yours feel good, very good ;-)

[Pat Barry]

That end view image is a tough one. The curves help create an optical illusion because its difficult to discern which edges are actually straight. Not sure how to make this less confusing though. One thought was to have the table sitting on a floor with parallel lines running front to back as you view that end view. That would help establish a reference for your eye. In the end though, with the table top in place, I think this will not be a concern.

[Patrick Chase]

That end view image is a tough one. The curves help create an optical illusion because its difficult to discern which edges are actually straight. Not sure how to make this less confusing though. One thought was to have the table sitting on a floor with parallel lines running front to back as you view that end view. That would help establish a reference for your eye. In the end though, with the table top in place, I think this will not be a concern.

If I were to photograph something like that I'd use neutral seamless paper as a background and diffuse the heck out of the lights (or all but one light if I want specular highlights to show off the finish). I'd also use a tilt-shift lens to keep stuff square.

Of course that's basically equivalent to saying "I'd shoot in a home studio", which isn't always feasible.