Greene and Greene inspired coffee table

[Gary Radice]

I've admired G&G style for many years, but lived in a house where furniture of that style just wouldn't have looked good. A couple of years ago we moved and our current house is a better match for G&G. We also needed a new coffee table so it was time to give it a shot.

African mahogany with ebony splines and plugs. I dyed the mahogany with Peart's suggested mix of General Finishes orange and medium brown. I added a bolection style (raised) inlay in opposite corners of the top, after a similar design on the Blacker house dining table. The inlay is Pau abalone, silver, and copper. Finished with 5-6 coats of Waterlox satin.

I really enjoyed making this table. I'd never worked with any of the woods or materials before, never used hide glue on a project before, never used Waterlox before. Had to learn how to cut shells and bend silver. I also had to learn how to do the raised inlays. I pretty much had to inlay into a finished wood surface since leveling and sanding after setting the pieces was out of the question. Cutting grooves and recesses for the inlayed parts into a finished surface with little room for error was an adventure, but worth it. I love the feel of running my fingers over the inlayed parts.

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[glenn bradley]

Looks like a great success to me. Well done and congrats on a good selection of firsts.

[Bill McNiel]

Gary,
Very nicely done sir. My work, both architectural and furniture, has been greatly influenced by the Green brothers. I had the "honor" to live in the Gamble House for a semester while attending Architectural School at USC. I am also a fan of Waterlox.
Thanks for posting - Bill

[Paul Girouard]

Nicely done!

[John TenEyck]

Very nice indeed. Did you finish the bread board ends separately from the field? I ask because my friend built a dining table with bread board ends and the finish (not Waterlox, but I don't think it matters) cracked along the joint when the field shrank during the Winter

John

[andrew whicker]

Looks great!

Why did you opt for hide glue over more traditional glues?

[Tom Sontag]

Andrew: with all respect hide glue is THE traditional glue. Many still prefer it over PVAs.

OP: I too love G&G and your table checks all the right boxes for me. Tremendous success!

[Joe A Faulkner]

Very nicely done.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Beautiful wood and work!

[Gary Radice]

Very nice indeed. Did you finish the bread board ends separately from the field? I ask because my friend built a dining table with bread board ends and the finish (not Waterlox, but I don't think it matters) cracked along the joint when the field shrank during the Winter

John
Yes, all of the individual pieces were finished before assembly and allowed to cure for at least a week. I then assembled the base, and inlayed the top. Then added the breadboard ends and the splines.
The breadboard was made with a tenon on the top and groove/mortise on the end. It is glued in the center 4 inches, and screwed at the ends in slotted holes to allow for seasonal expansion. The screw holes are covered by the rectangular ebony plugs. The square plugs and center spline are decorative.

The finish did get scuffed a bit in places during assembly so I need to go back for some touch-up work, but I ran out of Waterlox. New can arrives tomorrow.

[Gary Radice]

Looks great!

Why did you opt for hide glue over more traditional glues?

As Tom mentioned, hide glue is traditional, but it certainly isn't commonly used today. I wanted to stay close to the original methods of the time, and it would have been what the Halls (G&G's furniture makers) would have used in 1910. In addition, I knew I would be gluing up after applying the oil finish. Hide glue squeeze out can be removed with water so clean up was easy without damaging the finish. Finally, hide glue is repairable. If someone down the line needs to fix a joint, it will be easier than with other glues. I'm hopeful that someone, someday, will think that this piece is worth repairing!

[Michelle Rich]

WOW! this is quite a beauty. I've always adored G&G. The inlay is just perfect. Not too big & not too small. Gives it just one more thing beyond the G&G details to delight the eyes.

[David Utterback]

Love G&G and believe you have nailed it! Congratulations

[Terry Beadle]

I think you made a mistake.

This is art and not a table....hoot!

Great job!!!

[Gary Radice]

WOW! this is quite a beauty. I've always adored G&G. The inlay is just perfect. Not too big & not too small. Gives it just one more thing beyond the G&G details to delight the eyes..

Thanks Michelle, and funny you should mention the size of the inlay. I agonized for a couple of weeks about the dimensions and proportions and did several test inlays on scrap. My first practice inlay was almost twice that size. I showed it to my wife and she liked it on the scrap but when she saw the top she said it was too big. I made one a bit smaller. "Really nice but don't you think they are still too big? I think it should be a nice detail but not be the first thing you notice." I think she was right.