PDA

View Full Version : Shaker Round Stand



Dan Schocke
01-18-2018, 6:55 PM
I made this little table as a Christmas present for my mother. Not a terribly difficult project I guess, but I have to admit that I'm addicted to making these little Shaker tables... I thought Roy Underhill was a bit nutty when he did a show on these and used phrases like "you have to be living right" and "your mind has to be free of impure thoughts" to get the shape of the pedestal just right, but it is one of those things where you think it's right and then you see a flaw, and on and on... Until you just decide that it's as finished as it's going to be.

Difficult to see in the photos, but the top is book-matched curly cherry. I was really pleased to find a piece of curly cherry thick enough to resaw. I do a lot of work with hard maple (my wife's preference), so working with cherry for a little while was a pure joy.

--Dan

376872376873376874376875376876

Frederick Skelly
01-18-2018, 7:00 PM
Very nice Dan! The top looks great and the base is pleasantly shaped. I'd say you were channelling Roy just fine.

Fred

Jim Becker
01-18-2018, 8:07 PM
Very nice! I've build a couple of these and they are totally enjoyable to create. They are also quite useful in size and never "rock" on an uneven floor. That figured cherry looks wonderful!

Mel Fulks
01-18-2018, 8:30 PM
Good job. Agree it's the best of the Shaker designs .

Yonak Hawkins
01-18-2018, 11:03 PM
Good job. Nice lines.

Joe A Faulkner
01-29-2018, 7:17 PM
Beautiful table. Very well done.

Stan Calow
01-30-2018, 12:51 PM
Very nice and clean look. I want to know how you cut the joinery of the legs to the pedestal. Assuming its a sliding dovetail, did you rout the grooves with a jig?

Dan Schocke
03-01-2018, 4:58 PM
Apologies for the slow response...

The legs are definitely joined to the pedestal with sliding dovetails. I cut them with a handsaw and chisels. I've seen various jigs for using a router, but it's always felt a bit risky to me. Honestly, I enjoy cutting the joinery by hand and don't think it's nearly as difficult to do as it may seem. It takes a little time, but you have a lot of leeway since the joint is mostly hidden :).

--Dan

Jim Becker
03-01-2018, 5:05 PM
Dan, I made a jig for my lathe that allows me to use a router to do the sliding dovetails in the stem easily and accurately. The lathe just holds the workpiece and isn't spinning. The cuts are done in two steps...a straight bit to create the flats and then "hog out" a slot and then the appropriate dovetail bit to finish things up.For the legs, the male part of the dovetail gets milled at the router table vertically before the legs get their thickness taper from 3/4" down to 1/2" at the tips.

This kind of jig is a good idea if anyone plans on making multiples of these wonderful tables...

Ken Fitzgerald
03-01-2018, 5:31 PM
Dan,

Very nice work! Like Jim, I made a plywood jig for my lathe that allowed me to use a router and indexing function of the lathe to make the sliding dovetails for the 3 legs in the Norm's Martha Washington's bedside table.