Federal Style inspired end table

[Phil Mueller]

My son requested an “antique looking end table” for his office, so I made my first attempt at a Federal Style (kind of) project. There was a whole lot of learning going on with this one. Mistakes covered up pretty well!

Table is walnut. Top is walnut burl veneer with mahogany/maple banding and curly walnut veneer outside border. Legs have a quilted maple square outlined in maple/ebony stringing. Aprons have a maple stringing. This was a fun project. Looking forward to starting the one my daughter has now requested.

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[James Tibbetts]

Very nice indeed ! Excellent species selection and well executed.

[Mel Fulks]

There is a lot of originality in that version. I'm sure he will enjoy it, get ready for "people tell me they are usually used in
pairs"

[Mike Walsh]

Beautiful work!

[Frederick Skelly]

That's really something! Well done!
Fred

[Marshall Harrison]

The only thing I see wrong with it is...it isn't mine.

That's beautiful work I wish I had an end table like that. YOU did a great job on selecting and contrasting the woo. You should be proud and I'm sure your son will be.

[Jim Becker]

Darn nice work!!

[Mark Rainey]

Very nice table with impressive inlay work Phil. Did you use the Lee Valley router with inlay attachments? I have a Stanley router which is about 20 years old. It has black plastic knobs and the the locking mechanism for blade depth shifts all the time. Are you happy with your Lee Valley router?

[Yonak Hawkins]

Brilliant work, Phil. .. A very fine piece.

[Phil Mueller]

Thank you all. Like I said, it was a fun, learning experience.

Mark, I must admit in many of my projects I try to design in something where I get to use the LV router plane. I like using it that much. I do have the inlay accessories, guide, and cutters down to 1/16”. The apron stringing grooves were cut with the router plane. The squares on the legs were hogged out with a compact router and then cleaned up with the router plane. The top veneer and banding were assembled as one piece and pressed to the substrate...so no router used there.

Here’s my initial impressions. The inlay spacers are very accurate. When combined as instructed, they are as close as ever needed. Like most things, I go with very light initial cuts to cut the surface fibers before going deeper. LV instructions say to go for the final depth on the first pass...indicating it is difficult to register to the same cut on multiple passes. I have not found that to be the case. Once the two sides of the groove have been cut with the inlay tool, I then choose to go with the router plane and appropriate cutter size to remove the waste. I do the final corner work with a chisel.

Here’s a few things to keep in mind. The edge guide will need to be re-adjusted going from the inlay knives to the router cutter. The depth of cut will also need to be re-adjusted. I tend to strop the inlay knives before use just to hone them a bit. I do find I need to fiddle with the two knives just a bit to ensure they are at the same depth (aligned to each other)...but no big deal. I cut a practice groove in a piece of scrap to test the inlay knives depth, then test again when I move to the cutter.

[Von Bickley]

That looks Great.....

[Bill McNiel]

Beautiful piece Mr Mueller. Well done!