Walnut luggage bench

[Gary Radice]

I got the idea for this from a picture of a coffee table in the gallery of recent student work at the Krenov School. The student, whose name was not cited, called the piece "Bubbly Lake" table. You can find pix of the original there.

What I liked about the design is: the anthropomorphic curve of the legs, that look to me like hips and thighs; the way the aprons/rails/skirts follow the curve of the legs; and the inset top that is let slightly proud into notches in the tops of the legs, leaving a nice shadow line on an otherwise smooth piece. I really like the way the end grain notches in the legs bracket the top graphically when seen from above.

The original has what I guess to be a veneered ply top so seasonal movement would not spring the joints. I chose to use two solid wood leaves, and left a center gap to accommodate seasonal movement. I put three brass pins spanning the gap between the leaves to keep them registered.

The bench is 33" x 16.5" x 21" tall, a bit narrower and less deep than the student's piece but just as tall. I used walnut because I already had some boards thick enough in that to cut out the legs and rails. My intended use is as a luggage bench in our guest room. I think it would also work as a sitting bench in a foyer. I think the same design would look nice made taller as a sofa table or hall table, or made square as a plant stand. Mortise and tenon construction. The finish is Arm-R-Seal satin.


396587396588396589396590396592

[Jay Aubuchon]

This might not fit well in our house, but I like it a lot. Your use of the brass pins is interesting. Is that something you have seen done before?

[Gary Radice]

Ya know, it doesn't fit in our house, either! But it will work in our guest room, where none of the furniture matches, anyway (an nherited Eastlake bed, Shaker end table, and a cast off Shaker candle stand, and now this).

The pin idea came from a project I did last year rebuilding a garden bench that had wood slats for the seat. The individual slats would flex if you sat on them, but the whole seat was rigid when the slats were tied together. I wanted to tie these leaves together for the same reason—so they would support each other if someone sat on the bench. But I didn't want something that would collect dust and dirt in the gap. I figured something round (a dowel or pin) would be just right. I had some 1/4" round brass stock around, so that's what I chose. One would probably be enough but 3 seemed nicer.

[Yonak Hawkins]

I like that quite a lot, Gary. It's got clean lines with grace and style.

[Jim Becker]

That is a beautifully executed piece!!!

[Phil Mueller]

Very nice piece, Gary. I also like the shape of the legs a lot. Really well executed!

[Steve Wurster]

That's a gorgeous piece that I think would fit well in any house! Well done.