Harlequin side table

[Derek Cohen]

My wife requested a side table for the family room. This will be situated between two arm chairs, and replace the small table (which is too high and dominating) ...


https://i.postimg.cc/MKgfLyjs/Family-Room1.jpg


Not just a side table, but it also needed to house her needlework thingies. In other words, shallow drawers for cotton reels and sewing kit. I played around with several ideas, and eventually came up with a design that borrows a little from a piece I recently made for a nephew.


Lynndy liked the softness of the rounded dovetails and overall dimension of this coffee table I built some months back ...


https://i.postimg.cc/15LnrM7F/12a.jpg


The plan (looking down) would be to create a curved front and back, with round, splayed legs to the outside (an alternative is a straight, tapered round leg) ...


https://i.postimg.cc/RhdWVr79/B2.jpg


In contrast to the Jarrah in that piece, the carcase will be built in Hard Maple, dovetailed and mitred at each corner. It will feature 8 drawers. All drawer fronts will curve as well. The reason for "Harlequin" in the title is that the drawers will be a mix of woods, as depicted in the elevation of the drawer section ...


https://i.postimg.cc/4309bVNd/A.jpg


A harlequin design is often thought of as a diamond pattern, but does also include a rectangular checkerboard. Anyway, it's just a name, and I like giving my pieces a name :)


At this stage I have chosen for the drawer fronts Black Walnut and Blue Gum. I may also add in Hard Maple. Always interested in your thoughts here. The Blue Gum is lighter than the Black Walnut and is a good foil against the Hard Maple …


https://i.postimg.cc/1zDLgNWd/20.jpg


The legs will taper and curve from the carcase, attached with a loose mortice and tenon ...


https://i.postimg.cc/7ZYGFm5h/B.jpg


The sides and top were arranged so that the grain flowed continuously. The carcase is 20mm thick, 800mm long and 350 at the wide, centre point ..


https://i.postimg.cc/KctwJLxv/Arranging-boards3.jpg


The initial dovetail plan was to keep the boards parallel and saw the curves later. It became apparent when joining the first set that this would not work ...


https://i.postimg.cc/MTjjsHvY/C.jpg


.. there would be too much at the sides to mitre, and so I decided to shape the top and bottom panels at this stage rather than later.


https://i.postimg.cc/MH2fgwBJ/D.jpg


https://i.postimg.cc/tTGD9rJQ/E.jpg


This was the first opportunity to use the modification I made to my Moxon vise (see article: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/NewMoxonMods.html). It now enables the pin- and tail boards to be clamped together to aid in marking out (see earlier photo).


In marking out for mitred corners, the side tails are not sawn out from the front ...


https://i.postimg.cc/Jz95QTbD/G.jpg


... the board is reversed, and the mitres are marked ...


https://i.postimg.cc/KY1Kzjry/I.jpg


... and sawn ...


https://i.postimg.cc/pdzYcDZ0/H.jpg


The reason I had wanted to retain square carcase sides was that it would make it easier to square the chisel guide for the mitres. I got around this by squaring them to the front of the carcase ...


https://i.postimg.cc/KjSXw7YG/13.jpg

[Derek Cohen]

The pin board is seen here ...


https://i.postimg.cc/GhmK3TL2/J.jpg


One of the difficulties in fitting this many tails and pins is that any slight errors are magnified. The fit below illustrates that the left side is too tight ...


https://i.postimg.cc/B60mHm7G/K.jpg


To deal with this, the tails were given a pencil scribbling ...


https://i.postimg.cc/4dQB5pjH/L.jpg


Fitting the board together left this behind ...


https://i.postimg.cc/NFGbP5wJ/M.jpg


This process needed to be done once more, before the fit was satisfactory ...


https://i.postimg.cc/KvzJPkf4/N.jpg


The four sides were dry fitted together, and the front and rear upper and lower panels planed to shape (this was close but not enough) …


https://i.postimg.cc/HWM7rWHy/14.jpg


All is coplanar …


https://i.postimg.cc/PxpvzTw0/15.jpg


Where we are up to at the end of today …


https://i.postimg.cc/Qt29fwgC/16.jpg


One set of mitred corners …


https://i.postimg.cc/hPqQTFP3/17.jpg


… and the other …


https://i.postimg.cc/HnbJRz32/18.jpg


Next up is building the internal dividers for the drawers.


Regards from Perth


Derek

[Frederick Skelly]

Hi Derek,
Another great project. Your curved work is beginning to make me want to try some on a smaller scale.

Also, thanks for the clear demonstration of using the pencil lead to show where things are too tight - I can apply that directly to my own work. Likewise on the mitered dovetail. I've been trying to do that and your pictures helped me.

Best regards,
Fred

[Tom M King]

Gorgeous, as always!!

[Jim Koepke]

Derek, your write ups are always enjoyable and informative, thanks.

jtk

[Patrick McCarthy]

Dr Derek, i am always impressed with your productivity, creativity and clear explanations. Thank you and Carry on, dude!

[Mark Rainey]

Derek, those dovetails are beautiful!

[David Eisenhauer]

Looks like you are well away from the starting gate Derek. Nice, clean looking dovetail work (as always) on the carcase and i am looking forward to seeing the loose M&T details you come up with. Is the hard maple left over from your kitchen remodeling or is hard maple readily available in Oz?

[Derek Cohen]

Thanks for all the comments, friends.

David, there appears to be a good bit of Hard Maple around in Australia at present, certainly in Perth. I bought more after the kitchen. I love the lightness of it. The local timbers are mainly Eucalyptus, and course grained. Maple planes so well. As with some of the locals, it can punish you with tearout if not vigilant. I’ve also been working with USA-grown Black Maple, which is even more of a pleasure to plane.

All wood changes colour, and I have been warned about Maple yellowing. The kitchen has not changed at all in the 2 1/2 years since it was done. Probably too early to tell. I used a water-based poly by General Finishes together with a sealing coat of wax-free white Ubeaut Hard Shellac , which may be an answer. Any suggestions, guys?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[David Eisenhauer]

When I was building furniture/cabinets in a commercial situation, I typically used Target Coatings shellac as a base coat/sealer and one of their clear top coatings (dependent upon level of protection desired), all water based, and did not have issues with yellowing. Maybe as more years go by, it may show up, but hard to say if any is noticeable now after several years of use. I only have one piece of hard maple furniture in my own home, but did not use Target products for that as it was built before I acquired spraying equipment.

[Larry Frank]

I enjoy reading your build threads. I am not a hand tool woodworker but enjoy seeing how you build your furniture. The dovetails are just amazingly accurate.

[Derek Cohen]

Thanks Larry

There are a couple of gaps in the dovetails. I will fix these once the carcase is ready to be glued up. Everything is fixable. Once one understands how, then you will be more apt to take risks.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Derek Cohen]

With the carcase completed, it is time to turn to the internal dividers for the drawers.


I took the time first to plane the rebate for the rear panel. Knowing my spatial weakness of getting parts back-to-front and upside-down, I marked these when the carcase was a dry fit (and later briefly thought I had screwed this up!) ...


https://i.postimg.cc/1XgmvQsN/Mon1a.jpg


One of the benefits of mitred corners is that the rebate can be planed across without fear of it showing ...


https://i.postimg.cc/63b6V3JX/Mon2a.jpg


https://i.postimg.cc/Zn1TgM5s/Mon5a.jpg


The rebate is 6mm deep as the rear panel will be 5mm thick to bend it around the curved rear. The carcase is 20mm thick, and the rebate extends halfway into this.


I was curious to see how rebating on a curve would turn out. No problem ...


https://i.postimg.cc/g2yYS4F4/Mon6a.jpg


https://i.postimg.cc/LsHmrfmS/Mon7a.jpg


Here is the rear of the carcase with the rebate ...


https://i.postimg.cc/t4GqNwfY/Mon8a.jpg


https://i.postimg.cc/dQXtLLjR/Mon9a.jpg


Moving to the stopped dados/housings ... the centre panel is solid rather than a frame. I decided that this would be less work, plus there will be a series of stopped dados to be made. The panel is 10mm thick. This was made first, that is, the dados were sized to fit the panel thickness.


I made up a couple of templates. One was the height of the dado, and the other was the height of the dado plus the width of the dado. The inside of the carcase is marked on both sides using the same templates to ensure that they are exactly the same height from the base.


https://i.postimg.cc/KvMcLx06/Mon10a.jpg


The lines are deepened with a knife, and then a chisel wall is created to register a saw cut ...


https://i.postimg.cc/252Cm65Z/Mon11a.jpg


The end of the stopped dado is defined ...


https://i.postimg.cc/hjvcGBJ3/Mon12a.jpg


A Japanese azebiki was used along a guide to ensure it cut on the vertical ...


https://i.postimg.cc/Hn7mQ99w/Mon13a.jpg


Now that the sides are defined by the kerf, this could be deepened with a chisel (this is my favourite chisel - a 1" Kiyohisa. Sublime!) ..


https://i.postimg.cc/FR6mdB3F/Mon14a.jpg


The waste is removed with a router plane ...


https://i.postimg.cc/hhWBMQ2H/Mon15a.jpg


Check that the side walls are square ...


https://i.postimg.cc/056KWgtf/Mon16a.jpg

[Derek Cohen]

Completed side panels ...


https://i.postimg.cc/jqGwB8mr/Mon17a.jpg


I was so confident that the dados were perfect that I dry fitted the carcase once more ... and then found that one dado was a smidgeon too tight for the test piece. It turned out that a small section of a side wall was not as square as I thought (probably the saw did not cut deeply enough at that spot). The best too to clear this is a side rebate plane. Set for a very light cut to clear the waste, not the dado width ...


https://i.postimg.cc/J4ZD8NCH/Mon18a.jpg


Perfect fit this time ...


https://i.postimg.cc/QdDBdFj4/Mon19a.jpg


Time to fit the centre panel. This has been shaped to size, but will need a little fine tuning at a later time. Note that the rear section is secondary wood (Merbau) ...


https://i.postimg.cc/qvGNhpRk/Mon20a.jpg


I had just enough time to slide the panel in. Nice tight fit. Not enough time to saw the rebates for the stopped dados. This will be done next time ...


https://i.postimg.cc/cJ4rfPgf/Mon21a.jpg


Regards from Perth


Derek

[Todd Zucker]

Beautiful work. I get tense just seeing photos of that many dovetails on a single board, but this makes me want to try something with mitered dovetails.

Is that a skew rabbit plane with the knob removed? Have you published anything on that specific tool? I didn't see it on your website.

[Christopher Charles]

Great work Derek, as usual. And clearly from down-under... your secondary wood looks like primary wood up here and vice versa ;)

Best,
Chris

[Derek Cohen]

Anyone here still watching these posts?

The Harlequin side table will have 8 drawers. The drawer case sides and the central drawer blade are panels and run in dados or housings (depending on which side of the pond you live). Positioning of these dados is critical since any misalignment will affect the aesthetic. It goes without saying (but I shall) that the alignment also determines that the side panels will be square ... and drawers need to run against square sides. All this is done here with hand tools.


Some of the finer points in getting it precise ...


First of all, templates (or story sticks) are created to position the dados. There are two for each side panel: the second is 10mm longer than the first. Scoring each creates an exact 10mm dado. There is a series of templates to position all the dados. This ensures that the upper and the lower dado are position exactly the same distance from the reference wall ...


https://i.postimg.cc/7h417bPZ/25-2(3).jpg


https://i.postimg.cc/RhT7T9qQ/25-3(3).jpg


A chisel wall is created for the marked outlines. This wall enables the fence to be lined up using a wide chisel ...


https://i.postimg.cc/bwhLF9bw/25-1(3).jpg


The sidewalls are sawn with a azebiki saw. This have two curved sides, one with coarse rip teeth and the other with fine crosscut teeth. I begin with the fine teeth and use them to establish the kerf, and then switch to to the coarse teeth for speedier sawing.


https://i.postimg.cc/qvxQf6XX/26.jpg


With a compass, I check that the kerf is parallel and to the desired width (10mm) ...


https://i.postimg.cc/W49nzRyd/27.jpg


The sawn side wall is now chopped away close to full depth ...


https://i.postimg.cc/tTYzVS02/28.jpg


This is done across the dados on one board at a time ...


https://i.postimg.cc/RCJRSDL0/29.jpg


The waste in the centre of each dado is removed with a router plane. The dados are done at the same time to save have to reset the depth of cut (one stroke on dado #1, one on dado #2, and one on dado #3 ... then back to #1 ...) ...


https://i.postimg.cc/k5Ms7MTr/30.jpg


Keep an eye on the depth ...


https://i.postimg.cc/MTNm07qx/31.jpg


Fine tune the dado should theoretically be unnecessary if they were marked accurately. In practice, I find that there is usually some waste in the corners, or a slightly sloped wall. For this reason I run a side rebate plane (here a Veritas), the length of each wall. This is not held vertically, since that with remove some of the width. Instead it is run at an angle away from the side wall, as it it was undercutting the side wall ...


https://i.postimg.cc/Y0FfdvCF/32.jpg


The fit is now checked with an offcut from the side panel ...


https://i.postimg.cc/fT4vJf8f/33.jpg


The side rebate plane can take a smidgeon off the sidewall if the fit is too tight. Some will argue that it is preferable to plane the panel instead. In this situation that is not advisable since the panel is to slide along the dado, and a tight point will impede all points of the panel.


The carcase is Hard Maple, with Merbau as the secondary wood. Locally, Merbau is used for decking. It is cheap and hard, both qualities valued. But is a really brittle wood, and awful to work with. The number of splinters I have had ... and they are sharp and lodge deeply. Ugh!


It can look like this ...


https://i.postimg.cc/5NwSvQGd/34.jpg


... and then a section breaks away ...


https://i.postimg.cc/t4kdvQpB/35.jpg


At least it will be far inside the carcase and not be seen.

[Derek Cohen]

A panel is made up for the interior dividers ...


https://i.postimg.cc/8zNBbPQF/36.jpg


https://i.postimg.cc/Qtsf36Lt/37.jpg


The pieces are fitted.


Will the careful planning and neurotic execution pay off?


I was holding my breath. This is a dry fit ....


https://i.postimg.cc/y6LvMXL1/38.jpg


https://i.postimg.cc/Y93bq1kx/39.jpg


https://i.postimg.cc/XqYxZpY6/40.jpg


(sound of breathing again)


Then I pulled it apart and glued up the carcase ...


https://i.postimg.cc/3Nf12Yk4/41.jpg


More after the coming weekend.


Regards from Perth


Derek

[Christopher Charles]

Hi Derek,

Yes, still watching! Thanks for posting and looking great. Super helpful for me as I'm in the middle of a similar case build.

Best,
Chris

[Jim Koepke]

Hi Derek,

Yes, still watching! Thanks for posting and looking great. Super helpful for me as I'm in the middle of a similar case build.

Best,
Chris

Me too.

jtk

[Michael Todrin]

Coming along nicely. I like the asymmetry in the drawer layout and the curved front.

Michael

[David Eisenhauer]

Nice corner miter work on the carcase Derek, but I lost my bet with myself on the dividers. I was betting that you would use either a half or full tapered dovetail connection rather than the housed connection. Is that because the grain orientation of the short dividers should result in no seasonal movement of the dividers? I also like the zig-zag drawer arrangement. An understated, flowing piece like this calls for some killer (for me, has to be wood) pulls though - the pressure is on to pick a winner.

[James Pallas]

Always watching. I might pick up a tip or two. Nice going so far. I'm wondering about the decision to use loose tenons at the leg to carcass joint?
Jim

[Rob Luter]

Anyone here still watching these posts?


Yup. Really enjoying this one.








The sidewalls are sawn with a azebiki saw. This have two curved sides, one with coarse rip teeth and the other with fine crosscut teeth. I begin with the fine teeth and use them to establish the kerf, and then switch to to the coarse teeth for speedier sawing.


https://i.postimg.cc/qvxQf6XX/26.jpg



I need to find one of these Azebiki saws. What a handy little rascal that it.







... and then a section breaks away ...


https://i.postimg.cc/t4kdvQpB/35.jpg


At least it will be far inside the carcase and not be seen.

I've managed to do this on multiple species of wood. I guess you are mortal after all. I guess I'm in good company!

[Derek Cohen]

Always watching. I might pick up a tip or two. Nice going so far. I'm wondering about the decision to use loose tenons at the leg to carcass joint?
Jim

Can you think of another way to do this, Jim?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Scott Winners]

Still watching. I hope that is ten characters, because I have nothing else to say.

[James Pallas]

Can you think of another way to do this, Jim?

Regards from Perth

Derek
I always have concern about leg joints that depend on glue. The most force applied to that leg (dragging across carpet i.e.) is in line with the tenons. There is a lot of leverage involved. I'm not really sure what I would do in your case. Possibly a sliding dovetail or some kind of partial bridle joint. It is very possible that I am overly concerned. I believe the common cure in the past was stretchers to take away the leverage. I guess I've seen too many failures, some of my own of course, at those points.
Jim

[William Fretwell]

+1 on the sliding dovetail, tapered if possible.
Yes we do follow your builds Derek! You are very good at reminding me of the tools I manage without, or not....
My next build is heavy dovetailed entertainment cabinet so all ideas and techniques welcome!
Almost forgot; the idea that hard maple would be replaced with a secondary wood is rather amusing up here in Ontario! It is not the cheapest wood but lesser grades would be used and keep the Birdseye for the top!

[Derek Cohen]

I always have concern about leg joints that depend on glue. The most force applied to that leg (dragging across carpet i.e.) is in line with the tenons. There is a lot of leverage involved. I'm not really sure what I would do in your case. Possibly a sliding dovetail or some kind of partial bridle joint. It is very possible that I am overly concerned. I believe the common cure in the past was stretchers to take away the leverage. I guess I've seen too many failures, some of my own of course, at those points.
Jim

Thanks Jim

The joint to the leg is not my concern. My plan to date has been to mortice in a 75mm (perhaps 100mm) x 10mm Maple loose tenon, and then pin this from the side. I cannot see this being any less strong than any leg-stretcher join on a larger table. The concern I have is to the carcase. The case is 20mm thick. Will a 20mm deep by 75mm (100mm?) long and 10mm wide mortice in the case be strong enough to hold the other end of the loose tenon? The leg is planned to rest against the case, so stresses will be minimised. My thoughts run to creating a bridge between the legs and attaching this to the case.

A sliding dovetail is unlikely to be strong enough in this situation. In any event, there is no way to make one.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Derek Cohen]

Thanks also William. We posted about the same time.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[James Pallas]

Thanks for the reply Derek. I have many concerns about legs. I'm one of those that would most likely add a few lag screws and epoxy the whole thing and maybe more :). Carry on looking good so far.
Jim

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Jim

I don’t trust mechanical fasteners.

The plan I have had all along is the create a wedged through tenon into the case using a loose tenon. This will need to be done before starting on the drawers (for access). The wedging should prevent the tenon from being pulled out. The legs are secured by pinned mortices into the case. The legs are 1-3/4” to 2” diameter (not exactly sure yet) at the top, so can be morticed 1-1/4” deep. If the tenon is 75mm long, which is wide enough to prevent any twisting, it will be pinned in two places for rigidity.

Your thoughts?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[James Pallas]

Hi Jim

I don’t trust mechanical fasteners.

The plan I have had all along is the create a wedged through tenon into the case using a loose tenon. This will need to be done before starting on the drawers (for access). The wedging should prevent the tenon from being pulled out. The legs are secured by pinned mortices into the case. The legs are 1-3/4” to 2” diameter (not exactly sure yet) at the top, so can be morticed 1-1/4” deep. If the tenon is 75mm long, which is wide enough to prevent any twisting, it will be pinned in two places for rigidity.

Your thoughts?

Regards from Perth

Derek

A whole different perspective after your explainations. The wedged through tenon and the leg pinned to the tenon makes a huge difference than a loose tenon. That is much better IMO. I'm not a big user of mechanical fasteners either. They have their place at times.
Jim