Federal Style Demilune Table build

[Phil Mueller]

I suppose now is as good a time as any to ramble on a bit about this current project. I’ve just gotten to where the top is in the finishing stage. I’ll be able to follow up on the skirt, but the bulk of the build is on hold until I can get some additional lumber for the legs. So this is essentially a table top build.

First, a big thank you to Mike Allen for sharing tips and info on a similar build he did some years ago. If you missed his post on that, look it up. It is truly stunning.

It all started out with a full scale drawing. You’ll note there is about an inch extra at the back side of the table. This allows placement of a center hole to remain throughout the top build. That extra is cut off at the end.

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Forgive me for the use of a few electrons...a router with a circle cutting jig was just the most accurate way for me to get a few steps done.

I cut out the top from 3/4” MDF making a number of slightly less than 1/4” depth cuts.

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I used a sequential matched veneer packet and cut out the 30 degree triangles for a 6 piece half circle. These were softened for a few days, jointed, and then taped together

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A bottom balance sheet of veneer was made from some walnut I had on hand

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I put a small hole in both veneer sheets and lined them up onto the MDF substrate

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Continued....

[Phil Mueller]

Glue was applied to both sides and into the vacuum bag for an hour or so

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Came out reasonably well.

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Veneer tape was removed and then the router with circle jig was used to clean up the outside radius of the veneer

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I then moved on to the outside edge. I wanted vertical grain, so I cut veneer from another sheet, laid them out end to end to match color transitions and taped it up.

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I made a clamping caul and glued the strip on to the edge. I did end up doing it in two pieces...just a lot more manageable that way. The strips were about a 1/16” wider than the edge so I could scrape/plane it level to the top/bottom.

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Front edge done.

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continued....

[Phil Mueller]

Next up was the outer radius on the top. I chose quilted cherry.

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I made a template to match the radius, and cut out a number of pieces, color matched and jointed the ends, then taped them to the top.

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Glue applied and back into the vacuum bag for an hour or so and let it fully cure, then removed the tape.

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At this stage, prior to routing the groves for the stringing, I applied a walnut colored grain filler to the entire piece, sanded lightly, and gave it a couple of wash coats of shellac to seal in the filler (sorry, no pictures, but who wants to see something covered in grain filler anyway).

Using the router and circle template (are you starting to get why I love that little router and template so much), I routed the grooves for the stringing. The stringing outlines the outer cherry band and the bottom edge of the top.

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Stringing was fitted and glued in...

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continued....

[Tom M King]

Gorgeous!!

[Phil Mueller]

I made a few half circle fans for the back center of the table. There’s a separate thread on that if you want to look it up.

I traced the fan onto the top, routed out the bulk and cleaned up the edges with carving gouges. I tried to inlay it as close to even with the top as possible to avoid as much scraping/sanding as possible. Veneer makes me nervous in this regard, and so far I’ve managed not to scrape or sand through this thing.

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The green tape marks a few spots that either needed filling or a bit of color adjustment.

It was fun to play Van Gough with the Mohawk color pigments and mix and match to touch up a few of the spots that needed attention. The great thing about doing this with shellac as the medium is anything I didn’t like could be easily removed with DNA.

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To fill in a few spots, I make my first go at using clear shellac hot melt sticks. I made a pallet knife out of a putty knife, heated with a candle and melted/smoothed the shellac into the small voids. A little sanding with 400 grit leveled it out quite nicely.

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I was pretty anxious about this and failed to get a few photos of the process. Turns out it’s pretty fool proof.

Well, we come to the close (aren’t you relieved?) of the top build. Here it is after the first french polish session. A few more sessions to go and we’ll call this top done.

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I have to admit, it somehow didn’t feel exactly like “woodworking”, more like crafting. And other than a few chisels, gouges, and small planes, there were limited hand tools. But, with the base to come, that should change.

Thanks for looking.

[Mel Fulks]

Love the grain and how you used it. It's more exuberant than some of really fanciful "faux grain".

[Christopher Charles]

Hi Phil,

Great looking table-I've always admired that design and your selection of grain for the top is, well, top-notch.

I'll have to try the shellac melt sticks- how deep a hole will they fill? Looking forward to seeing the rest of the build.

Best,
Chris

[Mark Rainey]

Museum quality Phil!

[Jim Matthews]

Wow.

For once, words fail me.

[David Eisenhauer]

Oh Lordy Phil! You and Mike Allen must be brothers-from-another-mother. Outstanding design and execution. Open up the red velvet rope gate for that gentleman, he does not have to wait in line!

[Graham Haydon]

Phil, that is just perfect!

[Christian Hawkshaw]

Very, Very nice. This is going to be fine piece of furniture.

[ken hatch]

Phil,

Thanks for the tick tock. It's lovely work.

ken

[Robert Engel]

High level craftsmanship and artistic eye!!!

[Phil Mueller]

Thanks for the kind comments, gents. It’s been a fun project. If things don’t open up soon, I’ll probably just order some lumber on line for the legs. I just prefer to look at it before buying. We’ll see. Updates to come at some point down the way.