Lane Acclaim Dining Table - Input Please

[John TenEyck]

I have the opportunity to build this table for a client.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ABLVV86_VvAudY32yfgwiNpzqNdegZ-ErQ0sq8yKG-1hbwKwFMM8vkDAL4wL57slLret4Bku_6CNPsMN0ZUNDN6aOzcE zQIMb2K10q0OLtO-rkAENr29sT2vAiuMn8syrzWehXP7S2ZMdM8sTKWIMN-mwKv8uQ=w720-h479-s-no?authuser=1

It can be extended to hold three leaves:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ABLVV86GH10LLA64TtJYE6aZWRIZCuPQW0fqtc2_iowoLlB-DVCvGWPiM37ecrdADOBu-1R3220CJEbGYBudQGLk6XcDZXOJWJQQNprCS66f5SqarKKR-Xwj-6GT1xHcD_RvUKWsSOBJwKkNabXZeBnTpCRZcg=w1284-h854-s-no?authuser=1


I know walnut was used for some of these tables. The edge profile looks to be red oak in the photos I've seen. I'm not sure if other woods were used, but I'm thinking mahogany and maple would look good.

I think the construction is veneer over plywood for the field with solid wood edging. The dovetail feature is separate from the edging (thankfully) and appears to be cosmetic only. The legs have an interesting flair where they meet the aprons. I think the extension mechanism is the simple wood type, maybe with a centering mechanism, but don't really know. The overall structure looks pretty light and I'm concerned about how sturdy it will be with the extensions installed. The extensions on this one look like they might be solid wood, but I've seen photos of others that have the same edging as on the table, which would suggest veneer over plywood plus the solid wood edge.

If anyone has any insight/recommendations I would appreciate your input very much. Thanks.

John

[Jamie Buxton]

Thick veneer, right? Like at least 1/16".

Yeah, those leaves look like they should have the dovetail edge treatment too. Perhaps they are a repair, or replacement for lost leaves?

Me, I don't like wood table slides. I'd go to metal ones, probably from Poettker. Lee Valley sells some.

[Andrew Hughes]

I refinished a table that had those big dovetail.
It was veneered.
Good Luck john

[John TenEyck]

Thick veneer, right? Like at least 1/16".

Yeah, those leaves look like they should have the dovetail edge treatment too. Perhaps they are a repair, or replacement for lost leaves?

Me, I don't like wood table slides. I'd go to metal ones, probably from Poettker. Lee Valley sells some.

I use shop sawn veneer, Jamie so, yes, around 1/16". I've seen pictures of the leaves with and w/o the contrasting wood edging. It seems they were made both ways, but I'm inclined to use the edging. That will keep the construction the same for all of it, veneer over plywood plus edging.

I'll look into the metal slides. Thanks.

John

[jim gossage]

I was just about to say that it looks like something is missing without the edging on the leaves.

[Mel Fulks]

My parents had some of that style stuff. Dad’s Sister was married to a guy who was an executive at that company. Most of what
my parents bought was just “too good to turn down” stuff and in styles that were ready to be shaded by the glamor of the NEW lines. They were frugal . Now I’m wondering if that edgy edge style was part
of the coming “joints “ fads !

[Christopher Charles]

Nice looking chairs-do you think they are walnut or mahogany? I agree the table looks to be veneer over ply with solid edging, though my first thought was aged maple rather than red oak. I’ve had large tables with metal extensions and a well made MCM table with wood extensions. Both worked well so either way should work and I suspect metal would be less effort on your end. Should be a great project-any chance you can talk them out of the faux dovetails? LOL…regardless would be nice to match the edging on the leaves and table.

one last thought would be to track down clues from the Lane catalog on the web or maybe a good library…

[Ken Krawford]

Jim beat me to it - the leaves are crying out for the same edging as the rest of the table.

[John TenEyck]

I agree, the leaves need the same edge detail, but the table was sold at various times in both formats.

[John TenEyck]

Nice looking chairs-do you think they are walnut or mahogany? I agree the table looks to be veneer over ply with solid edging, though my first thought was aged maple rather than red oak. I’ve had large tables with metal extensions and a well made MCM table with wood extensions. Both worked well so either way should work and I suspect metal would be less effort on your end. Should be a great project-any chance you can talk them out of the faux dovetails? LOL…regardless would be nice to match the edging on the leaves and table.

one last thought would be to track down clues from the Lane catalog on the web or maybe a good library…


I have no clue about the chairs. I've only really looked at the table, to be honest. Thanks for the info. on the slides. I'll probably go with metal as they should be easier to install and will provide the most robust and consistent performance year round.

I have a lane catalog. It doesn't provide very many clues, actually, but I have found some photos of ones for sale on various sites and those pictures have been helpful. It seems the table was built in several iterations, some with beaded aprons, some without, some with the end of the legs ebonized or otherwise made black, some not.

The faux dovetails are ugly, I agree, but that's part of what makes an Acclaim table an Acclaim table, so I think they are going to be part of the build. We'll see.

I'd really, really like to find a measured drawing for the table. If anyone has a clue where I might find one, I'd be very grateful.

John

[jack duren]

A lot of work on that table. I wonder how many breakers there will be in the pattern?

[John TenEyck]

The lady accepted my bid, so now it's time to get serious about this. My first task is to develop as accurate as practical drawing for it. After that's approved and I get a down payment to build it it'll be time to find some 12"+ wide mahogany.

Any recommendations on which mahogany to use? I'm planning to use plain sawn grain, if that influences your recommendation. Thanks.

John

[Jim Becker]

Unless something has changed, Irion Lumber in north central PA usually has very nice wide mahogany available and the "good stuff", too. You could pick up from where you live or they ship, too.

[John TenEyck]

Unless something has changed, Irion Lumber in north central PA usually has very nice wide mahogany available and the "good stuff", too. You could pick up from where you live or they ship, too.


Thanks Jim, but there's no need to go that far unless maybe I was looking for something exceptional. I have a local millwork shop that has a wide variety of wood species, most anything, including a lot of wide stuff. I'm more interested in what particular species of mahogany people might recommend for this table before I go there and annoy them for an hour pulling down several pallets to only buy a couple of three boards. I've done that several times in the past, so I guess my reputation precedes me, but it's a New Year and time to try to improve.

John

[Andrew Hughes]

I like Honduras mahogany the other African mahogany is hard and heavy but not nearly as stable.
Dont be fooled by African mah costing less. There is a unique aspect of Honduras mah look closely at the pores you should see little while specks. It will be a little lighter and softer.
John probably already knows what I’m sharing. These word can be for anyone passing by.:)
Good Luck

[John TenEyck]

I like Honduras mahogany the other African mahogany is hard and heavy but not nearly as stable.
Dont be fooled by African mah costing less. There is a unique aspect of Honduras mah look closely at the pores you should see little while specks. It will be a little lighter and softer.
John probably already knows what I’m sharing. These word can be for anyone passing by.:)
Good Luck

Thanks Andrew. I've used African mahogany. It looks OK but not great, IMO. Funny thing is the stuff I used was really light, and easy to dent, not heavy like you described. I know that's relative and maybe it is heavier than Honduran. I don't know if I've ever actually used any. I tend to measure everything in that category against Sapele (not a mahogany, I know), which IS heavy.

Cost is always important, but I'd rather use something nice even if it exceeds my budget. I guessed $16/bf for mahogany, so I hope I'm OK for which ever one I buy. I only need about 25 bf.

John

[Jim Becker]

Thanks Jim, but there's no need to go that far unless maybe I was looking for something exceptional. I have a local millwork shop that has a wide variety of wood species, most anything, including a lot of wide stuff. I'm more interested in what particular species of mahogany people might recommend for this table before I go there and annoy them for an hour pulling down several pallets to only buy a couple of three boards. I've done that several times in the past, so I guess my reputation precedes me, but it's a New Year and time to try to improve.

John

Honduras as Andrew mentioned is very nice and a pleasure to use. The various "African Mahogany" species are not really mahogany. That said, a very viable substitute from that continent, if you don't mind the beautiful ribbon figure, is Sapele which has the same general color as true mahogany from South America and works in a similar way, albeit has a bit of interlocked grain which makes carving more challenging. Sapele is often a bit less expensive than Honduras mahogany if it's a fit.

[Andrew Hughes]

At the lumber I visit sometimes a board or two African and Honduras get mixed. I’m sure you know your species as god as any. I hadn’t thought of Sapele until jim mentions it. I like it sapele unfortunately it’s ribbon grain is so very unique. Just not always a fan.
Would you like to see a piece built from Honduras mah or some call Genuine mah? I think you will so here it is fish tank stand I made.
Honduras mahogany with a lacquer finish.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, the ribbon figure in Sapele is an important consideration. It works in some contexts but would not be a good look in others because it can be pretty darn striking.

https://onedrive.live.com/embed?resid=C0685A604D3742F9%217047&authkey=%21AC66yCkNW0YNFpQ&width=660

[Jamie Buxton]

The other “African Mahogany” is Khaya. It generally has less-pronounced ribbon figure than Sapele.

To my eye, both Sapele and Khaya are darker than Honduras Mahogany. They are both respectable hardwoods, and I use a fair amount of Khaya. Just be cautious about the color if your customer has Honduras in mind.

[Mel Fulks]

I worked in a couple of shops that tried to use African wood stuff for mahogany. It moved like a sleeping cat, but faster !

[John TenEyck]

That's beautiful, Andrew.

John

[John TenEyck]

Honduras as Andrew mentioned is very nice and a pleasure to use. The various "African Mahogany" species are not really mahogany. That said, a very viable substitute from that continent, if you don't mind the beautiful ribbon figure, is Sapele which has the same general color as true mahogany from South America and works in a similar way, albeit has a bit of interlocked grain which makes carving more challenging. Sapele is often a bit less expensive than Honduras mahogany if it's a fit.


I've used a lot of Sapele. I don't think the ribbon grain would look good on this table. Maybe plain sawn, but I think some sort of mahogany would be better. There is a huge price difference though. I can get wide 8/4 Sapele for around $6/bf.

John

[Tom Bender]

Jim that's a beautiful guitar. What is the finish?

[Jim Becker]

Jim that's a beautiful guitar. What is the finish?
Thanks! Filled with ZPoxy and then many coats of Target Coatings EM7000HB, leveled and sanded out to 12000 with Micromesh (wet) and then buffed. Like true mahogany, sapele benefits from grain filling and the ZPoxy takes care of that nicely while really popping the "warmth".

[John TenEyck]

While on vacation I developed drawings for the table. I was happy to find that I could bring photos into SketchUp and scale them to the known dimensions of the table. That allowed me to get a very good idea of the dimensions for the other parts.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ABLVV86zugOeAWC85AgmfapSJGkdDJon5V9ojWPYwBlrvLlEdv csqrw6DQeNhhiGwyK9XWHO2oOWbffL3DXygwPPv275QHkiidht xz7-UQ5jFSUiprUW3vd6Zl75O1niLllTbst89l3iGhKkau0yb-ep4FLdIw=w1910-h761-s-no?authuser=1


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ABLVV85DnzV3IvA-oeiUevx385nnlCXsgV-dNFT45QA5xhszhY5yeLhznsncrEkhJbDVe9wQBg3SmufevPcoq p3FGs6aK_w6mMeAE7c7-A0E82ee6Ux-26KiVbA-lRfgbfj7eUhOPHUFyFlRq0tf_JzEB-AC3A=w1910-h761-s-no?authuser=1


The original table has plain leaves and no apron extension on the leaves, but looks poor to me when open unless you put a tablecloth over it.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ABLVV87-WBDJ8uEuVyImR_c_yIhg-6_ssrZ8gI_kudMxNq7Z3vOBQ0TP7ymzBgcEGk4hWv0DWohJGxv uLJ84nAoP-YdGaxdqQ0BcZ1ndTkNyRA-fSS_giqknZbGSrLHL708BZ1g9sOxRqie5adbwZsVrxJgZ4g=w1 910-h761-s-no?authuser=1


I contacted my customer and asked for her opinion, and she immediately wanted the molded edges and apron extensions on the leaves, even though storage of the leaves will be more difficult. So that's what I'll build.

Jamie, I looked at the table extensions sold by LeeValley. None of the ones they sell will fit the table, so I contacted Poettker USA. I sent them drawings and heard back overnight (impressive) from the president of the company (must be a small company), who said LV sells only a small fraction of what they make. He said I need a custom built unit, which for the low end version only costs around $150 plus shipping, and a high-end version is around $500. He didn't send me the specs to compare but I'm sure I'll want the top end ones. I had budgeted $250, so this is a big hit to the budget. I'll have to go back to my customer to see if she'll meet me at least half way. I'm sure we'll find a solution.

I have my material list together and will be going to my wood supplier this weekend. I hope I find some really nice genuine mahogany. If not, I found 3 beautiful 5/4 curly cherry boards in my wood shed that should have just enough in them to do the table, so that's my backup plan.

John