So how do you make this

[Zahid Naqvi]

I can see some possibilities using this carved/spooned out concept, reminds me of the Malouf rocking chair. To me it looks like the top was carved out of a solid piece, or was it steam bent?

I have a couple of powered abrasives(belt sander, sanding pads for hand drill) to facilitate this, but chances are I will turn this into a hand rubbing workout.

Any ideas how this top can be made(definately on a smaller scale than this table) using a 3X21 belt sander, sanding pads, and a round spoke shave.
http://www.guild.com/item_images/A/5401-5500/full/A5458-010f.jpg

[Steve Cox]

Given what appears to be its' narrow width, I would be inclined to turn the top on its' side and bandsaw it to the rough shape and then work with other tools from there.

[John Timberlake]

I would guess that the top is bent and then worked to the final shape. Otherwise, there would be some really short grain in the top. The strechers are certainly bent. My guess is the aprons are cut to shape from thick stock. I would also add blocks to the legs to attach the aprons - lot of wasted wood otherwise.

[tod evans]

zahid, one of the coolest tricks i learned years ago for the belt sander is to place a folded towel under the platten when using it to shape convex surfaces...02 tod

31791

[Richard Wolf]

It looks like the top is a lamination. Could be thin plies bent on a form in a vacuum bag.

Richard

[Tim Devery]

Why would you want a curved top?
Your beer would fall off!

[Michael Ballent]

I would guess that it's either a bent lamination or it could have been bandsawn down. Something else is that there are power carving attachments that connect to a grinder that will get rid of wood in a hurry, One looks like chainsaw teeth going around a metal disk and the other looks like very rough sandpaper. I think Lee Valley carries it.


Given what appears to be its' narrow width, I would be inclined to turn the top on its' side and bandsaw it to the rough shape and then work with other tools from there.

[tod evans]

I would guess that it's either a bent lamination or it could have been bandsawn down. Something else is that there are power carving attachments that connect to a grinder that will get rid of wood in a hurry, One looks like chainsaw teeth going around a metal disk and the other looks like very rough sandpaper. I think Lee Valley carries it.

michael, i`ve tried the major brand chainsaw/grinder attachments and frankly they scare me! ( and i`m not afraid to run a 1/4" slotcutter freehand in a die grinder!) the discs used to support the chain are pretty insubstantial for my taste.....the structured carbide is a great alternitive though...02 tod

[Michael Ballent]

Frighten me too :) but Zahid wanted some ideas as to how it could have been shaped so I thought I would toss that into the mix as well. The thought of having something like that so close to my hand is not my thought a pleasant experience ;)



michael, i`ve tried the major brand chainsaw/grinder attachments and frankly they scare me! ( and i`m not afraid to run a 1/4" slotcutter freehand in a die grinder!) the discs used to support the chain are pretty insubstantial for my taste.....the structured carbide is a great alternitive though...02 tod

[Zahid Naqvi]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=31791&d=1139869237

that towel under the belt sander is a super neat trick. I can certainly use that. the bandsaw rough cut followed by the extended/rounded beltsander might do the trick. I'll try it on a smaller scale first to see the results.

[Don Baer]

michael, i`ve tried the major brand chainsaw/grinder attachments and frankly they scare me! ( and i`m not afraid to run a 1/4" slotcutter freehand in a die grinder!) the discs used to support the chain are pretty insubstantial for my taste.....the structured carbide is a great alternitive though...02 tod

They scare me to. I did pick up one of these a while back

http://www.nortonconsumer.com/Media/Images/S0000000000000001032/Discs-Flap%202004%20web.jpg

It's called a flap disc and it can realy takes off the material in a hurry if you don't mind burning a few electrons. Costs about $5 and you can get them a a welding supply house. They fit in a right angle grinder.

[Jim Becker]

Router riding on rails that mirror the desired profile....

[tod evans]

They scare me to. I did pick up one of these a while back

http://www.nortonconsumer.com/Media/Images/S0000000000000001032/Discs-Flap%202004%20web.jpg

It's called a flap disc and it can realy takes off the material in a hurry if you don't mind burning a few electrons. Costs about $5 and you can get them a a welding supply house. They fit in a right angle grinder.

don, i use 24grit on my angle grinder all the time for roughing in stuff, works great!

[Zahid Naqvi]

They scare me to. I did pick up one of these a while back

http://www.nortonconsumer.com/Media/Images/S0000000000000001032/Discs-Flap%202004%20web.jpg

It's called a flap disc and it can realy takes off the material in a hurry if you don't mind burning a few electrons. Costs about $5 and you can get them a a welding supply house. They fit in a right angle grinder.

Can these be used on a chordless drill or do I need more power and RPMs.

[Michael Ballent]

Zahid, those are usually attached to an right angle grinder. The cordless drill will not last that long. (as in the battery will be exhausted quickly) Here are the scarey tools I was thinking about:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=43424&cat=1,130,43409

All of these would be attached to a 4" angle grinder as well. These will pretty much turn just about any wood into a pile of sawdust very quickly


Can these be used on a chordless drill or do I need more power and RPMs.

[Don Baer]

Can these be used on a chordless drill or do I need more power and RPMs.

The corless drill would be too slow. I used to have a Makita right angle but my #2 son killed it. I picked up a little Roybi for $39 at the borg just for this purpose and it does a fine job on wood.

[Steve Schoene]

even a router that just leaves enough of the original surface for the base to remain steady would create the profile pretty quickly.

With hand tools you would probably rough it out pretty fast with a draw knife and spoke shave.

[Andy Hoyt]

The picture angle really does not help much. But I suspect that the top is concave throughout. If so, a bandsaw won't help. And I just can't see grinding it away.

So, Zahid - I suggest you get yourself a scorp or an inshave.

[Mark Singer]

Just view it as components...The top...I would lamnate it to a form from thin layers and then shape it with sanders ...rasps..spokeshave

The legs,,Iwould make a template and bandsaw a little over and then router to the template...roundover and rasp...spokeshave

The stretchers bandsaw and shape...if they curve in both directions laminate to a form.
The laminated wood will have more strength for the thin edges..

It is a very nice design and challenging...but not that difficult

[Zahid Naqvi]

I should have probably clarified my initial post. I am really interested only in the top, whose carved concept I can use in a box top/lid. I think the bandsaw will get the basic overall shape in place, but what's the fun in that. The inshave I have thought about, but not owning one limits my trial with that tool. But I think on a smaller scale, say a 10"X14" box top, I might be able to pull it off using a spoke shave and some hand sanding. I do think it has some concavity (is that a real word) to it, a flat depression wouldn't be as appealing visually.

[Mark Singer]

Zahid,
The bandsaw will make an extruded form. It will be uniform in cross section. Once that is done it can be shaped with hand and power tools to make it warp in both directions. The Festool Rotex...belt sander with a light touch...auto body sanders...die grinders....ROS....spokeshaves...rasps and drawknives...scorpes...angle grinders with a 36 or 50 grit disc will all help to bring the form to life...a goose neck scraper and hand sanding are important in refining the form...shaping wood is a enjoyable and develops as the work progresses. In my previous threads I have used coving on the tablesaw...for a bed ,barstools and a bowl....staving a coopered cabinet....organic lamps and hall table with stacked lamination shaped with hand and power tools.....an extruded tray on the router table...chairs using a router template , rasps and spokeshaves....and others..you may check a few of these threads

[Steve Cox]

Personally, I would be hard pressed to steam bend the curves on the end of this piece. As for laminations, this top appears to be both curved and tapered. If you laminate the top and then taper it you are going to see a lot of joints which would be very ugly to my eye. I have seen a very similar table made when I was in school and that table was made from one solid piece, bandsawn and then shaped by hand tools.