Funky End Table

[Jeffrey Makiel]

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a conceptual CAD drawing of a funky end table my brothers and I were thinking about. Well, it's now done. It was made from poplar and uses a 20" dia glass top. The faux marble finish was the hardest part but it looks very, very close to another 'real' marble piece in my living room. Shown below are the CAD rendering, the CAD plan and the actual table.

We are now getting ready to do some deco lamps.

Thanks for checking it out...

-Jeff :)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/EndTableLivingRmCAD.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/EndTablePlan.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/EndTable.jpg

[Richard Wolf]

Nice execution of an interesting degign.

Richard

[Chris Dodge]

Wow! That's wood? Nice job on the faux finish!

[Josh Goldsmith]

How did you do the faux finish? That is awesome! Good Job!

[Jim Becker]

Great execution of the plan, Jeffrey!

[Frank Chaffee]

Careful here people,
This guy Jeffrey is so CAD- handy that we cannot tell if his posts here are real or not.
As for me, I will reserve complementing this beautiful piece until I have set my wine glass or coffee cup upon it without losing liquid contents, because at his skill level, I would not even be surprised if this were a hologram.
Frank

[John Timberlake]

Great job - design, execution, and finish. Looks like an Art Deco design. My daughter would love, but my wife is mostly Queen Anne and Chippendale. How did you make the legs? And give details on the finish.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Thanks for the compliments...on the woodworking and the CAD!

Using the drawing, each segment of the leg was plotted full size. The paper templates were then cut out and traced onto the correct thickness board. Then bandsawed, spindle sanded and rabbeted. The segments are held together with a 1/2" dowel using a fixture to hold the proper angle on the drill press.

The positive side of faux finishing is that any gaps in the joints can be filled with epoxy filler then cleaned up with a chisel. See pic below. If I was to use a clear finish, this project would have been much more difficult.

My brothers did the faux finish. It was very difficult, mostly because they were trying to match a piece of real black marble. It was done using a black basecoat, then shades of white were applied using crumpled plastic (which did not work that well for them) and reworked with brushes and good old fingers. The whole thing was then clear coated with an amber tint to give the colors some warmth. Their background as post commercial artists came in handy. The time spent on the faux finish exceeded the woodworking time.

cheers, Jeff :)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/EndTableAction.jpg

[Norman Hitt]

Very Nicely done, and if that faux finish looks anywhere Near as Realistic when viewed in person as it does in the picture, "Look Out Museum Curators", 'cause there may be some Fakes/Reproductions showing up in the near future.:D

PS: Could ya send your Brothers down my way for a while? I think I could sure make use of them on a project or three.;) :D

[Frank Chaffee]

Jeffrey,
Your work, and that of your brothers is nothing short of phenomenal.
Thanks for providing the pic that suggests that the table was actually produced by human hands with the use of metal tools.
Frank

[Vaughn McMillan]

Bravo, Jeffrey! I like the design (in the right space), and the execution is superb.

- Vaughn

[Jason Quick]

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a conceptual CAD drawing of a funky end table my brothers and I were thinking about. Well, it's now done.

Wow. Amazing job there!

Almost looks like it was inspired by the shape of the tower Orthanc in Lord Of The Rings. :D

Jason

[Doug Shepard]

Wow. Amazing job there!

Almost looks like it was inspired by the shape of the tower Orthanc in Lord Of The Rings. :D

Jason

I was thinking it looked like the telescoping blade guards on MM16 saws, turned upside down then bent.:D

Jeffrey - you definitely get an A+ for originality. It's bound to generate lots of discussion when folks walk into someone's house and see one of those.

[Earl Kelly]

Jeffrey,

Very good job on the faux Marble. Did you use any green with the black or just use blk and white? Looks like you've gotten a really good sense of depth to the finish.

I like the design, unique and works very well with the Faux.

[Pete Harbin]

Really cool Jeffery!

Pete

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Thanks for the compliments!

Earl...it's basically black, white and just a hint of yellow ochre. The marble we were trying to match had no green in it, but I have often seen green in many black marbles though.

Here's a little more detail on the finish. By no means should this be considered the gospel of marble-izing...
1. The poplar was sealed and primed with white shellac.
2. Then sprayed with gloss black lacquer for the base color.
3. For the veining, titanium white artist oil color was blended very slightly with yellow ochre oil. Then it was blended with artist medium to give it a translucent look.
4. The base veining was applied with crumpled plastic, but this was then subtley smudged using a finger.
5. Higher contrast veining was then done using artist brushes. This was how most of the veining was applied.
6. When done, it was cleared with polyeurethane that was slightly tinted with yellow dye. A clear finish would have been used, but we did not mix enough yellow ochre into the titanium white for veining. However, this correction worked well and gave the final colors more warmth.

This was a long process. The oil paints stayed tacky for two days. A lot of fussing and wiping was done. Much of the mechanics of the marble-izing process can be found through a Google search. But it's not a easy as we had thought.

cheers, Jeff :)