Roger Everett
07-03-2006, 7:07 AM
I was looking to make drawing up designs a little easier. And started looking around at drafting tables ( yea I'm the old fashhioned type ). WHOA!! $$$. So I went to one of the box stationary stores, found a 36 x 24" parallel arm board ( just the right size for me ), that had little plastic legs, you unfold and use on the kitchen table. Well one try on the kit. table, and this won't work for me, but the board was decent and the parallel arm worked good. So off to the shop to chop up some Red Oak.
This is what I came up with. The legs are half lapped into the bases ( which are relieved 3/8' in 1 1/2" at each end, for solid footing ), the spreader ( foot rest ) is let into the legs. The legs are 2 pc. and with holes drilled to allow adjustment from below seated level to stand up use. I added wing pcs. to the bottom section of leg to make it a more solid adjustment. The table mount ( swivel ) is 3/4" oak ply, cut out with router and trammel. as is the pivot slot. I then edge banded it with some iron-on edge banding. The mext part was to put a strip of oak on the front of table, for a pencil stop. The finish is a coat of Lac. sanding sealer and 3 coats of NC Lacquer, shot on , then hit it over lightly with 600 wet or dry, followed by a rub down with wax applied and rubbed down with #0000 steel wool.
I started out to use carriage bolts and wing nuts. But when I got to putting it together, I had that thought that always gets me in trouble " hey," I can kick it up a notch ". The assembly bolts are some 7/8" Wenge I had laying around. For the bolts, I cut out circles with a hole saw in DP, band sawed 1/4" off the top, redrillled out the base of, and epoxied in bolts, then glued the top back on. I then put a Purpleheart tapered plug in where hole was in the top. Then chucked them in the DP to finish off with a file and sandpaper. The nut pcs. are slit the same, with nuts epoxied in, then glued back together and shaped. Turned out to be a bit of work.
When I got done and picked up a lamp, it had a clamp on base, that wouldn't stay put, since the angle of table put to mich pressure on clamp. So I went back to scrap pile, and screwed on a pc. of Jarrah, with a chunk of Purpleheart on top, with a hole drilled in to mount the lamp and allow it to pivot.
Turned out to be a lot more work then I intended to do for a utilitarian purpose drafting table. WHOA!, that sounds like a familar statement, I think that's what I always do.
Roger
This is what I came up with. The legs are half lapped into the bases ( which are relieved 3/8' in 1 1/2" at each end, for solid footing ), the spreader ( foot rest ) is let into the legs. The legs are 2 pc. and with holes drilled to allow adjustment from below seated level to stand up use. I added wing pcs. to the bottom section of leg to make it a more solid adjustment. The table mount ( swivel ) is 3/4" oak ply, cut out with router and trammel. as is the pivot slot. I then edge banded it with some iron-on edge banding. The mext part was to put a strip of oak on the front of table, for a pencil stop. The finish is a coat of Lac. sanding sealer and 3 coats of NC Lacquer, shot on , then hit it over lightly with 600 wet or dry, followed by a rub down with wax applied and rubbed down with #0000 steel wool.
I started out to use carriage bolts and wing nuts. But when I got to putting it together, I had that thought that always gets me in trouble " hey," I can kick it up a notch ". The assembly bolts are some 7/8" Wenge I had laying around. For the bolts, I cut out circles with a hole saw in DP, band sawed 1/4" off the top, redrillled out the base of, and epoxied in bolts, then glued the top back on. I then put a Purpleheart tapered plug in where hole was in the top. Then chucked them in the DP to finish off with a file and sandpaper. The nut pcs. are slit the same, with nuts epoxied in, then glued back together and shaped. Turned out to be a bit of work.
When I got done and picked up a lamp, it had a clamp on base, that wouldn't stay put, since the angle of table put to mich pressure on clamp. So I went back to scrap pile, and screwed on a pc. of Jarrah, with a chunk of Purpleheart on top, with a hole drilled in to mount the lamp and allow it to pivot.
Turned out to be a lot more work then I intended to do for a utilitarian purpose drafting table. WHOA!, that sounds like a familar statement, I think that's what I always do.
Roger