Starting On A Couple Of New Tables

[Dale Osowski]

Hi Guys

Rather than post a finished piece I figure I'll start an on going build thread. I recently acquired two slabs of spalted hard Maple. Both are the perfect size for coffee tables. Slab #1, the slightly larger of the two will be built for The Urban Wood Encounter Show in Milwaukee and is the first one I'll be working on. For this table I have decided to go with an origami inspired design for the base and carry it through to the slab. To get things moving I thought it best to stabilize the crotch split. Rather than use the typical butterflies or the slightly curved butterflies I've used in the past I decided to go with the theme and use origami inspired butterflies.

In the photos below you'll see the slabs and a few butterfly designs I started playing with, and the design I ended up using for the first butterfly. Today I only had a chance to cut the first butterfly out of ebony. Hopefully next week I'll set it into place. I have other work going so I can't spend much time on these right now but I'll post as often as I can, every couple weeks or so.

Stay Tuned :-)

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[lowell holmes]

Wow!! I'm blown away.

I would like to see details of making the butterflies. They look very precise. My thoughts lead to making a stick that has the shape machined and then slicing the butterflies from that stick. It would be a generous gesture on your part if you care to share that.

[Dale Osowski]

Thanks Lowell

This one and the ones to follow are first drawn on paper and then double stick taped to the stock. For this one I simple cut the outside wing angles on the table saw with miter gauge, 60 deg. The rest of the cuts are done by hand via dozuki saw. This Butterfly is 13/16" thick Ebony The one I will use towards the wide end of split will be 1.5" stock, either Bocote or Rosewood. I't will be a bit different in shape and larger overall yet still origami inspired. I'll make sure to take photos of the process from drawing pad to cutting actual butterfly. Hope to get to that early next week .

[Patrick McCarthy]

Gotta agree with Lowell:WOW.

I have seen many traditional butterflies but never thought outside the proverbial box. Excellent, simply excellent.

Looking forward to seeing a lot more from you.

Thank you for sharing, Patrick

[Prashun Patel]

Those are brilliant. Those slabs are beautiful. Watching with anticipation.

[Dale Osowski]

Thanks Guys!

[Dale Osowski]

Ok, the next step in the Auragami table build will be a little boring ;-) The left and right side of the slab are out of plane with each other by about 1/4", this of course is due to the crack. A butterfly alone won't solve this problem and I believe it best not to rely on the table base to pull each side into plane.

What I plan to do is run a 3/4" diameter steel rod from one side to the other passing through the butterfly. This will be about a 32" total run to bore. I will enter from the left side. The bar end will be hidden by the the edge I cut off, bevel and glue back in place to mimic the folding of the slab.

I'll tackle this later this week / early next. I'm a bit under the weather with a bad cold / flu at this time and I need to modify the drill bit extension a little to accept the boring bit. The photo should give you an idea of what will be done. The large butterfly the rod passes through will be Rosewood.

Stay Tuned
DJO

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[Jeff Wittrock]

That's a beautiful slab of wood. Can't wait to see the butterflies in place.
That would scare the hell out of me to drill a hole that long across the slab .

[Dale Osowski]

Feeling a little better today and had a little time to cut out the main butterfly from Rosewood. It's as large as my hand, no doubt the largest I've ever made.

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[Jim Matthews]

I don't see how this will bring the two sides into plane.

They'll get closer together, to be sure...
but planar?

I'm doubtful that this effort will produce results that might be achieved by stronger fixation to the base.
Some deep kerfing underneath the "low" side before it's torqued into the same plane, perhaps.

My expectation of this is that the table will rock, seasonally.

[Dale Osowski]

I don't see how this will bring the two sides into plane.

They'll get closer together, to be sure...
but planar?

I'm doubtful that this effort will produce results that might be achieved by stronger fixation to the base.
Some deep kerfing underneath the "low" side before it's torqued into the same plane, perhaps.

My expectation of this is that the table will rock, seasonally.

No worries, I've used this technique before :-) Eight years and the table is as flat as day one, no rocking. And this was only 3/8" diameter rod. If the wood is dried correctly and construction is sound there shouldn't be any issues.

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[Dale Osowski]

Roughed out.

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[Dale Osowski]

Starting on the cleanup. This is going to take awhile since the spalting and the crotch grain make for fragile wood.

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[Dale Osowski]

Main butterfly is in place, next step is to drill for steel rod. The back view gives you an idea of what I was working with and why patience was needed. very tricky grain.

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[Dale Osowski]

Success! The drilling went well, now it's time to glue in the butterfly and set the rod. This will be the last post for awhile since I want to set the slab aside and let it settle before final flattening. Below is a few photos of the drilling and how the rod passes through butterfly. Also pictured is a mock up of folded edge that will conceal rod end.

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