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Thread: Draw-bored/ table end: Did I out-kick my coverage?

  1. #1
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    Draw-bored/ table end: Did I out-kick my coverage?

    I am making a small dinning table out of ambrosia maple and sipo mahogany. TBH... this post is ill-prepared... I'm at my office and I dont have my exact measurements with me, nor do I have any photos on the computer- I'll fix that shortly here... but it is roughly a 65" x 36" x1.75" glue-up with 5.25" of each end of that glue-up being tenon for the sipo end pieces (The tenons are 5/8 to 3/4 thick) The sipo end caps are 9" wide... I know its a bit excessive but it wasnt intentional... I just had the wood available and I really liked the look of the end caps being so wide when I first laid it out (there is more maple than sipo and the wide ends balance the contrast a bit) .
    My question:
    Do y'all think this is a bit much? Too much weight on the end with almost 4" of thick sipo extending past the end of the 5/8 to 3/4 thick tenon like that? I've honestly never done a table of this size (or much at all) and I've done more than a few things that I'm sure some would grumble at in terms of poor planning and flying by the seat of my pants with designing/building this. Good news is I can always make it smaller... or add some support from below
    I'll post pics for visual reference once I get home.

  2. #2
    Ask yourself if 9" of cantilevered 3/4" maple would easily break or bend. I'm thinking not.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ryan Higgins-Winter Haven View Post
    The tenons are 5/8 to 3/4 thick) The sipo end caps are 9" wide...
    I'm not familiar with Sipo so I don't know it's strengths or weaknesses. It isn't clear how far the tenons will go into the Sipo, you said the boards are 9" wide, but you also said there is a 4" over hang. With that much over hang I would have the tenon at least 1" long. Your weak element will be the top half of the mortise on the Sipo when someone stands up using the table to push up with. A 5/8" thick tenon that is 1" into the mating board will be very strong. If you Sipo is 1-3/4" thick a 5/8" tenon will give you 17/32" of Sipo on top and bottom of the tenon. A 3/4" thick tenon will leave you 1/2" of Sipo top and bottom.
    Lee Schierer
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  4. #4
    I think the OP is referring to 4" overhang past the 5 1/4" long tenons, which seems plenty strong to me.

  5. #5
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    That's the way I'm understanding it. 5/8" x 5.25" tenons into a 9" wide breadboard end. Strength won't be an issue, IMHO. The only issue i see is the stability of the Sipo. I'm not familiar with it either, but if it wants to twist or cup, there is not much restraining it. If it's stable, fine, but if it wants to cup, it will. (A 6" wide BB end with a 4 1/2" tenon would be safer, IMHO)

  6. #6
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    Sipo is an excellent wood with great stability and plenty of strength. It will move less than the maple. Machines and finishes well also. I would pick it as a second to genuine mahogany, followed by Sapele in third place.
    Usually form follows function, but tables are a very visual piece of furniture. There is some latitude.
    If you follow good build and machining practices, - leave room in mortice ends for expansion and contraction, and finish equally top and bottom, you should have no issues.

  7. #7
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    That is exactly what it is. although, after starting to cut the mortises by hand with a 5/8 mortise chisel, im getting closer and closer to considering a little "trimming". The determining factor in the mortise/tenon lengths for me was "how deep can I go" being concerned with the exact scenario Lee S. mentions above.

  8. #8
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    I enjoy working with the sipo as well. I like to give it a quick flash with espresso or kona big box minwax stain... wax on, wax off... and it gives it a nice dark tone without overdoing it. the contrast turned out great on this project. I've made sure to leave room for movement. I live in central florida so the movement hasn't been as bad for me as some from what I've been told, but I err on the side of caution. I'd be willing to bet I have upper midwest summer conditions down here for christmas from time to time... and I'm not bragging- grass is always greener. living in a sauna for 9 months of the year gets old- just as I'm sure shoveling snow does.

  9. #9
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    Ive finally got pics which would make things a lot easier to understand- but I've never actually posted the photo's so i'm trying to figure this out...

  10. #10
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    IMG_7270.jpgIMG_7271.jpgIMG_7384.jpgIMG_7512.jpg
    from L to R: 1) original glue-up ; 2) pre-glue-up with sipo "end caps" ; 3) start of tenons (table and tenons got shorter as I tested and retested my patience, all the way from "home-made jig" to "buy the dang track saw" to get that cut square- did I mention I have ADHD?) ; 4) glue up w/ tenons roughly cut and awaiting "trimming" and my painstakingly slow work with m-chisels and a drill press on those mortises.
    Hopefully I've posted these correctly- I always see posts where the photos aren't actually showing up, followed by instructions on how to do this properly

    Thanks for the input to all you guys. It is all greatly appreciated. I've got sawmill, you-tube, and trial-error as my only guides in the trade (save for a few books I pretend to read) and they make up a 3-legged stool for this novice woodworker of only a few years now... coincidentally around the same time my day job became financial markets... coincidence?

  11. #11
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    Jerry-
    I think these two little slabs/boards are stable enough and haven't moved much since i cut them to dimension about 4 months ago (other projects jumped ahead for a while), however, there's is a good chance i may go for 6" long BB at this rate... we'll see how zen I can be with this tedious process and the time its taking. One thing I keep telling myself but have not yet adhered to is to listen to myself on is the idea of not going for what I think will look "cool" and thinking more practically about working within my comfort zone a little more. There are times when I stress myself out doing the thing that's supposed to be calming me down- every project seems to be something I've not done before, or at least no to the extent I'm attempting.

  12. #12
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    Looking great, Ryan. Thanks for posting the pics. Gonna be a beautiful table!

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