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Thread: Another coffee table

  1. #46
    Derek, the wood and your composition of the bookmatched pieces are beautiful. It's going to be a special gift!

  2. #47
    I would make a 12" tall form the diameter of the turn and laminate thin strips of wood to the form and clamp the wood together and do it eight times. Then, take take two of those pieces and edge glue them together to make the total length of the edge. Do it four times and you'll have all four curved edges. Then use a spline or Dominoes to attach the curved edges to the sides - top - bottom.
    Last edited by mike v flaim; 12-02-2018 at 9:28 PM.

  3. #48
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
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    Thanks for the ideas, my friends, but I have a game plan I will stay with. It involves dovetailing on the square, and then rounding the outside, adding a filler to the inside and hollowing that. The result will be a little less round than the original, but will look cleaner.

    I am hoping to start the build this coming weekend.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Last edited by Derek Cohen; 12-03-2018 at 7:04 AM.

  4. #49
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
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    N. Idaho
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    Hi Derek,

    Looks like a great challenge and I would have been surprised if you'd elected to go with the square design option. Thanks to you and Vincent for sharing the link to the Dane as I quite like his work, both in design and execution.

    I'll be thinking of you over the next couple weeks as I'll be in Oz for a conference and then touring around SE with my son (Albury, Melbourne and the coast toward Sydney). No shop time, but am very excited for the trip!

    Best,
    Chris

  5. #50
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
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    Calgary AB
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    179
    Quote Originally Posted by Derek Cohen View Post
    Thanks for the ideas, my friends, but I have a game plan I will stay with. It involves dovetailing on the square, and then rounding the outside, adding a filler to the inside and hollowing that. The result will be a little less round than the original, but will look cleaner.

    I am hoping to start the build this coming weekend.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Derek

    I'm very excited, especially for the drawers. And this material; you are very lucky. I have only seen thin thin small boards of it sold here. I bought one five years ago and used some as plane soles just last week. I love it. I am sure there is somewhere in my city where it is sold in proper sizes; I have a friend whose family has chairs made of Jarrah, but they were made a long time ago. Hopefully this wood isn't on any list of bans.

    Vince

  6. #51
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
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    Perth, Australia
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    The immediate challenge is to create the curved ends. The plan is to make dovetailed corners, round them on the outside and add a filler/filet to the inside corner, which will be hollowed to compliment the outer radius.

    Complicating this is the need to mitre the insides of the dovetailed ends, since this will permit the shape to flow better than butt ends. Interesting ... as I have never made mitred dovetails to date. This is going to be a steep but quick learning curve!

    I spent some time researching mitred dovetails. There is not much around. The only book I could find with directions was Ian Kirby's "The Complete Dovetail". I like Ian's work, but the writing here were not his best. There is a short video by Chris Schwarz (Google for it), which was helpful. There was also an article on the UKWorkshop forum (by Custard), which is a Pins-first method (I tend to saw Tails-first). There were one or two other articles to be found, of less assistance to someone like yours truly, who becomes easily spatially challenged. In the end I worked it out but, reflecting on the method that evolved, it does not look like those who came before. Perhaps it is a different way of doing it? I really do not know. Let me have your thoughts here. Anyway, I plan to show it for the education of those who want to learn a method.

    Beginning with a tail board that has been marked and sawn (to speed up the description). Note that there is no shoulder here (which is common on butt ended dovetails). The wood is Merbau, which is hard, hard, hard. 20mm thick, as per the panels on the table ...



    The aim is to saw all the tails. Forget about the mitre for now (... this is a departure from the methods I observed).

    To make the removal of waste easiest, undercut the baselines (shallow cuts to avoid losing vertical) ...



    Now fretsaw away the waste. Get as close to the baseline as you dare! My cuts are about 1mm ...



    This enables the minimum of waste removal. You can place the chisel immediately against the chisel wall and pare/chop down halfway ...



    With the waste removed, mark the mitre cuts at the sides - but do not cut them yet (this is another departure) ...





    Time now to transfer the marks to the pin board.

    First, here is an alternative to the "#140 trick" (the #140 trick involves creating a shallow rebate to securely connect the tail board to the pin board when transferring marks. This was popularised by Rob Cosman and Chris Schwarz, amongst others). My alternative is three layers of blue tape, which is peeled away afterwards.

    Lay three layers of blue tape over the baseline. No need to be careful ...



    Now use the cutting gauge (which marked the tails) to slice away the tape, leaving an edge butting against the baseline ...



    This is the fence. Here it is seen with the pin board, which has a layer of blue tape on the end ...



    The "fence" makes it easy to align the boards, while the blue tape on the pin board also acts as a non-slip ..



    When you trace the sockets (with a knife), the outlines look like this (great for old eyes!) ...



    Drop all the vertical lines, with the exception of the line on the outside at each side ...



    Remove the waste in the same way as done on the tail board (undercut the baseline, fretsaw and chisel) ...



    Mark out the mitre lines ...



    .

  7. #52
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
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    .. and drop the verticals on the reverse side...



    Now saw the mitre cuts and remove the waste ...





    Do this on the tail board as well - the reason it was left until now was that it would be difficult to transfer the outside tail if the mitre was sawn.

    Stay about 1mm from the mitre line. Do not saw to the line. This will be more accurately shaped with a chisel.

    For chiseling, use a mitre guide. This is just a 45 degree saw cut. I made a double-ended guide - to use on opposing sides ..





    Take it slowly, a smidgeon at a time.



    Finally ... the moment of truth arrives ... will she .. won't she ??



    Looking promising as the top is pressed together with finger pressure. Then I wack it - the wood is uncompromising. The clamp is to prevent any cracking in such circumstances.



    Not too shabby.

    Mitres are tight ...





    Now about the rounded edge ... here is the secret weapon:



    After marking out, the waste is removed with a block plane, and then sanded smooth. Just lacking the inner filet ...





    Enough practice. Now for the real thing. A bit more of a challenge as the panels are 500mm wide.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  8. #53
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Missouri
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    Nice going Derek. You may have already discovered this. When working with full blind dovetails I found it easier to trim the pin board of the miter than the tail board. It's supported a little more and gives the opportunity to sneak up a little easier. At least that has been my experience. I do much the same as you when setting it up, no blue tape for a fence tho. I'll have to give that a go next time around.
    Jim

  9. #54
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    N. Idaho
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    Hello Derek,

    The table is looking great and your tutorial on mitered dovetails is excellent as usual...will you be adding it to your website? Afraid it will be lost otherwise...

    Best,
    Chris

  10. #55
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
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    South West Ontario
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    Probably the same work as steam bending four laminations and then using splines, except that would give you the inside radius as well. I've done it with teak with great results. Once you have the form made you can bang out the 4 corners very quickly.
    ​You can do a lot with very little! You can do a little more with a lot!

  11. #56
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    USA
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    Just my opinion of course, but I think the appeal of the original design is the contemporary look. I don't think you get that with exposed dovetails.

  12. #57
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
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    Hi William

    Any photos?

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  13. #58
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    South West Ontario
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    Yes somewhere, however I wrapped my huge creation in carbon fibre cloth and epoxy as it was to hang off the stern of a sail boat and hold a large solar panel so it could swivel. I can tell you 3 other sail boats have collided with my solar arch and it survived all three!
    ​You can do a lot with very little! You can do a little more with a lot!

  14. #59
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Missouri
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    Looks like you have a plan Derek. If you are comfortable I say go for it. I think that a full blind would work also. From what I have seen if Japanese work they put many dovetails on full blind work. I would guess that that is where they get strength at the joint. And you are right that full blind work is pins first, I don't know how one could lay it out tails first. I think you have your work cut out for you due to width but I'm confident that you will get it done. Certainly will be a fine build to watch.
    Jim

  15. #60
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
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    Thanks Jim. I did consider a full blind joint, and would have preferred this route for the continuity of the grain, however the outside of the joint is removed to make it round, and this would have then revealed the inside joinery.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

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