Another coffee table

[Mark Rainey]

Looking good Derek

[Tony Wilkins]

Coming along very nicely, as usual.

[James Pallas]

I’m impressed with the execution of the work. I just want to know how you are going to top this one. Very nice looking tails.
Jim

[Derek Cohen]

Jim, you say that every time - the fun is extending yourself a little each time. There is always something new to learn.

Still lots to do, and a new lathe to use ... for the first time!

Regards from Perth

Derek

[James Pallas]

Jim, you say that every time - the fun is extending yourself a little each time. There is always something new to learn.

Still lots to do, and a new lathe to use ... for the first time!

Regards from Perth

Derek

Just fun Derek. I’m always looking to try something new. Trying something new is one of the best parts of woodworking. Watching your builds encourages me to do something new or try to find different ways to accomplish a task.
Thanks Jim

p.s. I hope giving you a little nudge isn’t too bothersome.

[Derek Cohen]

Bothersome, Jim? Nah ... never. Friendly teasing

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Derek Cohen]

We are at the stage where the base - rail with tapered and splayed legs - is to be done next. This is the photo of the model ...





I like this base, and have chosen to replicate it. The two relevant items are the angle of the splay (which I estimated as 10 degrees), and the positioning of the ends of the legs (these appear to end in line with the carcase).


I get my Jarrah these days from an urban salvage yard, but some of it is ex-roofing beams, like this ...





It is a wonderful moment when it comes out the other end ...





I planed up a couple of these to find 4 blanks that would make the legs. Each is 450mm long. The legs will taper in the round from 40mm at the top to 25mm at the bottom.


The mortices were marked out ...





... and routed out (I have a great jig for this - just made for hard, hard woods) ..





.. leaving ...





The ends of the mortices are squared up ...





.. and then onto the lathe ...





A little tinted epoxy is needed to repair some of the resin holes ...








Next step is to determine the length of the rails. This is a no-math process that simply involves laying out the parts, with the legs at 10 degrees ...








Sawing the tenons is easy enough. The rails are 19mm (3/4") and the tenon/mortice is 1/4" wide ..





The tenon shoulder needs to be fitted flush with the leg ...

[Derek Cohen]

The easiest way is to use blue tape to mark the shoulders ...








The shoulder of the mortice is levelled with a chisel and rasp ..





... until each is a good fit ..





Finally, the glue up begins ...








I pulled off the clamps a short while ago ...





I'll clean it up in the morning.


Regards from Perth


Derek

[William Fretwell]

Well the inner quadrant is the weak spot. It occurs to me that not turning the end of the leg would preserve more of the inner quadrant, keep a square face for the stretchers and increase the footprint of the leg top on the table bottom.
The outer quadrants could be rounded by hand using the turned face for reference.
Perhaps a small detail but that inner quadrant with two mortices ends up awfully narrow at the inner part of the leg. Back to my crazy teenager thing!
Nice lathe by the way!

[Derek Cohen]

William, your points make sense. Keeping it square is less of a concern than strength. Squareness just takes a little more work. Strength has to be built in.

New lathe! Christmas and birthday present in one. Got a good price on Black Friday. 10 years on a Jet mini. I don't know myself now

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Derek Cohen]

Finishing the base ..


Splayed legs leave their tops angled with the rails, and they need to be flushed ...





... to be coplanar on both sides ...








The next step was to add corner reinforcing blocks. These were glued and screwed ...





You can see they follow the angled rails (created by the splayed legs).


The under side ..





The final stage was to level the legs. Measure the height at each corner, and use wedges under each leg until the height is the same for all ...











Hot glue the wedges so they do not move ...





Once done, scribe the bottom of each leg ...





Electrician's tape is great for marking at an angle ...





Saw off the waste, and we are done ...





I checked the result with a digital angle box. All good. Sanded to 240 grit ...





The drawer and finishing is left to do.


Regards from Perth


Derek

[Derek Cohen]

An up to date photo ...

It is now beginning to look like something familiar ....





The legs appear pretty strong and solid. No flex.


Regards from Perth


Derek

[Mark Rainey]

It is coming together! Looking very familiar.

[Tony Wilkins]

Looking great, really coming together. Looks nothing like the original

[Pat Barry]

Amazing work!