Greene & Greene Coffee Table and End Table Build

[Phil Mueller]

Congrats Mike! Not only great design and execution, but also the fact you got the ok to make something for the home! Beautiful hand work, as usual. Always inspiring.

[Mike Allen1010]

Hi Mike,

I used to like reading your posts, but now they are just giving me a complex because you are cranking out so much great work!

All three look great in their new habitat and I especially like the drawer pull.

(Keep the posts coming!).

Thanks Chris. The only even marginal upside of Covid quarantine is lot's of shop time. Got to keep my hands busy to stay outta trouble.

Cheers, Mike

[Mike Allen1010]

Thanks for sharing!

I will let my limited experience show... that seems like a lot of fiddly little mortices to knock out by hand. I'm sure would be considered cheating but it seems to me that plowing a groove and then backfilling between the vertical slats with long grain plugs would be easier/faster. I'm guessing there is a strength or design compromise with that approach but it escapes me. Clue me in please.

Barney, your approach could certainly work, particularly for the through mortices. I went with this approach to maintain the continuity of the grain in the legs and frankly habit. The shallow mortices for the plugs are only ~1/4" deep.

Cheers, Mike

[lowell holmes]

SHOW OFF, well done.

[Bill McNiel]

Mike,
Truly a beautiful example of adapting the Bros Greene design vocabulary to your work. Well conceived and executed!

I was blessed during my college years to be honored to live in the Gamble House for a school year which only further cemented my adoration for their design ethic. My singular piece of advice, not criticism by any means, is that the leading edge of the "clouds" should lean slightly forward (5-9 degrees) as opposed to perpendicular. This effectively adds a sense of motion to the piece which is very pleasing to the eye.

Regards - Bill

PS - virtually everything I have built has clouds.

[Jason Meinholz]

Mike,
My singular piece of advice, not criticism by any means, is that the leading edge of the "clouds" should lean slightly forward (5-9 degrees) as opposed to perpendicular. This effectively adds a sense of motion to the piece which is very pleasing to the eye.

Bill,

Do you have an image to share that would help paint a picture of what you describe?

[Bill McNiel]

Bill,
Do you have an image to share that would help paint a picture of what you describe?

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I hope these will help...

[Jason Meinholz]

Wow, those are beautiful!

[Bill McNiel]

Wow, those are beautiful!

Very kind words Jason, thank you,

[Jeff Bartley]

Great work Mike! I always enjoy your build threads. In one pic you show a couple different chisels, Marples and some Japanese.....that’s a common sight on my bench as well!

[Mike Allen1010]

Mike,
Truly a beautiful example of adapting the Bros Greene design vocabulary to your work. Well conceived and executed!

I was blessed during my college years to be honored to live in the Gamble House for a school year which only further cemented my adoration for their design ethic. My singular piece of advice, not criticism by any means, is that the leading edge of the "clouds" should lean slightly forward (5-9 degrees) as opposed to perpendicular. This effectively adds a sense of motion to the piece which is very pleasing to the eye.

Regards - Bill

PS - virtually everything I have built has clouds.

Thanks Bill for the suggestion- the angle really does add a sense of motion. I'll definitely incorporate your idea into future projects. Thanks again letting me know!

[Mike Allen1010]

Great work Mike! I always enjoy your build threads. In one pic you show a couple different chisels, Marples and some Japanese.....that’s a common sight on my bench as well!

Jeff, I got those marples chisels as some of my first hand tools 40 years ago. Even though they take a nice sharp edge, I confess they have been mostly sitting in the tool cabinet for some time as I found Japanese nad PMV chisels held a sharp edge longer. However since I starting using the "unicorn" sharpening technique I've been using them more because so easy to re-sharpen. IN chopping mortices, especially small ones, I prefer a smaller chisel that is easy to hold/hit the lay out lines with one hand, while keeping the mallet in the other to speed things up.

Cheers, Mike