Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Nakashima Walnut Desk with a Twist

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Philly, PA
    Posts
    168

    Nakashima Walnut Desk with a Twist

    Buiding a walnut desk roughly 28 x65".
    It will have a drawer pedestal at one end and two rustic pieces of an unknown wood as legs at the other end.
    The top is already joined from three boards with some sapwood on the front and rear and a natural front edge.
    The two, leg pieces are pieces shown in their approximate orientation that will be perpendicular to the length of the desk.
    Another picture shows one side piece for the pedestal. The two boards in the other picture are for the drawer fronts and the rear of the pedestal.
    The picture of a real Nakashima coffee table is included to help clarify what I might do with the legs.

    I would appreciate suggestions on how to attach the legs to the top and what to do with them at the floor.
    My thought at this point is to screw or dowel single, 4/4 walnut board across the tops of the two legs. That board would then be screwed into the desktop.
    For the bottoms of the legs, I am thinking, maybe, cutting a dado into the center of the end of each leg and running a 5/4 arched, walnut board between them. The dado would deep enough to allow the legs to wrap over the walnut board but maybe not contact the floor.
    The board would extend another 6 or 8" past each leg.

    I hope that is clear enough for you to tell me what you think or suggest a better approach. And tell me if Nakashima is rolling in his grave.

    These are the legs.
    Desk Legs.jpg

    A Nakashima base configuration. The wide board between the two legs would not be part of my design
    and the board connecting the two legs would not extend so far past the legs.
    Nakashima example.jpg

    The top waiting for the other parts.
    Desk top.jpg

    One side for the pedestal
    Pedestal side.jpg

    For pedestal drawer fronts and pedestal rear.
    Pedestal front and rear.jpg
    Last edited by Ron Kanter; 02-23-2021 at 4:57 PM.

  2. #2
    Hi Ron,

    There was an article in FW recently where they epoxied all-thread into the legs and table top to secure the legs. Best of 2 kinds of materials and it's solid; you can see a picture in the link for reference:

    https://www.finewoodworking.com/2020...or-leg-joinery

    If however you prefer to have something that is not permanent and can be knocked down for ease of transport then a sliding dovetail joint could work. I sent you a rudimentary picture, but in a nutshell:

    1. Make “tail” out of a piece of wood that is the max diameter of one of your legs.
    2. Use this as a template to then make a “pin” on the top portion of the leg.
    3. Once complete, use brass screws to secure the “tail” piece to the underside of your table – “tail” piece would be oriented across the grain to allow for wood movement
    4. Follow the same process above for the other leg
    5. Slide the “pin” legs on the “tail” pieces. Use small shims if needed to make them a tight joint
    6. Use desk

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Philly, PA
    Posts
    168
    I am making progress.
    With no reference surfaces and each leag being different in every way, getting them set the way I wanted and fixed so that they could be worked on was a challenge.
    The woodscrews, shown earlier, held the legs upright and enabled me to position the curves in the same plane facing each other.
    Desk Legs in Wood Screw.jpg

    I marked the approximate center line on the base of each leg and positioned them in line with each other.
    Used a handsaw to cut a curf on each line.
    Cut a curf in the centers of two pieces of 3/4" plywood to make semi-permanent bases for the legs.
    By aligning the curf on the bottom of the leg with the curf in the plywood I was able to screw the legs to the correct position on the plywood.
    Desk Leg GuidesJPG.JPG

    Finally, they can stand on their own and talk to each other while I figure out the next step.
    Desk Legs with BG.JPG

    That's probably using the table saw and a dado stack to make the dado that will house the walnut cross piece that joins the two legs and adds greater front and back stability to the desk.
    Desk Leg Base pieceJPG.JPG
    Last edited by Ron Kanter; 02-27-2021 at 11:43 AM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Ingleside, IL
    Posts
    1,417
    Making nice progress. Working with odd shapes is certainly a challenge, and you came up with good solutions. Looking forward to seeing how you rube goldberg your way thru this build.
    Wondering how you're going to make the dado, if I understand correctly where you're going with this.
    Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    SE Michigan
    Posts
    3,222
    Ron, love the organic design. Looking forward to seeing progress updates on this. Please share along the way.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Philly, PA
    Posts
    168
    Another day, a little progress

    Using a spokeshave to fair the curve of the leg base
    Desk leg base curve.jpg

    Used some high-tech spacers to mark a flat section on the leg base so the dado in the legs could sit flat.
    Desk Leg base Flat topJPG.jpg

    Used the table saw to widen the opening in the leg carriers so the dado stack wouldn't have to chop through the plywood.
    Desk Plywood slot widened.jpg
    Decision time: the dado stack maximum width is 29/32. At this point, the leg base is 1 1/8 thick. Could fairly easily take it down to 29/32, but I like the thicker base both aesthetically and for stability. I think fitting the legs would be easier if both leg dado were cut to exactly the same width by the dado stack rather than moving the fence for a second pass. Simplicity is appealing and would make smoothing the bottom of the dado easier. I really don't want to create a really raggedy dado in the rock-hard wood of the legs. Decisions, decisions... Writing this out has helped me decide. I can use a spacer to move the dado stack equally for both legs. Should give me the ability to get the dado to be a very good match for the thickness of the leg base. Thanks for letting me think out loud.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Philly, PA
    Posts
    168
    Cutting the dadoes went well for the first pass. The 3/4" plywood used to fix the legs in a standing position while sliding over the dado stack did the job.
    The only problem was that the plywood thickness prevented me from getting the dado deep enough to fully straddle the base.
    Replaced the plywood with 1/8 hardboard. Not much thickness to capture the heads of the screws. It worked, but the legs were not totally rigid and resulted in slightly angled cuts.

    A little time with a chisel straightened the sides of the dadoes. The legs now completely straddle the walnut cress piece.
    Desk Legs CU Dado on Cross Piece.jpg

    And the legs stand in position relative to each other and in the same plane.
    Desk Legs Standing on Cross Piece.jpg

    Next challenge - how to find and cut the tops of the legs at the same height and parallel the ground.
    Stay tuned.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Philly, PA
    Posts
    168
    The only reference surface for determining the tops of the two legs is the floor or at the moment the surface that the crosspiece sits on.
    I laid the legs and cross piece on a tabletop and put a flat board (call it "A") across the ends of the crosspiece. I then arranged two boards, B1 & B2, perpendicular to Board A.
    Measured the distance to almost the top of the shorter of the two legs and marked it on B1. Place the edge of a fourth board "C" from that mark to B2 at the same measured distance.
    Ideally, the four boards make a rectangle with four 90 right angles.

    Desk leg finding top jig.jpg


    Now all I had to do was cut off the tops. I had to trim both legs because the top of the shorter leg was nowhere near flat.
    The picture below shows the four boards in place.
    This is a close-up of Board C at the top of the two legs.

    Desk Leg Tops Marked for Leveling.jpg

    It all worked fairly well. I was able to get the two legs very close to the same height.

    I hope this makes sense and doesn't look like a weird game of Pickup Sticks. If you have a question, I'll try to answer in a way that helps.
    The only problem is the tops are not cut at quite the same angle. Parallax error. User error. Bad sawing technique. Who knows.
    I'll have to do some trimming with a hand plan to match them up. Wish me luck.
    Last edited by Ron Kanter; 03-06-2021 at 2:39 PM.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Ingleside, IL
    Posts
    1,417
    Pretty clever solution Ron. With legs like that just about everything you do is gonna be outside the box. I used a laser level and a level base to determine the top cuts on one of my projects. It worked but I had clean up to do just like you do. Watching to see the next ingenious solution you come up with. Like attaching the top maybe............
    Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Philly, PA
    Posts
    168
    Bill,
    Funny you mentioned a laser level. I used one when I built a small timber-frame building on a hillside. It worked great to help me create level pilings.
    I didn't even remember it for the desk legs, but it might have been faster than trying to keep four pieces of wood square and flat.
    It is a little bit of a relief to hear that you still had to do some clean-up. Sawing correctly in three dimensions is apparently a skill I need to work on.
    As for attaching the legs to the top, first, I have to make the tops of the legs coplanar. Then my plan is to join the tops of the legs by spanning them with a thick, walnut "plate" and putting a dowel or two through the plate into the tops of the legs. I will then bolt the plate to the desktop after setting threaded anchors in the desktop.
    If you or anyone has another suggestion, I am all ears.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •