Project by Jamie McDonald | posted 05-15-2017 04:04 PM | 3908 views | 13 times favorited | 12 comments | ![]() |
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I made this Entry Table of Walnut and wormy Maple for a friend who wanted something simple and clean. I found a nice 8/4 wormy maple board that was 13 inches wide and had to use it. If it was any wider I wouldn’t have been able to get it through my planer.
It is 34” tall, 54” long and 12.75” wide. I think the proportions came out well. The lower shelf is not glued in place…it is completely floating. I wanted the lower shelf to be able to expand and contract with the seasons without tearing it apart over time. I lap joined / notched the shelf and the walnut legs and put in a 3/8” dowel to join both parts together. The dowel was the key to having 3 planes of support. I left 1/8” of clearance, on a relatively warm humid day, for the shelf to float between while riding on the dowel for alignment. All the structural racking support comes from the joinery in this area so it had to be spot on, while allowing clearance for expansion and contraction. Structurally, it turned out much sturdier than expected, but as solid and rigid as I hoped it would be. After leaving it in the air conditioned house for a week, everything was still perfectly tight and rigid.
To create the stability, I took a sample of my leg and turned it into a perfectly precise drilling jig. I used this to drill a 3/8” wide hole 3/4” deep into the edge of the shelf…then I inserted a 3/8” dowel marker in the shelf, and then registered each individual leg to its respective shelf notch. After dowel location was marked on each leg, I used my drill press to drill 1/2 half inch deep into each leg with a 3/8” forschner bit…. simple as that…all done after inserting a 1.125inch long 3/8” dry floating dowel that was lightly sanded for smooth action with no glue.
The first two pictures below are of the walnut drilling jig registered so I can drill into the shelf, after that I am working directly with the actual legs and not the drilling jig. Fun and simple!
-- "The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes - ah, that is where the art resides!" --Artur Schnabel
12 comments so far
pottz
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26534 posts in 2475 days
#1 posted 05-15-2017 05:36 PM
i agree,its a nice simple clean look that fits that space nicely,great job.
-- working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
recycle1943
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#2 posted 05-15-2017 05:45 PM
I have only 3 words for this
AB solutely gerogeous
wait – is that really 3 words, if not you have to know what I mean
-- Dick, Malvern Ohio - my biggest fear is that when I die, my wife sells my toys for what I told her I paid for them
ralbuck
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#3 posted 05-15-2017 07:32 PM
AGREE!
-- Wood rescue is good for the environment and me! just rjR
madts
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#4 posted 05-15-2017 08:33 PM
Very nice.
==Madts.
-- Thor and Odin are still the greatest of Gods.
woodworm
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#5 posted 05-15-2017 11:37 PM
Yes, very nice!
-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.
swirt
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#6 posted 05-16-2017 01:21 AM
Great color combinations on the wood.
-- Galootish log blog, http://www.timberframe-tools.com
Kuffy
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#7 posted 05-16-2017 10:18 AM
The darker sections of the maple really ties the piece together nicely the dark brown walnut.
-- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtER3LFDf4u7Yfau76JGs3g
helluvawreck
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#8 posted 05-16-2017 11:14 AM
This is a nice looking entry table and it’s very creative.
helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com
-- helluvawreck aka Charles, http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com
steliart
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2895 posts in 4179 days
#9 posted 05-16-2017 01:10 PM
looks gr8… kudos !!!!!!!!
-- Stelios L.A. Stavrinides: - I am not so rich to buy cheap tools, but... necessity is the mother of inventions !!!
finns
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#10 posted 05-16-2017 09:50 PM
Thanks for sharing. Well done!
TheOldWoodworker
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#11 posted 05-17-2017 11:45 AM
Beautiful table
KeithLittle
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5 posts in 1865 days
#12 posted 05-18-2017 12:55 AM
Nice table
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