Thread: Hall Table WIP

Thanks, guys.

I have taken a shine to camphor laurel timber and the way the grain pattern can be seen from across a large room. Every now and again I wonder if pieces like this look a bit too "busy", but most of my favourite pieces are made of timbers with reasonably strong contrast in the grain. And I do love book-leafed veneers.

There was nothing difficult in the construction. Those of you who have yet to make a cabriole leg are encouraged to have a go. This is my third cabinet with rounded cabriole legs (did a couple with square cabriole legs). They take a little time, in this case a day to design, cut and rough sand them to final shape, but they are a lot easier to make than I had imagined.

Been away for Christmas and only just saw the finished product.

Came up beautifully John, really impressive.

Ever since you started your 'shine' with camphor laurel, i've been keen to make something with it. Its a very distinctive timber.

Well done.

Steven.

Thanks, Steven,

It is a pretty good timber to work with, too. Medium density, cuts and sands well, takes finish well. Can get a bit of chipping/tearout if your blades get dull, but we can say that of any timber. The really pretty stuff generally comes from the stump, and at the intersection of major branches. Most of the pretty veneers I have cut come from 40-50 mm slabs cut from the stump. There is a fair bit of waste, but the slabs are generally not expensive. If a dressed slab is 40 mm thick, I can cut 8-10 veneers from it.

To me it's a very attractive piece, with the grain running through the front panels and the bookmatched veneer on top, yes, there's a bit going on but I think it looks good. Well done

Thanks, Three Toed Sloth.

One of the things I was happy with was the ability to match the grain on the "wings" with the legs, something I could not do with the coffee table. The grain is never a perfect match, so I helped it along with some stain and coloured pencil. See below.

This grain match also meant I was gluing long grain to long grain, giving additional strength.

Leg Comparison.jpg