Thread: Oak table

I got started on the base as well . The bevels were done on my inverted router and the ends chiseled in . With everything finished up hand planed or spoke shaved then cabinet scraped.

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Mortise and tenons are all 5/8 inch 15.87mm . The Wadkin MF is a Chisel and Chain machine . Changing chisels is reasonably quick but if a matching chain is to fitted when a chisel is changed it takes a bit more time . The chisel automatically sits to the center of its mount but the chain, like a chain saw, mounts on one side of its bar so the new width sits out more and it needs adjusting in to match the 5/8 chisel . Make sense ? It took me a while to get it .

I normally have this machine set at 1/2" chisel and chain so this time when I fitted the 5/8 chisel I kept the 1/2" chain in , instead of fitting the 5/8 and spending the time adjusting it in . Having been set to match the 1/2 chisel it now sat dead middle of the 5/8 chisel. So I used 5/8 chisel on the ends and took out the middle of all mortises with 1/2 " chain then trimmed up the remainder with chisel . Bit of a ramble , but it worked well and Id always do this when I can from now on

The Wadkin ECA tenoner is a 30 second per tenon job once adjusted to what you want to cut. This whole table was 5/8 x 60mm long tenons . the tenons on the top were a little longer . Due to the handling of the larger top boards . 60 seconds each end .

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The rails had a 1/2 " bead run along its bottom and the mortise and tenons are pegged on glue up with 1/2 " oak pegs

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Rob

The base is all hand planed and scraped prior to assembly . I don't want to finish that part after the pegs go in because they sit proud a touch.

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The top is cut to exact sizes so its slightly clamped up size is wider than the finished size needed and tenons cut on the end. Ive got a tenoner for this which is great but I used to do this with a router and a fence years ago . Or Radial Arm Saw and planes like a Stanley rebate and a shoulder plane .

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Here is a video of the tenoner at work cutting those ends.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlK7kTyj...obertbrown1352

Rob

The boards go back together . Jointed with my no 8 .

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Dominoed with 14mm Oak workshop made tenons which I do wide enough so a two plunge, based on the markings off the width of a carpenters pencil . I forget their finished width , between 40 and 50 mm roughly I think.

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Rob

IMPRESSIVE,!

Just spent an hour getting the drool out of my keyboard

Thanks Lappa.

I came across one of those shop made tenons for the domino this afternoon . 39 mm wide.
Now for the final posts with the BBE .


First was the marking out , On a stick, of the peg positions divided up nicely across the width of the top. That then gave me the tenon positions in pencil . The Metho is for correcting mistakes . Quickest way I know of cleanly taking off pencil, In this case so I can re draw .

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What is now two boards are still not glued in its middle . I don't always glue the middle but did end up glueing this one . The BBE's were mortised first then exact tenon positions scribed off them . Tenons cut out with the jig saw. Then fine tuned with planes. The skew blade Badger Plane, which is like a rebate as the blade come out on its right side, and a Spiers shoulder Plane.

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After a test run and then take it apart again the middle was glued , There is a small V left between the two boards to help show off the two board look . When its clamped up I wash the glue out of the center V with sawdust and some water then go over it more with a Quirk stick, A fine pointed stick for cleaning Quirky stuff.
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So Glue up middle . Clamp and Glue on BBE's . Punch peg positions drill and drive pegs in .
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Every thing is going good until a peg stops shifting to where you want it like this. Below.
Its either the hole is to small or the hammer is to small.
The Peg stops so I hit harder and harder and the top of it starts going to pieces and there is an unfilled hole left on the other side.
A bigger Mallet and hitting faster solved it this time.
You cant give then a second to grab cause nothing gets them moving again once they stop.

This one had to be chopped off, center punched and then re drilled for a new peg.

I just remembered looking at that left picture below that I glued the BBE's on with my two extra long sash clamps . They were left to dry over night . All planed up the next day then pegs driven in .
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Rob

Then the top was fitted to the base . Gravity holds it in place on four locating dowels . Four screws through those 50mm wide rails as well . Fitting the top takes a bit of moving around and the top was 100kg . The last thing My son helped me with on this one was the band sawing of the boards at the start . I wheeled in this to help out .

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The polish job shows up the subtle patination and hand planing nicely . Finish is with shellac, hand rubbed and a final beeswax . Delivery from workshop to Melbourne in my furniture wagon . A converted Horse float.
I cut out the horse stuff and welded in tie up bars. works very well !!


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To really see how good it looked watch this video below on my instagram account . Video really shows things off well ! Its a great business tool .

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjoBqL8A...brownfurniture


Rob

That’s a magnificent table. Thanks for the WIP.

Thanks for the post - that is a very nice table.

Thanks Lappa and Alkahestic .

Its all good fun building these, I enjoy most of the process, except the lifting I suppose. When Its such a thickness as this one was.
This sort of thing is based on Tables the French and English did in the 18th Century.

Rob

horse floats are great for anything except horses, mate of mine has just converted one into coffee cart...cant stop braying about it.

Originally Posted by Tonto

horse floats are great for anything except horses, mate of mine has just converted one into coffee cart...cant stop braying about it.

It sure solved a problem I was trying hard to figure out .

The first few trips I did, there were no good vertical tie up bars like all furniture vans have. I tried tying in stuff but came so close to damaging things a number of times from it not being right . Without proper tie points things walk out base first off the wall and end up on the floor or sitting at a 45 degree angle.
Once the right vertical bars were in it made all the difference . I then welded 40 x 40 SHS across at head height as well so big table tops can go up high . Its great .

It still needs some more work . I have to make the upper rear door fully cover the rear opening . And Ive got to fit locks somehow.

If I can lock myself in I can even take a nap if I get tired . The one thing I hate about a ute is not being able to sleep if I need one .

Another good thing about a Horse float is if your on the road and nature calls. Some simple operations are possible !

Rob

Pretty wild grain in the top Rob but it comes up well!

I've been taking note of bread board ends lately. It appears a lot seem to fail. I'm surprised you glue the full width.

I'm starting to thing maybe they should be only tack glued in the middle with a minimal number of pegs? A couple of pics of fails I've noted. The first had nailed on ends and only a shallow tongue and groove and the second pegged but split the top at one side.
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Originally Posted by Fuzzie

Pretty wild grain in the top Rob but it comes up well!

I've been taking note of bread board ends lately. It appears a lot seem to fail. I'm surprised you glue the full width.

I'm starting to thing maybe they should be only tack glued in the middle with a minimal number of pegs?

Yes Franklin I mostly glue them all the way . They usually move at some stage, nothings going to stop mother nature do her thing . And that's what I say to the buyer. Ive never said its not going to move but always say its definitely going to move.
I suppose glue holds it in the one spot longer before it moves and just a dab in the middle and you would be watching it move in and out sooner a little depending on the heating.

I didn't mention this in the thread before, forgot all about it till now . Because this top was so heavy I was considering all along to build the top as two loose boards ,with the BBE's with no glue . Instead of a touch hollow in between the two main boards in its middle. Build with it touching in middle and a small gap each end. One clamp each end to compress , tap on BBE's and tap in pegs.
I was thinking of assembly of the top happening in the house . So I built it to have that option but didn't like the chances of the finish being 100% around the final pegs . Id have to polish it and take it apart and make sure it went back exactly the same with the pegs , then finish with a wax in the house.

It was an option right up to the last week of building it. What really changed my mind at the final stages was realizing that with my trolleys and the house lay out , I was going to be able to screw the top on at the workshop and roll the table from the float to its resting place in one piece.

The thing with the movement, with Kiln dry wood and going straight into a home, its not going to suffer from the neglect that would make things worse until someone leaves in in an Aussie shed through a summer or two or worse . The old ones have had that sort of thing happen and the old ones we see here have come from over seas as well .


leaving it in direct summer sun for a few hours before my delivery wouldn't be a good thing . A disaster if its a table with a perfect flat high shine finish. It could mean a new top !
With the hand planed patinated antiqued look though you can repair and get away with a lot more and still deliver.

Rob

Here is one from around 2011 roughly. The BBE is pegged on . Even though its glued right across, the glue in the middle holds and out towards the ends it gives way shows movement.
Same as old ones Ive seen , the hide glue just crumbles and falls out where as PVA or titebond is way more elastic.
The shape of two boards in the top of this were like a matching pair of bananas before they were cut straight.

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Rob