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Thread: WIP Walnut Bedside Tables
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26th January 2017, 06:22 PM #1SENIOR MEMBER
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WIP Walnut Bedside Tables
Over the Christmas holidays, I decided to make a pair of bedside tables. I had some nice wide boards I picked up at the woodworking show earlier in the year, and got some more from Mathews timbers in St Mary's.
Sketchup Plan.JPG
I'm using Sketchup to develop the overall plan for the build. Once you get the hang of it, Sketchup is an amazing tool for modelling virtually anything you'd want to build.
First up, there's a lot of milling needed. My stock is rough-sawn, and needs to be brought to size.
LEGS
The legs are 42mm square. I make 9, so that I have a spare, and can use it for testing.
It's very easy to get muddled up with legs, and cut a mortise in the wrong face or on the wrong end. To help guard against this, the legs are marked to identify Left or Right, Front or Rear, and Table A or Table B. The triangle keeps the pieces aligned. The square drawn in the middle of the triangle is to remind myself that this is the inside edge, and is used as a reference edge.
Legs02.jpg
I cut the rabbet in the back legs for the rear panel. You can see the colour difference I have in the stock. I've arranged the legs so that the lighter timbers are at the back, and won't be seen.
Legs03.jpg
cheers,
ajw
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26th January 2017 06:22 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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26th January 2017, 06:46 PM #2SENIOR MEMBER
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Side Assemblies
The sides are made using a solid walnut panel held in a frame made of two curved rails, and the legs.
The side rails and the front base section have curved pieces. I find that using a trim router set up like a very large compass produces a perfect curve. You just alter the length of the board to increase or decrease the diameter of the "circle" you're cutting. You can work out the exact radius you need if you want to produce a curve of known height and length. Google Circe Chord Calculator and you'll find online tools to do it for you!
Base01.jpg
Once the trim router has cut the curve, I use the bandsaw to cut through, and then a pattern bit on the router table to finalise the template. I make two templates, one for the side pieces, and another for the front piece.
The top and bottom rails are milled to thickness, cut to length. A dado blade makes short work of cutting the slot to accept the panel.
SidePanel01.jpg
Using the curve template, I trace the curve onto the stock. The curve faces down on both the top and bottom pieces, so the the groove for the top piece needs to be deep enough to allow the panel to slide in when the curve is cut away.
SidePanel02.jpg
The bandsaw is used to trim the waste close to the line, then a simple jig is used to hold the workpiece against the template, and the router is used to flush-trip to the template.
SidePanel03.jpg
Top and bottom rails are paired up. They have a front and a back, because the groove isn't centred.
SidePanel04.jpg
I'm using dominoes for the joinery, so I decide to cut the domino slots in the side rails now.
SidePanel05.jpg
Not long after cutting the domino slots in this piece, I realise my first mistake...
I've cut them in the outside face, not the inside face. Bugger.
cheers,
ajw
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26th January 2017, 06:57 PM #3SENIOR MEMBER
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Fixing the mistake
Rather than make an entire new piece, I decided to see if I could do a repair instead. I cut a rebate into the piece, and then cut a "cover strip" to go over the top, trying to match the grain direction and timber colour.
SidePanel06.jpg
A few clamps and some painter's tape hold the cover-strip in place while the glue dries.
SidePanel07.jpg
After a bit of sanding the piece looks like this. Not perfect, but I doubt it will be visible in the final piece. The top overhangs this part, so it will be largely hidden. Time will tell if this repair has worked!
SidePanel08.jpg
A lot more resawing, jointing and thicknessing, and I have the panels for the sides glued up. This is the rear face.
SidePanel09.jpg
And this is the front face after sanding, and with a coat of finish on it to help protect it. Also, the panel will float to allow expansion and contraction, and I want to ensure the entire surface has finish on it, so it's best to do it now.
SidePanel10.jpg
cheers,
ajw
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26th January 2017, 07:10 PM #4SENIOR MEMBER
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Top and Bottom Panels
Top and Bottom panels
The lower panel has a curved piece, to match the sides. It's made the same way, using a template and a pattern bit in the router table to get a smooth, matching curve. I also round over the edges of the curve. I've attempted to pick pieces with grain patterns that accentuate the curve.
Base04.jpg
The router is used to cut a pattern into the front edges of the walnut.
Base07.jpg
The top and bottom panels are plywood with walnut pieces attached front and rear. The ply will not be visible when the tables are complete, and it's cheaper than walnut! I use dominoes to align the faces, and to provide glue strength.
Base05.jpg
There are differences between the top and bottom panels, so I label them to prevent stuff-ups. The lower panel has a rebate cut in it for the curved front piece. Also, the profile I've routed into the walnut faces down on both the top and bottom panels.
Base06.jpg
A quick look at what the front panel looks like in profile.
Base08.jpg
cheers,
ajw
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26th January 2017, 07:21 PM #5SENIOR MEMBER
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Case assembly
Case assembly
The sides assemblies are made first, and then the top and bottom panels are attached using dominoes.
Assembly01.jpg
The come together nicely. Here's one with its first coat of finish.
Assembly03.jpg
cheers,
ajw
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26th January 2017, 07:26 PM #6
Excellent work so far...look forward to more progress.
Love walnut, right up there with redgum as a favorite.
Steven.
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26th January 2017, 08:13 PM #7SENIOR MEMBER
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Drawer faces
Drawer faces
More milling... The drawer faces will be a frame and panel assembly. I've got a set of router bits that cuts the matching profiles.
The face side goes down when you cut this profile.
Draw02.jpg
And you end up with metres and metres of stock.
Draw03.jpg
For the vertical frame pieces, I want the grain to run continuously. Cutting the pieces to length using a table sled and stop block, with numbers on the blue tape to make sure I can reassemble the pieces in the correct order.
Draw04.jpg
The top and bottom frame pieces need the mirror image profile cut in them. I tried using a backing board, but it felt unstable.
Draw05.jpg
The solution was to knock together a quick jig to hold the pieces firmly while I routed the end grain. Here you can see the walnut held between two pieces of ply, with another piece screwed on top to ensure nothing moves.
Draw06.jpg
Cheers,
ajw
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26th January 2017, 08:29 PM #8SENIOR MEMBER
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Drawer frames, continued
Drawer frames
It takes a couple of attempts to get the router bit at exactly the right height so that the two faces match. These are test pieces, and I mark them to show that they are at the correct height, in case I need to do this again...
Draw08.jpg
The infill panel is made from resawn boards, finished to around 10mm thick. They are cut to length and width. The width is sized to allow for expansion and contraction. It will be a floating panel. It is thicker than the groove made by the router. I cut a rebate on the back face to get the edge to the exact thickness. This leaves the bulk of the panel thicker, and hopefully less likely to warp or twist.
Draw09.jpg
The first dry assembly. There are markings on the various pieces to ensure I get the grain alignment I want.
Draw10.jpg
Glue-up time. I usually use Bessey clamps, but this time I thought I'd try something different. I made a simple frame on a piece of melamine (glue won't stick to it). The frame is made from ply. The tape stops glue sticking, and helps protect the edges of the walnut.
The right hand side of the frame is angled, and I use a wedge to put side-ways pressure on the drawer face. The wedge is the bit with the screw protruding. A couple of taps on the screw loosens the wedge.
This process kept the drawers very flat, and was easier that mucking around with clamps.
Draw11.jpg
Starting to apply the finish to the drawers.
Draw12.jpg
cheers,
ajw
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26th January 2017, 08:44 PM #9SENIOR MEMBER
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Bandsaw woes
Bandsaw woes
I have some Vic Ash to make the drawers with. It's 150 x 50 mm, so there is more resawing to be done... I remember to remove the staples from the end-grain.
Resaw01.jpg
Part-way through resawing, things went wrong quickly. My blade came off the wheel, creating a very loud noise. Not sure if the rubber degraded causing the blade to come off, or if the saw coming off caused the damage to the rubber. I suspect the rubber was degrading, and I hadn't noticed.
Anyway, I had to get new tyres for the bandsaw. I ended up ordering some of the neoprene tyres from Melbourne. Only took a couple of days to arrive. Did a google search on how to put them on. Wasn't too hard (with two people).
The blade was in bad shape, so I ordered a couple of new blades from Carbatec. I took the opportunity to replace all of the bearings on the blade guide - it takes 10!
Resaw02.jpg
So, after much disruption, the bandsaw is back in action. I now have about 20 metres of stock ready to make the drawer cases.
Resaw05.jpg
cheers,
ajw
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11th March 2017, 06:47 PM #10SENIOR MEMBER
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Finished!
The Christmas project didn't get finished during the holidays, but it's done now.
Finished.jpg
Not sure if I'm happy with the sapwood in the draw fronts.
Comments welcome!
cheers,
ajw
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12th March 2017, 07:24 AM #11Senior Member
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Very nice, I like the look of walnut. One question, did you find the walnut very hard or even abrasive to work?
Regards, Bill.
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12th March 2017, 07:53 AM #12
I think the sapwood adds contrast and interest to the pieces.
Beautiful work!Pat
Work is a necessary evil to be avoided. Mark Twain
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12th March 2017, 08:51 AM #13SENIOR MEMBER
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12th March 2017, 10:44 AM #14
Great job on the bedside tables and a really detailed buildalong.
I like the sapwood on the front. Sort of says this is made with real wood.
Regards
John
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12th March 2017, 04:55 PM #15
These have come up beautifully. Lovely walnut.
I'm with all the comments above regarding the sapwood, looks alright to me. Adds a bit character.
Steven.
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