Thread: WIP Ash Hall Table

After the bandsaw, I take it to the line with my old trusty Bailey
Then take the sharpness off the edges with paper and block, and put a small chamfer on the bottom of the leg, to try prevent the edges getting knocked. Sharp chisel for that.
Thats the shape done
I cut the mortises out before cutting out the taper

The front Apron is going to have a wee drawer. I want the grain of the drawer front to match (well almost) the rest of the apron. Here's the best way I know of achieving this look.
First I select the front apron, and mark one end with a line, and the other with two.
Next i rip the apron into three pieces, the center piece being the drawer front, then proceed to cross cut the drawer to size from the center piece.
this is the end result (pic 4) the grain almost matches, if I had a thin kerf blade it would be better
Next glue it back together, using the drawer front as a guide to get the size right.

Hi underused. Looking good, keep the photos coming.
I noticed you're up in Japan. Is that tamo you're using? What's it like to work with?

Des

Hi Des,

This is Ash mate. I havent used Tamo before, but I have been well informed from the furniture maker down the road, who uses it sometimes. He's told me the look/grain,color is very similar. Tamo is lighter/softer than Ash. It's also cheaper than Ash. Alot of the furniture makers here use it in combination with Ash, in the parts that dont get seen much (drawer sides, dividers, runners, dust panels etc..)
cheers.

Thanks. The reason I asked is that tamo is the Japanese variant of ash, I believe (Fraxinus mandshurica var. japonica).

It has a very nice grain pattern.

Regards
Des

After the gluing up the front apron, I take that and the rest of the aprons to the jointer and thicknesser to get them to final size. Then crosscut them to size on the tablesaw.
Before I forget (I usually do) I rout out the trench for the buttons, to hold the top in place.

Next job is to start making the tenons on the aprons. Again, I use the tablesaw to do this.
Then tenons are 1 inch deep. They will have to be mitered, to be able to fit into the legs.
First I crosscut the shoulders all the way around.
I use the legs tenon to set the blade height for the cuts.
This is where the Incra fence comes in handy. Its excellnt for getting repeatable cuts

With the tenon marked out on the aprons, I set the cut on the tablesaw. Im using my tenon cutting jig for this part, but first I cut most of the waste away on the bandsaw, to make the finish cut easier.
With that done, I saw the tenons to their final size

If the tenons are too tight, which in this case they were...I slip a piece of paper between the tenoning jig and the wood, and slice both sides. This is usually enough to bring it to size.
Now I have to miter the ends of the tenons to get a good snug fit. I dont want the two tenons touching. What Im looking for is a very slight gap between the tenons. I like it this way because I know the aprons will close up tight to the legs, and will allow some glue between them.
I cut the miters on the SCMS, the Mak makes a quick and easy job of it
Hopefully they look something like this when fitted inside.

Excellent WIP so far, underused. Keep 'em coming. Jealous of all your nice machines too.

Strong work underused or Mr Delta.

I always enjoy seeing lots of pictures. Can't wait to see the finished table.

Thanks!
WongoI knew someone was going to mention all that bloody Delta The reason for it is, thats about the only mid priced gear thats reasonably reliable, I could get my wee hands on. I'd much rather have some gear from Europe, or Jet/Powermatic. That thicknesser may be going soon. Got my eye on an old Hitachi combo

Now its time to glue-up the legs and aprons. No matter how many glue-ups I do, they always give me the fear Im using Tightbond3. It has slightly more open time to the basic tightbond.
Because of my glue-up fear, I try to make it easier, the best I can. Im masking around all the joints, Ive figured this saves me time and hassle gunking-up a chisel, trying to clean up squeeze-out. This way takes only a 5 mins to mask up.
Everything is at hand, I take the plunge and start
Im gluing it with the aprons pressing against my glue-up table (torsion box on trestles). this helps me get it square, and twist free.anything to save the panic
It went together slightly out, so I squared it up with a clamp

Right, thats done Im going to put some small, mitered wood braces in to strengthen the apron joints.
I cut these out on the mitersaw, then drill them out for the screws.
I use a clamping square to help with fitting them (need three hands sometimes eh) these are handy buggers, I use them all the time
Ive put the braces at the bottom, to leave room for the buttons. because this hall table is narrow,space under there will be precious