spencer411 3rd February 2010, 12:18 AM Hi beautiful people, I have just started my final semester at Tafe for my Cabinetmakers apprenticeship. This being the case, our last projects are up to us to design, of course there are certain criteria we have to pass. Curved construction and angular construction are part of this criteria, so I've decided I will make a coffee table with rounded ends.
I haven't got any photos to post up just yet but I wanted to start this thread so I actually started a WIP.
The table will be made out of jarrah and tasi oak, the dimensions are 1500 long x 700 wide x 620 high. It's going to be a present for my grandma so I'm hoping she'll like it.
The jarrah I'm going to use is recycled jarrah. It's actually the posts from our old crappy pagola from out the back of our house. They were 100 x 95 posts, each about 2400 long. I ripped them up today on a friggen big ass ripping saw that honesty scared the #### out of me, but my hard assed lecturer called me a wuss and showed me how to use it and away I went. I wasn't expecting much in the way of colour from this jarrah but I was seriously, seriously surprised. There is rich reddish browns with really nice light pink to yellow colour through it aswell. Despite the grub holes, it's some of the nicest jarrah I've seen.
As for the Tasi Oak, well it's Tasi Oak..................... Pretty plain.
Almost everything is machined and ready for some angles to be cut. Bring on the hard work and buckets of frustration!!!
I'll try and get some photo's up for you all tomorrow.
Keep up the wicked work,
Till next time.
Spencer.
artme 3rd February 2010, 06:35 AM Wouldn't worry too much about the plain Tassie Oak as it will highlight the Jarrah nicely, rather than compete withit for attention.
KorDes 3rd February 2010, 02:25 PM With those dimensions, thats gona be a massive coffee table or a small dining table.
Maybe making it about 1200 x 600 x 400 would make it a more desirable sized coffee table. IMHO 620 is way too high.
spencer411 4th February 2010, 12:37 AM Hey all. thanks for all the suggestions and they have been taken aboard. The reason why I made it such a large coffee table is because it's got a lot of space to fill! Not to mention the couches it will be sitting by are quite high seated, hence the 620. Also I drew the table to scale and it looks all in proportion and not toooo big. Also, the flat section of the coffee table is 880 long so I mean i think that is a good amount of flat table top.
I've got a couple flicks for you today,
they are of the jarrah which I ripped up yesterday and machined to final sizes, a couple of the beasts I used to machine them and the clamped up top for the top section of the table.
Tomorrow I have to put a 3.2 degree angle on a butt load of tasi oak for the rounded ends. Hopefully I can sweet talk the machinist to grind me up a very special 3.2 degree cutter for the spindle moulder, fingers crossed!
Appologies for not having a photo of a detailed sketch of the table I am making, I'll be sure to have one for you by tomorrow and also the picture quality I took the photos on my phone, sorry lol.
Thanks for having a peek.
Spence.
Waldo 4th February 2010, 09:58 AM Keep it coming. :2tsup:
NikKama 4th February 2010, 11:03 AM Spencer,
where are you doing your course?? Just that I'm interested in a career change
Cheers
Nik
Ozkaban 4th February 2010, 04:50 PM following this one with interest. Lovely looking jarrah.
I can't picture the table in my head yet, and it does sound very big, but I guess we'll see it as it progresses.
Oh, and is there a label on the saw called "friggen big ass ripping saw"? If not, sounds like there needs to be. Conveys everything that is needed to be known about the saw :2tsup:
Cheers,
Dave
spencer411 4th February 2010, 09:06 PM Ok Spencer is about to explode! Just typed out my entire day for you all to enjoy (or not) and my internet screws up! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Now that I've vented that out allow me to re-type what i can remember.
Today my brain seemed to not want to work very well, if not at all! Had a few mess ups here and there but thankfully they were easy mistakes/forgotten pieces to fix. I spent a big portion of the morning trying to get an exact 8.2 degree angle onto my tasi oak for the half round ends. After a lot of frustration and hair loss we finally got the angle! Success (so far)... All i can say is thank fonzi for the spindle moulder with a tilting spindle head!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If it weren't for him, i'd say this project would be in the fire wood bin by now.
I also machined up a whole heap of 2mm jarrah veneer to put in between every second piece of tasi on the half round, so it has the continued look of the top. Putting the jarrah through the thicknesser was pretty interesting, a fair few exploded veneers of jarrah but i got just enough. My lecturer suggested that i glue and clamp the veneer on, which i did with a fair bit of mucking around and glue all over the place! Tomorrow i'm going to ditch that idea, i'm going to glue and staple them on and thn once the glue has set i will remove the staples.
What else did i do today?
After reading all this through again it actually seems as though i didnt really get much done. But the next few days should be fun/not fun assembling the ends and magazine tray. Bring on the stress i say!
Hey Nik, i am doing my course at Swan Tafe Balga (now know as Polytechnique west or some wank), it is a 3.5 year apprenticeship. Cabinet making is a fantastic choice for a change on career, there are so many options for work once you have completed the apprenticeship. I work in kitchen making, but tafe revolves around furniture construction, which is what i really love to do (make furniture). Let us know if you chose to go with the apprenticeship.
Pictures for today:
Theres some attempted photos of my scale drawing, a end view of my half round end, some shavings, a horrible side view drawing of my table design which i did on paint and the jarrah veneer.
Till next time,
Spence.
spencer411 5th February 2010, 08:21 PM Just a quick one for today.
Got all the veneers stuck down to the tasi oak thank god and am in the process of getting it all flushed off.. Also got the angles cut for the sides of the table which was a success. Was thinking about how to join the angled pieces and thought i'd do splines running through the ends made out of jarrah, so there is a photo of all those cut up and ready to be used..
And i gave the stapling of the veneer to the tasi a flick because it just didnt work, so i opted for the packing tape instead.. Thank god for packing tape!
Photos today:
Marking out the timber for the sides of the table, trying to get some order to my pieces for the half round hence the half windmill on the ground and a couple of others.
Have a great weekend and till next time..
Spence.
Paulphot 5th February 2010, 11:21 PM This is really great Spencer, the plans loo really interesting and I can't get over the colour in that Jarrah, so far so good.
artme 6th February 2010, 07:22 AM An interesting design there Spencer and you have made a good start.
Some really nice looking Jarrah too.
spencer411 9th February 2010, 08:53 PM Hey guys, its been a busy couple days. I've planed down the veneers to be flush with the tasi oak and was about to glue and tape half of each end but decided to join them in pairs and then biscuit them together for extra strength. When I was gluing them together my lecturer suggested a way to clamp them together with string and wedges. Unfortunatly this failed so I went with my idea and used packing tape which worked a charm. There were some uneven joins so I had to plane some of the angles by hand, which was frustrating to say the least.
I then put them together and thank god it formed an almost perfect semi circle...
Pretty exhausted now but tomorrow should be awesome and should have the sides done by tomorrow..
Have a look at the photo's, i think these ones are self explanitory..
till next time,
spence.
artme 9th February 2010, 09:20 PM Nice tunnel there for the model train mate. Just needs some paint and a few artificial tress and some grass.:D:D:p:p
spencer411 10th February 2010, 12:45 AM hahaha most time consuming tunnel i've ever made!!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:
Ozkaban 10th February 2010, 09:42 AM Looking good :2tsup:
I've found the tape idea works pretty well on irregular shapes when I've used it (exactly once!)
Cheers,
Dave
spencer411 10th February 2010, 08:35 PM Ok, today I got both half round ends glued and clamped up after a bit more planing, but finally they're together!!! While they were gluing up I decided to run the rebates and make the splines for the half rounds, which will be for the sides of the table..
All I did was use the biscuit cutter to run the rebates through the end of the Jarrah then worked away at them with the trusty chisel.. I now have over half of them cleaned up and the other half waiting for me for tomorrow morning.. The splines are fitting nicely so I'm pretty damn happy..
A couple lecturers were looking at the rounds today, having a giggle to one another saying "jeez, how's he going to get that rounded?".. A strange question for lecturers to ask, so I told them where to stick it and said a plane and sander will do the trick (I hope:?)..
As for the sides, once they're all glued together, I am going to make a template for them and transfer it onto the timber.. I will roughly cut it out on the bandsaw, then secure the template back on the timber and use the good old flush cutter..
I'm getting really excited because I can finally see it all coming together now and this is the first project that I have designed/made solo. All my other projects were designed by Tafe and we just basically stuck it together (LLAAMMMEEEE!).
Anyway, the photos are again self explanitory..
Till next time.
Spence.
Waldo 10th February 2010, 08:43 PM A couple lecturers were looking at the rounds today, having a giggle to one another saying "jeez, how's he going to get that rounded?".. A strange question for lecturers to ask, so I told them where to stick it and said a plane and sander will do the trick (I hope:?)
Why not use an appropriate sized round-over bit in a router table?
838 Rounding Bits w/ Ball Bearing Guides : CARBA-TEC (http://www.carbatec.com.au/838-rounding-bits-w-ball-bearing-guides_c17790?zenid=lis8boi3k0v7begjvvngnfs2o6)
And do two passes one for each side.
spencer411 11th February 2010, 12:07 AM hey waldo thanks for the suggestion but the half round i'm talking about is the big table ends. lol like to see a bit for that!!
Waldo 11th February 2010, 10:16 AM Could you not use a rounding bit with a bearing guide in a router then, it will make life so much easier? You can get bits with a cut radius up to 31.7mm
AlexS 11th February 2010, 05:06 PM Looking good, Spence. The rounding won't take too long with a plane. Finish it off by sanding diagonally across using coarse grit. Use a 'swooping' action (hope that makes sense).
If you really want to show the lecturers, round off the inside as well, using a gooseneck scraper.:D
spencer411 11th February 2010, 08:17 PM hey waldo i mean the ends as in the table ends which are 640mm high... lol.. thanks anyways.. alex i will attempt to get the insides rounded but i figure i only have to try get the bottom half rounded because thats all you'll really see...
i'll do a big post up tomorrow for you to see what i got up to.
thanks,
spence.
Christos 12th February 2010, 08:47 PM I have been following your project with interest. I just don't have the experience to comment on the technical side of your project.
I like this design you have going.
I have a concern about one of your comments, as you have mention that you only have to get the bottom half rounded as that is all that you will see. This is very true.
With most projects that I have done I find that people are using their hands to feel round the projects. I too have used my hand to feel round a project. As I am a hobbyist I have more time to spend on one project then someone who is making a living out of it. If time permits I would suggest that you look at this project as a standard.
Just adding one more thing what would your lecturers mark you on? If you make a piece for a customer what would they think? It does depend on time and what you have and make of it.
These are just my thoughts and only my thoughts so please do not take it to heart.
spencer411 14th February 2010, 02:41 PM hey christos, I completely agree with you regarding feeling around a project. I am exactly the same when I go into furniture stores, if I feel a bump, see something unleveled, bad polishing or anything of poor quality I think it's not worth the effort. As far as my project is concerned I have a time limit to finish the project, we have 4 weeks to complete 2 projects and i've already used 2 weeks working full steam to get this project to where it is at the moment, so unfortunatly i cant really spend much more time trying to get the insides perfectly flat. As for the outsides of it i have almost got it perfectly smooth. So far I have spent the last 2 days at tafe sanding the table and still I havents finished sanding, or joined the 2 sides to the table middle.:doh::doh::doh:
I'll post some pictures up soon, then the table may make some more sense to one and all.
till next time.
spencer.
Christos 14th February 2010, 08:07 PM Yeah I thought that you would have been under a little bit of time pressure. :doh:
Well here's watching and I hope you get good result.
spencer411 19th February 2010, 12:40 AM This is as far as i've gotten for my 2 week block and will unfortunatly have to wait to be finished, i am at tafe next in april :C:C:C..
The photo where the table is on its side I sat down inside the table. Yes it is quite large!! would make a awesome bath if it weren't a little gappy.. and i mean little, to be honest i thought this thing was going to be all over the place but it actually turned out quite tight.
If you have any questions feel free to ask,
Till next time,
Spencer.
artme 19th February 2010, 08:16 AM Looking good Spencer! Obviously a bit of a tedious process to complete it.
Waldo 19th February 2010, 09:21 AM I like the progress of where it is going. :2tsup:
Christos 19th February 2010, 12:54 PM Looking good.
What not coming back until April. :alcall:
Rookie 19th February 2010, 01:00 PM April's not far away. Looking forward to seeing how the strength holds up
Ozkaban 19th February 2010, 01:39 PM :2tsup: Sensational!
spencer411 19th February 2010, 06:11 PM hey rookie, i agree on the strength but i came up with a solution.. There's going to be 30mm x 45mm jarrah edges on the table.. so the jarrah will follow the curve around. long grain jarrah too.. i will either biscuit or dowel them onto the tasi oak and that sould add a fair bit of strength too her..
cant wait to finish it!!
spencer411 5th May 2010, 12:36 AM Hi everyone, it's been a while since I've touched base with the WIP so I do apologize. For the past 2 weeks I have been at Tafe finishing the coffee table. This 2 week section of my final block was a hell of alot more enjoyable and less frustrating than the first 2 week block. The best news of all, I FINISHED! Here are photo's of the final processes and the finished product (atleast sanded finish, it is in getting polished at the moment). Without the jarrah edging on the table it was pretty flimsy, rocky and weak. Once the jarrah was on (doweled on btw) it did make the table a little more stable and strong, but not enough. So my lecturer and I decided that we'd add in a couple back bones to support the mid section as well as pulling in the rounds a little. Even once these were on it was still rocking a fair bit, but I knew once I secured the bottom section it would reduce/stop the rocking all together. So lucky for me it has pretty much stopped the rocking and has actually added a heap of strength. The bottom tray was easy to make. I made the rounded ends by cutting pieces of jarrah on the table saw at 11.2 degrees then planing them to make a tight butt joint. I then layed them on thetheir backs, butted the edges together and layed packing tape on it. I then flipped it over, put glue in the joints and rolled it up tight, then taped it up. Let me say this, without packing tape I would not have been able to build this table!!! It is good stuff. So once it was dried i then planed it as round as I could, then clamped it to the edge of the table and took to it with good old sand paper across grain which worked a treat. I then buiscuited both to the mid section and again used tape to hold them on strong. I then secured it onto the table screwing it through the bottom.
I just realised that I didn't put any spacing through all that so sorry if you went a bit cross eyed reading it all.
Here are some photos and if you have any questions about the project please ask away.
Much love too you all and stay safe.
Spencer.
Ozkaban 5th May 2010, 12:49 AM Now that is impressive. Beautifully done, Spencer :2tsup:
Cheers,
Dave
Christos 5th May 2010, 08:48 AM That great work and thank you for the update.
artme 5th May 2010, 09:47 AM Now that really does look the goods.! very well done.:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:
Glad you gave us a chnce to see the finished item.
Rookie 5th May 2010, 10:58 AM Really nice Spencer. The jarrah edging and magazine tray are very visually appealing too. Glad you could stop the rocking.
Job well done. Be very proud.
rhancock 5th May 2010, 09:14 PM Great work! Even my wife thinks its beautiful.
I think the features you added to strengthen it add to its appeal. Often something that looks flimsy doesn't look right, so your additions make your table look solid and well made.
You obviously have a glowing future as a furniture maker - I hope you keep at it.
BozInOz 5th May 2010, 09:38 PM nice build. i like it. look forward to more pics.
spencer411 5th May 2010, 11:34 PM Thanks for all the nice comments guys it means a lot!
AlexS 6th May 2010, 02:04 PM Agree with Rhancock about the strengthening members making it look better. It still looks nice and light, and the edging and stringing set it off well.
marri334 6th May 2010, 09:07 PM just showed it to my wife and we think thats a fantastic job youve done .im guessing grandma will be very happy and other family members down the track. very impressed with your creativity:2tsup::2tsup:
dstar 9th May 2010, 11:19 PM I've been watching your progress on this, and I love the finish table. It's fantastic - congrats and well done. :)
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