Hall Table

[Ben from Vic.]

Hello everyone, thought I'd share my latest project to see what you all think.
Questions , comments, criticism all welcome :)
The dark timber is Jarrah, the lighter timber is Tas Myrtle.
The two panels on the front are drawers, I've yet to pluck up the courage to choose what sort of handles to put on them.
It's finished in Rustins Danish oil and the top has been waxed with Liberon wax.
All M'n'T joints and the drawers are finger jointed.

Ben :D

[Ben from Vic.]

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[Ben from Vic.]

last one

[zymurgy]

Be proud!

Gordon.

[bigAl]

NICE job Ben. I couldn't agree more about the hardware thing. I finished a cabinet a few weeks ago and I'm in the process of trying to make 9 handles from brass myself as I can't find anything I really like.

Let me know what you come up with.

Once again, very nice job.

Al.

[vcohen]

Beautiful work Ben,

The grain is stunning!

Cheers

[Wood Borer]

What a fine effort Ben.

Any reason for not using dovetails for the drawers?

- Wood Borer

[Ben from Vic.]

Thaks for all the positive feed back, it's much appreciated ;)

I'm not really very good at dovetails by hand at this stage, Wood Borer (the table is my 6th project), and I don't own any sort of jig, or even a table saw (the whole thing was made on the B'n'D Workmate, outside).
So I made myself a small router table that fits on top of the Workmate, and a finger joint jig (much like that of a table saw) that works with my router and a straight bit.
It was easy and worked well. :)

Ben

[Wood Borer]

Ben,

Fair enough, I get a bee in my bonnet about such things especially when I am stuck at work like today manning the fort and away from my shed. Next week though all my time will be in the shed.

If you get a chance though, give the dovetails a go, they are not as difficult as you may think making them by hand and then you will wonder why you didn't do them earlier.

- Wood Borer

[Driver]

Beautiful job, Ben. Congratulations.

Is it your own design?

Regards

Col

[AlexS]

Very nice job Ben. As for drawer pulls, why not make some wooden ones yourself? Perhaps a shape that repeats the arch under the drawers?

[Ben from Vic.]

Wood Borer,
I will give them a go one day, so far all of my practice runs in scrap wwod have been pretty ordinary.

Driver,
Thanks, it's not really my design I borrowed the proportions from this web site...
http://www.berkeleymills.com
Go to "living Room" then "tables". There asking $4,300US for theirs! (if only.....)
I get most of my insperation from the net, as it's so hard to find it in (most) furniture stores.

AlexS,
Thank you to, I had considered some DIY timber pulls, but so far havn't been happy with the mock-ups iv'e made.
I'm now inclined to keep an eye out for an Oriental / minimalist / slightly chunky looking set. Which might take till the year 2020. :D
Oh well.

Ben.

[jacko]

May I add my congratulations for a great looking peice. I also would look for a DIY solution to the handles. Think about the myrtle with a Jarrah (or Brass) inlay. They could afford to be reasonably large I think. What are the dimensions? If/when you make another one, think about it being a little bit taller as I think this would make a great peice even better.
Opiniated Jacko

[Ben from Vic.]

Opinions are what I was after Jacko, so thanks very much.
I'll put some thought into those handle ideas, and see what the ol' grey matter returns, thanks again. :)
The dimensions are 840H x 420D x 1300W so it's reasonably tall, I think the drawers are (just a little) to deep, but I could be wrong.

Ben :D

[MajorPanic]

[COLOR=crimson]NICEEE!!! :D

Beautiful grain selection for the top!!
All round an excellent job :p

[Dusty]

Awesome stuff, Ben.

Can't wait to see what you'll be able to knock up when you get some more gear. As in a table saw and the like.

As for the drawer pulls..me thinks.. something round in a wrought iron. Not to big.

By the way, thanks for the link to Berkley Mills. Inspirational workmanship. Staggering prices.

I've fallen for the grid coffee table in "lounge room" under tables.


Keep up the great work.

Dusty
'coff, coff, spit'

[Ben from Vic.]

Thanks guys, I really intended the piece to be a display of the timber, more than my work (cough). I think the timber it's self is the nicest thing about the table, and it looks better in real life.
I have heaps more great, insperational links if you want, Dusty, I'll post 'em


Ben. :D

[Dusty]

Originally posted by Ben from Vic.
.
I have heaps more great, insperational links if you want, Dusty, I'll post 'em


Ben. :D

Great, lets have 'em. I'm always keen to see some good work.

[Ben from Vic.]

OK, you asked for it....

http://www.crfinefurniture.com/default.html
http://www.designer-made-furniture.co.uk/
http://www.nwfinewoodworking.com/
http://jameskrenov.com/
http://www.sawleandvaughan.co.uk/
http://www.schurchwoodwork.com/index.html
http://www.swartzendruber.com/index.php
http://www.tonykenwayfurniture.com/index.htm
http://www.angusross.co.uk/index_6.html
http://home.cogeco.ca/~akropinski/index.html
http://www.kenfrye.com/index.html
http://www.americanfurnishings.com/store/furniture.shtm
http://www.furnituremaker.com/
http://www.davidfay.com/
http://www.erasmusdesigns.com/
http://www.ferrolegno.com/index.html
http://www.finefurnituremaker.com/home.htm
http://www.mendocinofurniture.com/
http://www.ranchomondo.com/louisfry/index.htm
http://www.mbfurnituredesign.com/
http://www.naturallyaust.com.au/index.html
http://www.thehandcrafters.com/
http://www.fogelvik.com/index.htm
http://www.rtam.com/marcoux.html

So, there you have it. Thats most of them, I left out the really average ones, and the sites with just one peice of furniture of interest to me.
They are, of course to my taste, so you may not like all of them.
Some of them had details that caught my eye, rather than entire pieces.


Ben :D

Ps. Most of them have great pictures, but are pretty bandwidth hungry. I'm not on modem.

[akropinski]

Hi Ben,

Very nice table. I too have struggled with knobs. One on desk taht I built I ordered two sets from Lee Valley and didn't like either ones and returned them. I ended up making my own.

I was quite shocked and flattered to find my web sight listed with so many other fine sites/craftsmen. I'm trying to finish adding more content but it's a tosss up: work in the shop - work on the computer.

I'm not familiar with the woods you used. Are they native to Australia? what are they like to work with.

[Ben from Vic.]

You had me stumped, Adam, until I noticed the 'akropinski' in one of the links. :)

There are a few pieces that are of interest to me, I have a particular liking for a well made Arts & Crafts Bookcase. Their clean lines and unique glass doors are great.
I love the look of the Stickly Chair and intend on making a pair, one day.
Then there's the desk, from memory I first saw this on the FWW website, I liked the overall feel of the piece, and found your site from there.
There's nothing wrong with the rest of your furniture, of course, just that these pieces really caught my eye.

Yes, the timbers used are Native to Australia. Jarrah (the dark timber) is becoming more widely known, but the Tasmanian Myrtle is still one of our great secrets.
Both are hard woods (at least physicaly), Jarrah is 820 kg/cu.m and the Tas. Myrtle is 700kg/cu.m (both at 12% m.c ) and the Jarrah has a bit of an interlocking grain. I rarely use soft woods as we don't have many over here, so to me their normal. :)


More information about these and other Beautiful Australian timbers can be found at these locations....

http://www.tastimber.tas.gov.au/index.asp

http://www.naturallyaust.com.au/splash_home.html


If you could drag yourself out of your workshop for long enough, I'd love to see some more of your work :D


Ben :cool:

[Dusty]

Hey, Ben thanks heaps for those links.
I'm still plowing through them, but I can't help but be impressed at the quality of what some people are capable of producing.

Thanks again.

[seriph1]

Hi Ben - Steve here from Kilmore - beautiful job on your piece - lovely proportions and use of material

- just thinking about the hardware issue, which I think a lot about when making or restoring something. Correct hardware is so important.... I agree with another poster that making your own knobs and taking reference from a profile/material on the piece makes sense.

Also, I was thinking that as the piece appears to have a strong Japanese influence, you might want to check out

KAZARI Warehouse, 7-11, Hill St., Richmond, Melbourne 3121
tel (+61 3 ) 94271148

They have a large range of really beautiful Japanese antiques, with hardware that might suit .... I "think" the guy's name is Max, but it has been so long since I met him that I can't really recall.....but I do recall he was very helpful and if they can't supply something you like, may be able to guide you as to where to look.

Again, lovely work!

Cheers

Steve

[seriph1]

Hi Ben - Steve here from Kilmore - beautiful job on your piece - lovely proportions and use of material

- just thinking about the hardware issue, which I think a lot about when making or restoring something. Correct hardware is so important.... I agree with another poster that making your own knobs and taking reference from a profile/material on the piece makes sense.

Also, I was thinking that as the piece appears to have a strong Japanese influence, you might want to check out

KAZARI Warehouse, 7-11, Hill St., Richmond, Melbourne 3121
tel (+61 3 ) 94271148

They have a large range of really beautiful Japanese antiques, with hardware that might suit .... I "think" the guy's name is Max, but it has been so long since I met him that I can't really recall.....but I do recall he was very helpful and if they can't supply something you like, may be able to guide you as to where to look.

Again, lovely work!

Cheers

Steve

[Ben from Vic.]

Steve,

Thanks for the tip about the guy in Richmond, I'll be looking into it with my fingers crossed.
The table does have a bit of a Japanese look to it, but I had no idea were I'd buy appropriate handles from.

Thanks again.

Ben :D

[seriph1]

proud to help mate - I have a lot of contacts in the industry and I know you would want them to be "just right" so if I can help further sing out

success