Thread: A brace of Walnut tilt-top tables

Hi Jim. Yes, if I ever had to find a needle in a hay stack I would just pull out the chain saw and you would find it straight away. Great project you guys have going, I'd like to do a project with boys one day when they settle down. When I was a boy my Grandfather and I were going to make a small sailing boat, he used to build boats when he was a young bloke. Alas he died before we could ever make it. He had plans ready to go. So when I started doing woodwork for a living I instantly thought of making the boat in my spare time. Hopefully I will get to make it before I get to see my Grandfather again.

Originally Posted by Claw Hama

Hi Jim. Yes, if I ever had to find a needle in a hay stack I would just pull out the chain saw and you would find it straight away. Great project you guys have going, I'd like to do a project with boys one day when they settle down. When I was a boy my Grandfather and I were going to make a small sailing boat, he used to build boats when he was a young bloke. Alas he died before we could ever make it. He had plans ready to go. So when I started doing woodwork for a living I instantly thought of making the boat in my spare time. Hopefully I will get to make it before I get to see my Grandfather again.

Please don't get us started on boats again. The first attempt was left near the Norfolk Broads when we left England. The second was destroyed in a bushfire, while the third and final attempt was finished and resides under the FIL's house!

At least I can use my Grandfather's (and Great-Grandfather's) tools.

Today's exchange of Walnut and Elm went off without a hitch, and even a short game of Royal Tennis was had with two pedestal bats.

Cheers,
B-D.

Originally Posted by Blue-deviled

Today's exchange of Walnut and Elm went off without a hitch.

Of course it went well. Arrived early and checked for video and audio surveillance. The only witnesses to the handover were a street-full of empty dustbins. Le Carré would have been proud of us.
Cheers,
Jim

I'm sure ASIO was monitoring the covert ops today chaps, but as long as the exchange went smoothly and everyone came home unscathed, it's a good day.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

I'm sure ASIO was monitoring the covert ops today chaps, but as long as the exchange went smoothly and everyone came home unscathed, it's a good day.

Smooth as Walnut. A large number of cars did follow me home, but that may have just been peak-hour.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

I'm sure ASIO was monitoring the covert ops today chaps, but as long as the exchange went smoothly and everyone came home unscathed, it's a good day.

We chose the dropping point carefully. At that last frontier, where bush, bogan and yuppy meet, there is no hiding place for trench coats. The only suspicious vehicle in the area was a black BMW. If (against the odds) it was merely innocent transportation, I'm sure the nuns will forgive us and soon found someone to pump their tyres up.
Cheers,
Jim

Originally Posted by jimbur

...I'm sure the nuns will forgive us and soon found someone to pump their tyres up.
Cheers,
Jim

Some say they can perform miracles, so I'm sure their BMW ascended to its rightful ride height again.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

Some say they can perform miracles, so I'm sure their BMW ascended to its rightful ride height again.

Talking of German cars, it surprised me that the vatican never took over the Trabant factory when the wall came down. After all, driving a trabi must be the ultimate auto da fe and think of the savings in firewood.
cheers,
Jim

I did warn that progress would be glacial, but I managed a little time in the shed yesterday. Although most of it was taken up sharpening chisels, one of the legs is now roughly finished. The other two (or five) should be a fair bit quicker. Until I mark out the dovetails, I won't touch the cove, and that's got to wait for the facets to be sorted on the pedestal. After some pondering, Pillar A is multi-faceted. Maybe two of the three faces of Pillar B will fall with the grain...

Just to show I'm not completely dragging my feet here's the first spindle roughed out and ready for the final cuts. I can hardly see, never realised how bad my eyes are. The spindle is 2 and a half inches long and I have another seven to make once I've finished this one. A trip to the opticians is definitely necessary.
Then come the table tops. I've flattened the first one prior to gluing it to a block for turning. It will be interesting to see how the black walnut differs from the English variety.
Cheers,
Jim

I can't tell it's only roughed out. When I took up the tools again after a six year hiatus, I really noticed the deterioration of my sight – it was like looking through tracing paper. Look after your eyes!

Kind of you WW but there's some skew work into the base of the vase needed besides general smoothing.
On the subject of eyesight I remember my FIL sharpening his backsaw - from memory he said.
Cheers,
Jim

Well into the first top now. Was slowed down by the need for new bearings on the lathe.
Before this I'd only ever turned two pieces on the face-plate - bases for table lamps just to see if I could do it. This was far more offputting, following a design doesn't allow for 'artistic' mistakes, and it was twice the diameter of the lamp bases.
The first picture is early in the piece and the other two show the top after I wiped it with linseed oil to pick out the flaws that need a finishing touch.
Cheers,
Jim

'Tis beautiful!