Thread: Making a Reading Table - Part One

Looking oh so lovely WW. I like the look of the triangle irons, I hadn't seen them before. I have reapired three tables in recent times where the joints have been broken. Don't know why I didn't think to strengthen them like that.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

I think some people are intimidated by older period furniture, but imagine the same dovetails in the leg of, say a work bench. There's nothing difficult about it: You lay out the dovetails, saw close to the lines, and then chisel and pare away the waste. Only two tools are required and involve two of the most basic skills.

From laying out to finishing the last dovetail took, I'm guessing, 30-45 minutes.

You've had a trifle more practise than most of us here WW. I think most people can do something or other that others find hard to comprehend how to do without actually doing it and practising it. For instance, I would find it difficult to achieve a constant angle of a hand saw throughout the cutting of that stopped dovetail cut and the same if paring the waste to a line that seems "blind" to me.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

From laying out to finishing the last dovetail took, I'm guessing, 30-45 minutes.

You know how the older you get, the faster time seems to go by? I have a theory that what you thought was 30-45mins was actually 3-4.5 hrs
just joking. Very inspiring again WW

Cheers
Michael

The reading slope is made up of a central panel floating within a mitred frame, joined at the corners with loose tennons. Once the slope has been cleaned up, I will work a simple moulding around the edge.

The reading slope glued together.

The drawer stuff is all quartersawn Oak and closely resembles the wainscot of the day. The bottom boards for the drawers are, at 3/16 in. (4.8mm) thick, basically thick veneer. After sawing and planing two 30 in. x 6 in. x 3/16 in. boards, I rubbed their edges together with some glue. The result was instantaneous and the joined boards were able to be held horizontally by one corner without fear of them falling apart. Modern adhesives are incapable of this.

Freshly glued drawer bottom board.

The grain direction of drawer bottoms of this period ran from front to back. After I have scraped the joined board clean, it will be cut into the two individual bottom boards.

The drawer construction at this date consisted of through dovetails front and back with glued-in bottom boards and runners.

The drawer sides.

So there is no visible gap between the central panel and the mitred frame, it floats within a glued together surround? Impressive glue!

regards,
B-D.

After the drawers were glued and assembled, the drawer fronts were veneered and cockbeaded with Walnut.

Cockbeading and drawer front.

The front of the bottom boards are supported in grooves in the inside bottom of the drawer fronts while the edges are glued into shallow rebates in the drawer sides along with the drawer runners. A few 5/8 in. cut brads (or, in the past, even blackthorns) secure the rear of the thin bottom boards to the backs of the drawers.

Drawer bottom and runner.

I cut the mortice and tennon joints in the three 3/8 ins. thick components that make up the horse. The hinges (when they're finished) will be let into the top ends of the legs where they attach to the underside of the reading slope and then let into the slope itself.

The 1/8 in. wide mortice and tennon joints in the horse components.

Two 1-1/2 in. hinges will be let into the top front edge of the carcase and also into the front of the slope thus enabling it to tilt.

I had almost forgotten about the moulded book stop which I stuck on the side of a board a week or so ago. I sawed the moulding off the board, cut it to length and carved the returns on the ends.

The moulded book stop.

I'm still not entirely sure whether the book stop will be fully- or semi-detachable (screwed on from the underside of the slope). Now that the table has a pair of short drawers as opposed to a single long one, it may appear the outcome is a foregone conclusion. However, last weekend, I came across a rather splendid solution to the dilemma. All will be revealed in due course.

It was fashionable to cut decorative scallops into the bottom of the pillar between the legs and also into the under side of the legs where they adjoin the pillar.

As can be seen, there were various popular arrangements of scallops, but inordinate zeal with a gouge could weaken the dovetailed joints. When one of these leg joints fails, it invariably begins with a split at the bottom of the pillar beside the leg, so removing too much 'meat' from these areas would be tempting fate. A few thoughtful cuts with an in-cannel gouge completed the decoration.

Decorative scallops cut into the pillar and claws.

There will be an indeterminate interlude while the handles and hinges are being cast.

More interest to your work.

Its looking really good Woodwould
Love the look of those legs they look so silky and smooth the decorative scallops you have added look excellent.

I notice the pins on the dovetailed drawer are relatively large compared with a tendency nowadays to make them as small as physically possible. Was there much variation at this period in dovetail layout?
Cheers,
Jim

Originally Posted by jimbur

I notice the pins on the dovetailed drawer are relatively large compared with a tendency nowadays to make them as small as physically possible. Was there much variation at this period in dovetail layout?
Cheers,
Jim

The front dovetails aren't as coarse as they might appear; they're partially covered by the half cockbeading. However, dovetails at this period (mid 18th century) weren't the saw-blade-width beauties that were de rigueur towards the end of the century.

Everything else to do with the drawer's construction remained the same until the mid 19th century. I blame Victoria. If we'd had a King on the throne, things might have been very different!

Thanks WW. I didn't mean to imply that they looked coarse - they don't. If anything the extreme 'modern' tendency can give an impression of flimsy in my mind.
On the subject of Victoria, do you think that the victorian love of heavy furniture had anything to do with her consort?
Cheers,
Jim

Originally Posted by jimbur

On the subject of Victoria, do you think that the victorian love of heavy furniture had anything to do with her consort?
Cheers,
Jim

As with all changes in monarchy, different styles and fashions altered virtually overnight, but I don't think Albert had much influence on taste as the kings and queens of the previous two centuries did. Victoria and her beloved Albert were well rounded people and enjoyed excesses of just about everything and were certainly followers of fashions, but not necessarily instigators of it.

Nice work, Ed.

Will you be including elbow supports?

Originally Posted by monoman

Nice work, Ed.

Will you be including elbow supports?

Hello Mono, good to see you around again.

No, no elbow rests on this table. I'm afraid they would be used for exactly that purpose and be very short-lived.