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Thread: Transformations

  1. #1
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    Default Transformations

    Not quite 4 weeks ago, a good friend, Rita, brought along an entrance hall table she wanted me to fit a drawer into ...








    (Note that these photos were taken in my entrance hall, not Rita's).


    It was really a boring ... okay, ugly table. I thought that the proportions were completely ugh, and the legs reminded me of detention in a classroom. The table had been a kerbside salvage by her late husband, a close friend of mine, and a very good woodworker in his own right. It had been used as a work table. Rita had just moved into a new home, and the table was used because the width of the top fitted an alcove in the entrance hall.


    I said to Rita that I would re-build the table. "But I must have a drawer", Rita emphasised.


    The wood was good Jarrah. The first step was to pull it apart. This was not so easy as simply unscrewing the clips for the top ...





    Some evil tablemaker had used a nail gun to attach the corner blocks. Pulling them out left holes in the legs.





    The legs were attached with dowels. I would never have guessed as the construction was very strong. Pulling them away caused some of the wood to tear along with it. No way to remove them other than saw the ends away.





    Deconstructed ...





    Let's begin again ..


    I thought that I would do something different with this write-up. Turn it around and start with the finished piece. That's right ... the table rebuild is complete. This will provide a picture of the end result, and we can then look at how certain parts were built. This way around might create a better understanding of where the build was going, and how it got there.


    In particular, the drawer. The drawer is a little beauty. I did scratch my head over the construction. No doubt it has been done before, but I could not find any pictures of another like it. I am sure there will be interest in the design. I am chuffed with the efficiency of it. More on this in the next article.


    For now, here is the completed table.





    The legs have been brought inward, tapered, and a 3 degree splay added to the sides.








    The top retained its width (I was threatened with death, or worse, if it was shortened) but was made shallower. A slight camber was added front-and-back to soften the outline ...





    The apron was also made shallower. The original was 100mm (4") high. It is now 65mm (2 1/2") high.





    Oy .. where's the drawer gone?! I could have sworn it was there yesterday. Aah ... there it is ...








    This is the drawer case ...





    With drawer inserted - you need to get close up to see the joins ..





    It opens with a pull under the drawer ..





    The drawer is shallow, of course, it is just for house keys and the odd remote control. It is just 45mm (1 3/4") high on the outside and 26mm (1") deep inside. The full dimensions are 230mm (9") wide and 280mm (11") deep ...





    The sides are 7mm thick. The drawer front is 18mm (roughly 3/4").


    To maximise the internal height, the drawer bottom was attached with a groove into the drawer sides rather than using slips. Slips would have used a precious extra 3mm (1/8"). So they 6mm (1/4") drawer bottom has a 3mm rebate, fitting a 3mm groove.





    The sides and bottom are quartersawn Tasmanian Oak, which is very stable and tough. One screw at the rear, with an expansion slot, to hold it firmly. A nice, tight drawer ...





    It sides in-and-out smoothly. I love that it disappears and is hidden.


    More on the construction next time, but feel free to ask questions.





    Regards from Perth


    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

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  3. #2
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    Default

    .......and her response when she saw the finished masterpiece.....
    The person who never made a mistake never made anything

    Cheers
    Ray

  4. #3
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    Default

    That’s a breathtaking transformation, Derek. I’m certainly looking forward to the WIP!

    Thanks for sharing.

    Regards,

    Brian

  5. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by rwbuild View Post
    .......and her response when she saw the finished masterpiece.....
    Ray, not yet seen. This weekend.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  6. #5
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    I know you're a health care professional Derek but didn't realise your speciality was cosmetic surgery! Puts me in mind of a fairytale, The Ugly Duckling.

  7. #6
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    Beautiful job, Derek. Congratulations!

  8. #7
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    Delightful.

    Amazing how the tapering of the legs transformed it from chunky to elegant. Once conceptualised, so easy to do. "Once conceptualised...." that's the hard bit.

  9. #8
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    Hi Derek

    To describe your finished hall table as chalk compared to cheese just does not describe the transformation you have wrought in that table

    This


    is so much nicer than what was first presented it is a completely different table.

    Quote Originally Posted by derekcohen View Post
    Not quite 4 weeks ago, a good friend, Rita, brought along an entrance hall table she wanted me to fit a drawer into ...



    (Note that these photos were taken in my entrance hall, not Rita's).

    It was really a boring ... okay, ugly table.
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

  10. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by GraemeCook View Post
    Delightful.

    Amazing how the tapering of the legs transformed it from chunky to elegant. Once conceptualised, so easy to do. "Once conceptualised...." that's the hard bit.
    Graeme, thank you. It was not just tapering the legs that creates the transformation. In addition, the legs were splayed out at 3 degrees. The combination of the two were important. I could see this in my mind, then needed to test it with a mock-up ...




    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  11. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by ian View Post
    Hi Derek

    To describe your finished hall table as chalk compared to cheese just does not describe the transformation you have wrought in that table

    ......

    Ian, I wonder what will happen if Rita says she wants me to return it to the original? Now that transformation would be amazing to achieve!

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  12. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by derekcohen View Post
    Graeme, thank you. It was not just tapering the legs that creates the transformation. In addition, the legs were splayed out at 3 degrees. .... ...

    Thanks, Derek.

    I realised that, and fining down the rail also helped, as did tapering only the insides of the legs. Really sophisticated design elements that contributed to the gestalt.

  13. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by derekcohen View Post
    Ian, I wonder what will happen if Rita says she wants me to return it to the original? Now that transformation would be amazing to achieve!
    Nah
    it'd be easy


    after all, you kept the top the same size as "insisted" by the client
    you'd just have to source more Jarah for new legs, and the aprons



    not that I suggest you do it.
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

  14. #13
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    I thought for a moment, "that bugger have cheated... there is no drawer..."

    Nek minnut... a drawer!

  15. #14
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    Finishes ...

    Somehow this area was forgotten, and of course it is important.


    All surfaces were hand planed, and then finished in de-waxed Ubeaut Hard Shellac. This concentrated and thinned with denatured alcohol/methylated spirits.





    This finish allows the figure to come through and, unlike an oil, does not darken the already dark Jarrah (which is what I wanted to avoid).


    The top was, in addition, sanded with a ROS to 400 grit. Jarrah is an open-grain timber and the sanded Shellac doubled as a grain-filler, leaving a smoothed surface.


    The next step was to rub in (and off) a water-based poly, from General Finishes, which does not darken or yellow with age. I rub thin coats on with microfibre cloths and then denib with 400 grit grey mesh ...





    The final step is to wax (the top) with Howards Wax-N-Feed, which is a mix of beeswax and carnauba wax.





    This produces a very soft, warm and natural finish.





    Regards from Perth


    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  16. #15
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    Default The drawer - Part 1






    It was my intention from the outset to hide the drawer as best as possible. This required that the drawer not have a pull or handle visible on the outside. To achieve this end, the drawer would need to be opened from the underside.


    Issue: Opening from the underside meant that the drawer would need to rest in a case which was open from below. Without a case bottom (i.e. drawer blades) on which the drawer could rest, the common method for a drawer would be a form of side hang.


    There are two methods for a side hung drawer that I know of, and I dislike both of them intensely! Partly because they require thick drawer sides, which lack aesthetic appeal for me.


    The first is a wooden slide (ugh!) which requires grooving the outside of the drawer sides ...





    The second method involves a metal slide (double ugh!!), which is ugly and belongs in a kitchen ...





    In the end I decided that I could build a drawer case with drawer blades open at the front. I have not seen anything like this before, but I live a sheltered life. I doubt this is original ... just re-inventing the wheel.





    There are four parts to the drawer build: the drawer size and design, the drawer case, fitting the drawer case, and the drawer.


    The drawer size and design





    The drawer is 230mm (9") wide and 280mm (11") deep. The width represents one third of the length of the apron. This works well since the depth of the drawer needs to be greater than the width to avoid racking. Racking would not be an issue if there were side slides (ugh!), but we are avoiding those thingies.


    Note the lip on the underside of the drawer front ...





    See the drawer lining up with the apron ... going ... going ..





    ... gone ...





    That lip is the drawer pull, and it doubles as the drawer stop.




    The drawer case


    Let's make the face of the drawer case.


    The original aprons were 100mm high. The new apron was to be 65mm, which was the height I calculated (with a life size drawing on a MDF sheet).


    The 65mm height included the drawer front, which would be 45mm high. That would leave a 20mm rail above the drawer.





    The first step here is to rip away 45mm from the original apron ...





    These two sections are jointed so that they may be perfectly flush once glued back together, and no join evident. The jointing was done on my large shooting board ...





    The drawer front is marked off - with a knife, not a pencil - from the centre of the 45mm wide board ...





    And then the drawer front is crosscut on the table saw. The cut area is covered in blue tape to minimise spelching ...





    We are now left with four sections - the wide top, the two lower side sections, and the middle drawer front. The sections are glued back (taking care not to glue the drawer front back!) ...





    Once the glue has dried, plane the board flat ...





    Did you see it before?





    Now the board is ripped down to 65mm, leaving a 20mm rail above the drawer front.


    Here you can see the front and rear aprons. They have also been cut to length, given a tenon at each end. The apron tenons are angled 3 degrees for the splayed legs ...





    Part 2 will complete the drawer.


    Regards from Perth


    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

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