Thread: WIP ... Two occasional/coffee tables

Went shopping today to buy some Camphor Laurel timber for some bedside tables for my nephew. Was hoping to get a pretty quarter cut slab I could cut into attractive, book matched veneers and some more for general construction work.

Came home with nothing after discovering that my usual supplier wanted $6,500 per cubic metre for 50 mm slabs. A few months ago I bought 50 mm camphor laurel slabs from this outfit for $3,500 per cube.

Pass!

A lot of the timber available was cut to about 32 mm, which is about as handy as a hip pocket in a singlet for me. I need 50 mm slabs/boards for chunky bits like legs and 25 mm boards (which I usually get by re-sawing 50 mm slabs/boards). But at $6,500 a cube it would need to be both strikingly beautiful and defect free. It was neither.

Bugger! And double bugger. Now I need to find a new supplier.

I'll sit and watch this one

Hasn't Camphor laurel gone stupid over the last half decade or so??? From annoying weed to bloody expensive timber. I wish I'd stocked up when it was being virtually given away around me down in the Northern Rivers area... It would all just be ready for some hot planer thicknesser action by now.

Bother, spit and darn!

The workshop idiot cut the mortices on the wrong sides on one of the legs. New leg made this morning and work continued. Can't afford to make another similar mistake because I am dangerously low in white cedar.

The bigger of the two tables made it to the first stage of assembly, as noted in the pic.

IMG20210409131141.jpg

Originally Posted by jpdv

Hasn't Camphor laurel gone stupid over the last half decade or so??? From annoying weed to bloody expensive timber. I wish I'd stocked up when it was being virtually given away around me down in the Northern Rivers area... It would all just be ready for some hot planer thicknesser action by now.

So stupid that unless I can find it a lot cheaper I'll not be buying any more unless it is exceptional.

That white cedar looks lovely, looking forward to the rest of your build.

The price you got quoted makes me wish I'd bought some camphor laurel in the past... yeesh.

Here are the two coffee tables after the clamps were removed. All joinery is floating tenons.

IMG20210409161228.jpg

And here are the two tops (still as a single piece), made from a 2 inch board that was dressed, resawn on the bandsaw and bookleaved. I'll cut them in two once they come out of the clamps. The clamps are a bloody wonder. Panels come out flat and a quick sanding is all they need after gluing. Usually I give them one pass through the drum sander and then a polish with the orbital.

IMG20210409161133.jpg

Couple of photos, one of my stash of Cape Lilac / White Cedar and the other of my River table made from the same.

Originally Posted by John Samuel

Went shopping today to buy some Camphor Laurel timber for some bedside tables for my nephew. Was hoping to get a pretty quarter cut slab I could cut into attractive, book matched veneers and some more for general construction work.

Came home with nothing after discovering that my usual supplier wanted $6,500 per cubic metre for 50 mm slabs. A few months ago I bought 50 mm camphor laurel slabs from this outfit for $3,500 per cube.

Pass!

A lot of the timber available was cut to about 32 mm, which is about as handy as a hip pocket in a singlet for me. I need 50 mm slabs/boards for chunky bits like legs and 25 mm boards (which I usually get by re-sawing 50 mm slabs/boards). But at $6,500 a cube it would need to be both strikingly beautiful and defect free. It was neither.

Bugger! And double bugger. Now I need to find a new supplier.

Camphor is one of my favourite woods
Can be very speccy!
Mr Fiddleback

Getting close now.

Tops finished. Edges routed with a raised panel bit I've had for 20 years. Runners installed. Tops fastened to runners (Goliath ball bearing drawer runners from Bunnings). I screwed the runners to the cabinet (exactly parallel). Then the top was placed on a bench upside down. A couple of dabs of PU gue were placed on the runners and the cabinet was upended and placed on the top. Once the glue was dry, the hinges were opened and screwed to the tops.

Pic shows both cabinets, but with the larger cabinet in the open position.

IMG20210410155828.jpg

Next comes the trim around the edges to hide the gap between the cabinet and the top. The pieces on the sides and front are glued onto the cabinet so the top will just run freely over them. The back piece is a bit trickier, because it must move with the top as it opens, and must be spring loaded to allow the runners to cock on opening and lock on closing. Done it before, so at least there are few mysteries involved.

Originally Posted by Mr Fiddleback

Camphor is one of my favourite woods
Can be very speccy!
Mr Fiddleback

I love it too ... it can be gorgeous ... but at $6,500 per cube for 50 mm slabs ... Pass!

Originally Posted by John Samuel

I love it too ... it can be gorgeous ... but at $6,500 per cube for 50 mm slabs ... Pass!

Agreed...particularly if they were plain grained and carrying defects
B.T.W your table looks fabulous
White Cedar is such a pretty wood
Thanks for sharing
Mr Fiddleback

Off to Sydney until Thursday night very soon. No work gets done until Friday.

This video shows how the "push to open" drawer slides will work on these tables. The piece in the video below is my sister's craft cabinet, made many years ago. The top drawers are false fronts. This space is accessed via the sliding top.

VIDEO00411 - YouTube

The piece of trim on the back of the cabinet must be spring loaded so the runners can be cocked back toward the operator and then released. On release, the back piece of trim moves with the top. The other three pieces are fastened to the body of the cabinet.

The next video shows the cabinet being opened from the rear. Note how the back piece of trim is spring loaded and remains in place whilst the top is pulled forward to cock/unlock the runners. Please also note how the trim on the front and sides is fixed to the cabinet, whilst the rear piece of trim moves away from the cabinet with the top.

VIDEO00421 - YouTube

And here is the link to the build for that craft cabinet. Craft Cabinet WIP

Trim to conceal the runners on. Lacquer on. Finished except to polish the tops once they are hard enough.

IMG20210421103013.jpg

For comparison, here is a similar unit with a sliding top made (from camphor laurel) for my TV room. I much prefer this style, but the client gets what the client wants.

IMG20201110142634.jpg