Arched Walnut Dining Table...base frame glued up

[cpowell]

I have finally finished the rough out of the arched dining table frame.

LOML found a pic and I dropped it into Sketchup. Took me a while to find the thick walnut then took even longer to sort out curves, dimensions, radii, etc.

Joinery is M&T, except top rail table cross supports are cross lap joints. M&T joints top are twin tenons (haunched), single tenons on bottom joints. All M&T joints to be drawbored.

Though the long curves were roughed on the bandsaw, I have used a lot of hand tools on this project. Planes, chisels, tenon saws (I need a larger tenon saw), rasps. I have become much better at sharpening and found that fitting joints with hand tools is not so bad. Working with curves takes longer than I had thought. I really respect the skills of guys who can eyeball this stuff.

I think I will make walnut button blocks to secure the top. I may bore and insert dowels through the top cross lap joints to secure it in place since that's not a very strong glue joint (end/cross grain).

The frame top is 71 inches long x 37 inches wide. The top will be a 43 inch wide x 78 inch long oval in walnut. The frame members are 1.75 inches thick. I will now round almost all of the edges to give a softer look.

The pics don't capture the color and grain but I will post some in good light once I finish.

Hope to have this done by Thanksgiving...then will start on chairs. Any ideas on chairs to match??


Chuck







View of Top




Closeup Top View

[cpowell]

Originally Posted by Gotcha6

Chuck, I'm sure you can see from the posts you've gotten that there are a good many people here with a passion for fine joinery & woodworking. Your skills in making this table base are something to be proud of & I didn't intend to start a large debate about the glass top issue, just a suggestion. In the end, it's YOUR table, so I/we're sure whatever you decide it will be OK with us. But we do want to see the end result - and maybe a few WIP photos too!
Good luck

I appreciate all the kind words and the suggestions.

Unless LOML changes her mind it will be a solid walnut top. I have some very nice stock I got from a friend a while back. I think once I soften the base edges and add a simple oval top that it will look okay.

We're visiting family in FL for the week so I have a while to think about it. At the pace I move it will be a while before I get going with the top.


Chuck

[sawduster]

Dood that is amazing

[DavidF]

GREAT looking table base so far Chuck, I know what's involved and know it's hard!

[cpowell]

A brief update - thanks Tracy for unlocking tht thread.

I have managed to round the edges of most of the frame pieces, 3 pieces remaining, bottom frame and one side leg. I have fine tuned the drawbore holes as I work on edge rounding. The work is not fast but I can see a little progress.

The wood grain is wild in places and wants to tearout very easily. Any suggestion to handle these areas is appreciated. I will keep at it in the hopes of cleaning things up further.

Here's a pic to show how the softened edges look:




Here's a closeup showing a tough grain area:



I'll try to keep the updates coming fast enough to prevent another thread lockout!


Chuck

[Mike Wilkins]

Great looking start to what will be a fine piece of furniture. As for chairs; if you want you can make your wallet lighter by checking with Thos. Moser. I got one of their catalogs, and there are notes all over that you can order many of their items with a wood other than cherry. They list walnut as one of the alternatives. Would look really nice with that table. You may be pushing it to get both the table and some chairs finished by turkey day. Just a thought.

[cpowell]

Originally Posted by Mike Wilkins

Great looking start to what will be a fine piece of furniture. As for chairs; if you want you can make your wallet lighter by checking with Thos. Moser. I got one of their catalogs, and there are notes all over that you can order many of their items with a wood other than cherry. They list walnut as one of the alternatives. Would look really nice with that table. You may be pushing it to get both the table and some chairs finished by turkey day. Just a thought.

I will try to look at Moser for style ideas but still intend to make them myself. I've never made chairs and this may be a great chance to justify a few more hand tool purchases!

Maybe they'll be done for Christmas? ok, Thanksgiving 2010...

Chuck

Edit...I just visited Thos Moser website. Great recommendation. I can't afford 10-12k for chairs although they have some fine offerings. The Pasadena chair linked here is pretty cool...http://www.thosmoser.com/product.det...roduct_id=1375 $2100 each. I like the lines of the back. Don't know how to make the front edge joints though.

[cpowell]

Finished sanding and got the base glued up today. Used plastic resin glue and it was nice to have the extra open/working time to get the frame together. I can see why some folks have migrated to this stuff - it's very friendly and cheap.

Drawbore pins were hand riven yesterday. I used a sharp chisel to split along the grain. I made a V-slot wood block with stop to allow me to round the edges of the stock with a block plane. I rough sharpened the end of the stock then hammered it through a series of holes in a piece of angle iron, ending at 3/8 inch. The process is pretty much neanderthal but the learning curve is easy. Once you get the mental image of the pin size it gets easier to quickly split the stock down to a usable size. The riven stock is preferable because the grain alignment resists cracking when the wooden pin is driven home.

During glueup, I rolled the tapered ends of the wood pins in paraffin wax then tapped them through the offset holes. Use of drawbore pins is a big plus for working with a curved frame. It would be tough to apply the same pressure with clamps without skewing the joints.

The drawbore pins pulled the joints tight for the glueup. I'll trim them off and flush with a sharp chisel/blockplane tomorrow.

The top cross pieces will be glued up tomorrow after I trim off the pins and finish sand the joint areas.

Here's a pic of the glued up frame:




I should be able to start finishing the base by Wednesday or Thursday. I'm thinking wipe on poly (yuk) would be best although I wish I could just spray lacquer. I will use the same finish on the base and top and I don't know that lacquer will hold up very well.

LOML wants a stain but I would prefer natural..what do you think? Will I win the argument?


Chuck

[mountaintop]

This is going to be one good looking table. Love the arch look you put into the frame.
Have you thought about a oval glass top that sits inside a oval walnut frame. The cross members of the support frame may hide glass top statement some. I'm not a big fan of glass but you have a lot of great looking work in this frame

[cpowell]

Just trying to post so the thread doesn't get locked.

Here's a few pics with the first vinyl sealer coat. I'll rub out and lay another coat down tomorrow. Time permitting I'll spray the topcoat tomorrow night, too. These pics show the color better but the flash makes it look washed out. I was pretty careful with the grain direction on each piece and it shows up a little in these pics.

I had a few runs, nothing bad. Some of the areas are just too tight to spray very well.

I hope to post final pics with top in a few weeks.


Chuck

[Mt. Gomer]

That is stunning. Excellent work!

[ptt49er]

Wow, I don't know how I've missed this thread until now but that table is going to be beautiful!

There's a lot of inspiration in that piece.

[DavidF]

Very, Very nice Chuck!, I guess you won the stain argument! Love it. Isn't Thanksgiving a tough target - I had the same one, made it with 2 weeks to spare, no chairs yet though..... Can't wait to see the finished piece.

[Travis Porter]

I missed this thread as well.

Chuck, WOW!!! You are becoming a curvy guy!!! Love the design!!!