102 - Heirloom Coffee Table
102 - Heirloom Coffee Table
102 - Heirloom Coffee Table
COFFEE
TABLE
Coffee Table
This coffee table features cabriole legs, scalloped aprons, and an oval
top. But the straightforward construction won’t throw you any curves.
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a.
APRON
TEMPLATE
I’m not an artist and don’t feel com- a pencil and a tape measure, and a firmly with one hand and “hook”
fortable drawing freehand curves. table with a square corner. the pencil on the end of the tape.
But recently, I was shown a quick GRID. To do this, I made a 2" grid CONNECT DOTS. With the grid drawn,
way to draw freehand curves by using a trick I’d been taught by a plot the points of the curve on the
first creating a rough grid. All you carpenter, see left and center pho- grid. Now, drawing the curve is just
need is some paper for the pattern, tos. To draw the lines, hold the tape a matter of “connecting the dots.”
a.
b.
Talking Shop
Backrouting
One of the cardinal rules of is clamped down to a
routing is that you should bench, the bit tends to
always move the router (or pull the router for ward
the workpiece) so that the (instead of the workpiece).
stock is fed into the cutting This makes it difficult to
edge of the bit. There’s a control the router, but you
good reason for this. don’t have to worry about
DIRECTION. When routing your fingers coming into
in the normal direction contact with the bit like
(moving the router left to you do on a router table.
right), you’re pushing the So even though it’s
cutting edge of the bit into a little tricky, there are
the wood (or vice versa on times when I backrout to
a router table). This gives get better results. Take
you a lot more control over the top of the cof fee
the cutting action. As soon table, for example.
as you stop pushing, the END GRAIN. Because of
bit stops cutting. the oval shape of the top, hand-held router, back- the workpiece and to skid
If you rout in the oppo- it’s impossible to avoid routing can be risky. So along the edge.
site direction (backrout- routing across end grain. I usually take a few extra But keeping your elbows
ing), the feed direction is In this case, if you rout safety precautions. First, tucked into your body
the same as the direction around the top in the nor- I always maintain a firm and your arms and wrists
the bit is rotating. So the mal direction, you run the grip on the router in case locked in place should give
bit pulls itself forward as it risk of ripping out large it kicks back. And I clamp you a little more control.
digs into the workpiece. splinters of wood as you the workpiece down to my Finally, I take several
On a router table, this can push the router bit past bench so that it doesn’t shift very light cuts when back-
be disastrous. The router the end grain, see Fig. 1. or go flying off. routing instead of trying to
can actually pull the work- But by backrouting the Start off by practicing make the cut in a single
piece (and your fingers) top, the router bit pulls itself on some scrap pieces of deep pass. Then, after I’ve
right into the router bit. For into the grain rather than wood to get a feel for how removed all the material, I
this reason, I avoid back- pushing against it, see Fig. the router reacts. At first, make a final pass with the
routing on a router table. 2. So I was able to backrout the router will feel like a router in the normal direc-
Backrouting with a around the entire edge of the dog on a leash that’s just tion. This removes any
hand-held router is another top without any tearout. spotted a cat. It will have a chatter marks left behind
story. Since the workpiece SAFETY. But even with a tendency to kick back from by the backrouting. W
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WOOD CONDITIONER
What can be a little confusing about When staining, these areas of end is applied underneath the stain,
end grain is that it isn’t just limited grain can end up as dark blotches, it limits and evens out the stain’s
to the ends of a board. It can show see the left half of the board above. penetration, see the right half of
up on the face of some boards, too. But you can avoid this. the board above.
This is especially true of woods One solution I often use is to apply When staining the cabriole legs,
like pine, cherry, and maple that a wood conditioner (or wash coat) one way to ensure an even color
tend to have wild, wavy grain. before staining. This is usually just is to brush a heavy coat of wood
When the grain turns up toward a solvent that evaporates slowly conditioner on the entire leg. After
the face of a board, you end up with (although it can also be a very thin letting it set a few minutes, wipe off
a small patch of end grain. finish). Because the conditioner any excess and apply the stain.
Cabriole Legs
Cabriole legs may look
like sculpture, but you
don’t need to be an
artist to make them.
a.
1edge of the corner post aligns 2 reference lines around all four
Position the template so the back Next, use a square to draw
with inside corner of blank. Flip tem- faces of the blank to indicate where
plate and repeat on adjacent side. the corner post meets the knee.
3 faces with the patterns. Drill 4 face cuts on the corner post.
Cut the mortises on the two Set up band saw to make the
a series of overlapping holes, and Use a fence to guide the leg and
clean up the cheeks with a chisel. clamp a stop block to the fence.
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a. a.
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Both have a curved edge for cleaning The problem is holding them with a sharp chisel. But here, you have
up the top of the foot and a flat edge steady while you work. And you to work carefully. A slip with the chisel
for shaping the sides of the foot. need some freedom to rotate the can put a scratch in the corner post
LEGS . Once the feet were done, I leg and work from different angles. which will be a chore to remove.
started on the legs. There’s not much So I came up with a shop-made Next, I dry assembled the aprons
to them. The front and back corners carver’s cradle by adding wooden and marked the location of their out-
of the legs get a small, tapered roun- extenders to the jaws of a common side faces. Then I rounded over the
dover with a file and some sandpaper. 3/ " pipe clamp, see page 12.
4 top of the transition block with sand-
But these roundovers aren’t the same KNEES. The last area of the leg to work paper, removing the hard edge.
for the front and back. The front gets on is the knee, including the transition All that’s left is to sand the leg to
rounded over a little more, see Steps block. There’s not much shaping to get it ready for the finish. If you’re
20 and 22. The side corners are just do. It’s mostly just cleanup. going to use stain, the trick is to get
softened with sandpaper. To begin, I removed the ridge a consistent color. To do this, I used
Shaping the legs is no trouble. between the corner post and the knee a wood conditioner. W
23 and the beginning of 24 and trace the front 25 220 grit. If you’re apply-
Between the corner post Set the aprons in place Finally, sand the leg to
the knee, there may be a small edges. Remove the aprons and ing a liquid stain, you might want
ridge. This can be carefully pared round over the hard edge to the to use a wood conditioner before
away with a chisel. line using a chisel. staining the workpiece.
If you want to build the projects in in the profiles of the aprons that
this issue without making the cabri- connect the legs so the transition
ole legs, we designed the projects so between the two is smooth.
you can buy factory-made legs. Which brings up another differ-
Of course, the design of these legs ence. With factory-made legs, you
isn’t exactly like ours. The critical dif- need to drill the mortises with the leg
ference is that the transition blocks already shaped. But the curves get in
are a bit different. This means you’ll the way, so you’ll have to use a special
need to make some adjustments spacer block, see page 12.
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Tips From
Our Shop
Shop Notes
Leg Clamping Jig
After cutting out cabriole for the pipe, see Fig. 1.
legs, they still need to be To keep the tailstock
filed and sanded to their from swiveling, I cut a kerf
final shape. To do this, I part way through it on the
needed a way to hold the bandsaw, see Fig. 2. Then I
leg steady, yet leave plenty added a carriage bolt and
of room to work around it. wing nut. Once the jaw is
I solved this problem with set where you need it, just
a special clamping jig. tighten the wing nut to keep
This jig resembles the tailstock from turning.
a carver’s “cradle” with a Keeping the headstock
headstock and tailstock from moving is a little both the headstock and Finally, I added a piece of
attached to the pipe clamp. easier. Just cut a notch in tailstock tend to tilt back. self-adhesive sandpaper
Its pieces are constructed one edge the same size as To compensate for this, I to the inside face of the
from 2x4 stock with a hole the jaw of the clamp. planed a slight taper on the jaws. It gives them a bet-
bored through each piece As the clamp is tightened, inside edge of each piece. ter grip on the leg.
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