OldTools Archive
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273949 | Phil Washburn <prwashburn1977@g...> | 2021‑06‑15 | Thanks for the inspiration |
GG- Short version- I have been a long time lurker way down at the far end of the porch, rocking away for more than 10 years now, since receiving a gentle push down the slope by our own Matthew Groves (which reminds me I probably should put my bio together for you all). Over the years I have learned much from you all, but most importantly have been inspired by you. So I thought I would share what I finished thanks to your inspiration. It isn't much but it is the start. https://groups.io/g/oldtools/photo/265141/3245815?p=Created,,,20,2,0,0 Long Version- MLW purchased a pair of bar height Amish made chairs last winter. Upon bringing them home she decided a nice bar height table with a cherry top to match was in order. I took the commission as any loving husband would do and got to work coming up with a design. The base was simple but needed to handle a fairly solid cherry top. She likes the live edge look so I planned accordingly. Luckily an old co-worker just started his own sawmilling company so after a phone call and some text messages I was the proud owner of a nice 10/4 18" live edge slab, with a matching 12" piece for the middle. I had my friend cut the slab in half so that I could assemble the top to mitigate warping over time. Once I assembled the top I was able to lay out the size of the base parts. The base is poplar stained black. I ripped the legs from a piece of 8/4 poplar stock using a nice Richardson Bros. 4 1/2 tpi rip saw. It was quite an experience hand ripping 36" lengths in 8/4 wood, but I am stronger for it. 16 hand cut mortise and tenons, another 12 hand cut mortises for the table top attachment buttons, and 2 half lap joints for the cross pieces and the base was ready for assembly. https://groups.io/g/oldtools/photo/265141/3245805?p=Created,,,20,2,0,0 The only tailed apprentices used was for cutting slots for biscuits when assembling the top and the beast which spins a sand impregnated paper in a non- ordered circular pattern to prepare the tabletop for finishing. I just didn't like how it looked after flattening the top with my Stanley #5 (jack plane) and follow-up smoothing plane. So I backslid to my old ways of using electricity. Send me to old tools purgatory if I must for my sins. Here is the finished table with the matching chairs. https://groups.io/g/oldtools/photo/265141/3245817?p=Created,,,20,2,0,0 I am not sure I would have had the confidence to embark on such an undertaking if it wasn't for the inspiration of you fine group of galoots. So thanks for continuing to share your knowledge with those of us way down at the far end of the porch. We may not speak up much because we have nothing valuable to offer, but we are learning from some of the best. Phil Washburn Columbus, OH |
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273950 | Ed Minch <edminch3@g...> | 2021‑06‑15 | Re: Thanks for the inspiration |
Phil - nicely conceived and expertly executed. You picked an ideal project for a first endeavor in hand tools. Not enough mortices in the base to become tedious (DAMHIKT), not enough length in the top boards to make planing the joints frustrating, and some paint to cover the inevitable boo-boos. Well done. Ed Minch |
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273951 | Paul Drake <bdbafh@g...> | 2021‑06‑15 | Re: Thanks for the inspiration |
Phil, What tools were you able to justify acquiring in (actually completing) this project? At least a pig sticker, right? Paul |
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273952 | Matthew Groves <grovesthegrey@g...> | 2021‑06‑15 | Re: Thanks for the inspiration |
Phil, What a great tale of success you’ve shared with us all. And photo-progress to boot! That base is amazing. I love the way it matches the chairs. You may well be part-Amish! What would you do different if another “commission” came your way? How did you decide which way to put the live edge? ‘Facing’ up for maximum visibility? Matthew Groves Springfield, MO |
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273953 | Tim Pendleton <tpendleton@g...> | 2021‑06‑15 | Re: Thanks for the inspiration |
Nicely executed! A well sharpened saw is a joy to use. What finish did you use on the top? Multiple coats? Tim On Tue, Jun 15, 2021, 3:45 PM Phil Washburn |
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273958 | Phil Washburn <prwashburn1977@g...> | 2021‑06‑16 | Re: Thanks for the inspiration |
Thanks Tim. Saw sharpening is one of the next skills on the list to acquire. But luckily the rip saw I used was sufficient. The stain for the top is an Amish stain, which isn't commercially available. I then topped it with 3 coats of Arm r seal Oil based glossy polyurethane. I sanded with 220 between coats. It almost came out like an epoxy pour. Was very happy with it and it should last a while. Phil |
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273959 | Phil Washburn <prwashburn1977@g...> | 2021‑06‑16 | Re: Thanks for the inspiration |
Paul There were no tool acquisitions directly associated with this project. I have been in the acquisition phase for the past 10 years, working my way through learning how to best use the tools and rehab them on little projects here and there. This was the first attempt at a "major" project using only hand tools. The most recent tool purchase used on the project was the Richardson Bros. ripsaw. I lucked into it a couple months before the project started. I answered a Facebook ad selling a Yankee No. 44 push drill with 7 bits for about $15. Not a great price but worth a look if all the bits were there. When I arrived I found that there were only about 3 different sizes of bits and the rest were duplicates. Asked if he had anything else and he started pulling things out of every corner. Walked out of there with a dirty but useable Stanley #7 (large jointer, Jeff), the Richardson's saw, a Bailey transitional jack plane, and the pushdrill for $50. If there was one tool I should have purchased it would have been a 1/4" pig sticker. Now that would have been a worthwhile addition to the pile of rust I have accumulated. Something to look out for, I guess. Phil |
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273960 | Phil Washburn <prwashburn1977@g...> | 2021‑06‑16 | Re: Thanks for the inspiration |
Thanks Matthew. I wanted to take more progress pictures as I worked, but I found that I get so focused on completing a step and then thinking about the next, that I forget to take pictures. -- What would you do different if another “commission” came your way? First I would probably have done a mock up of the table. It ended up being a little bit bigger than MLW expected, but was necessary to comfortably fit 4 people and the chairs side by side. We may have been able to change the design to fix that. Otherwise everything went pretty well as planned with no major challenges. -- How did you decide which way to put the live edge? ‘Facing’ up for maximum visibility? This was a topic of much conversation. We really liked the look both ways. With the live edge down the table took a "modern look" but offered more table top. With the edge up it showed it off more and offered a little bit more space for me to make the base wider, which I thought was necessary to make sure the table wasn't unstable. Given that it is 36" tall I was concerned with it being top heavy and tippy, if I made the base too narrow. So after all that she landed on up. Phil On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 5:15 PM Matthew Groves |
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273961 | Patrick Olguin <paddychulo@g...> | 2021‑06‑16 | Re: Thanks for the inspiration |
On Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 12:45 PM Phil Washburn |
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273987 | Phil Washburn <prwashburn1977@g...> | 2021‑06‑21 | Re: Thanks for the inspiration |
Paddy. Sorry for not responding. I seemed to miss your email until I saw it in the digest. - I’m always curious about design decisions, tool selection, new techniques, and so on The design phase was a bit of a dance back and forth with MLW. We started with the chairs, so I had the color scheme (black stained frame with cherry top) given to me. The back of the chairs has a similar diagonal crossing pattern so we decided we wanted to include something similar into the legs of the table. We also knew we wanted to be able to have 4 chairs around the table. After some thought we decided 2 chairs side by side and across from each other was the way to go. Putting the two chairs next to each other with a couple people sitting in them, I was able to get the measurements for the distance between legs. Add to that distance the width of the legs and some overlap and we ended up with a 48" table length. Seemed about right for the space. Then came width of the table decisions. To leave space for people to eat across from one another and to have a balanced proportion (golden ratio and all) we came up with a width of 29-30". With the live edge top it is about an inch wider on one end than the other so we ended up with a top that was 31" on one end and 30" on the other. We wanted the legs to be hefty, but not heavy, so we went with 8/4 material which I hand planed to about 1 7/8" square. The apron lengths and leg stretchers all came together based on all of those design decisions, with the width being a fairly standard 3 1/2". The final real design decision was the bottom rail between the two leg stretchers. I was using solid M and T joints for all the aprons but I was still a little concerned with spread of the legs length wise. This table is going to be moved a lot in our eat-in kitchen, as needs arise. More often than not it will be slid, not lifted. So I wanted the stability of a rail along the bottom. But with us sitting perpendicular, this rail couldn't go into the leg. So we went with a rail between the bottom stretchers, which has turned out quite well and makes it very sturdy and strong. Tool selection was pretty easy. It was all what I had to hand which was in serviceable condition. All the rips were the previously mentioned Richardson Bros. saw. Rough crosscuts were made with a Keystone K3 Pacemaker. Finish crosscuts were on a Stanley mitre box with a very long Lakeside by Montgomery Ward Mitre saw. I inherited the box and saw from my wife's grandfather. Joinery was cut with a two sided Japanese pull saw. All the planing was done with a Stanley Bailey line of numbers, #4 (smoother, Jeff), #5 (Jack), and #7 (jointer). I used my Stanley 71 (router plane) for working my tenons down to parallel and for the half lap joint. Finally I used a selection of chisels including a Borg 1" that I picked up somewhere on its deathbed and brought back to use after quite a bit of work on a diamond plate. - How are the cross pieces attached to the base, other than the half-laps where they meet in the middle? Mortised into the stiles, rails, both? The intent was to mortise the cross pieces into both the stiles and rails. But when I got down to that part of the project my stock was about an inch or so short to be able to do that. If you look closely the cross pieces actually are mortised about a 1/2" inside of the stiles on the rails. Given all the other joinery and the top I didn't think I needed them for any kind of structural integrity, so they are mortised into the rails with an angled mortise and tenon. That was pretty challenging to do. Thanks for the kind words. It really was a beautiful piece of cherry to work with and will be a statement piece in our house for years to come. Phil On Wed, Jun 16, 2021 at 12:27 PM Patrick Olguin |
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273988 | Phil E. <pedgerton66@g...> | 2021‑06‑21 | Re: Thanks for the inspiration |
It's definitely a beaut! Phil E. On Mon, Jun 21, 2021 at 9:31 AM Phil Washburn |
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