Designing the Pull

     The nice thing about designing your own hardware is that it will be unique to your piece.  Not something that you may find anywhere else.  The design process can be carefully planned out or kind of a spur of the moment, here's what looks good to me now, kind of process.  The one element I knew I wanted for the drawer pulls was that it incorporated some of the beading that is on the long apron of the table.  Here's what I came up with, at this point the drawer is unfinished and the pull is on with some double back tape.

Drawer Pull, Notice the Difference in Finished vs. Unfinished Sapele?

     When I initially beaded the apron I also beaded a few pieces of 8/4 Sapele with the plan of eventually turning them into the pulls.  Since the entire apron has the triple bead I knew that design wise it should also be on the narrow ends.  The process started with a very rough sketch:

Preliminary Sketch

     Since there are only two of these and they're on opposite ends of the table I didn't feel the need to make a template or pattern.  The question mark on the drawing is because I didn't know how deep to make the pull.  Two things I considered is that first of all there was ample space to get a finger or two under it and also that it stayed in scale to the rest of the table.  Step one was to use a forstner bit to hollow out the recess:

Roughed Out Finger Area

     I know, you're probably thinking why make three?  Well you know that old adage, if you make an extra you won't have any problems, make just enough and one will probably break!  Anyway, after drilling the holes the sides were chiseled to even up the overlapping cuts made by the forstner bit.  Next step was to cut the angle on the top.  I wanted it to match the angle under the table top so used the bandsaw with the table tilted as shown to make that cut.

Cutting Angle

     A block plane made the sawn surfaces smooth and they were then  ripped to what seemed like a proper depth.  Finally they were cut to length and formed.  Planes, spokeshave, and sandpaper was the next thing to make them feel like something you'd want to grab on to.  Here they are, almost ready for finish.

Ready to Go to Work

     Several little items were done today as well.  The shelf got it's last coat of finish, the drawer stops are made, and the remaining things are the clips I need to make that will secure the shelf to the legs and the top to the apron.  Just had to mock it up and put it in the house, besides it's cold out there and the finish will cure better inside.

TV Tray Redux is Complete

TV Tray in Use

     Here is the culmination of the Design Process blog that some of you have been following.  It's been a while since we began this series on September 30th. but in the mean time I also completed a birthday present for my grandson and new studio furniture for Diane.  Things like that really don't matter because for me everything keeps rolling around in my head on how to solve design and construction problems.  In my opinion, these tables solve the problem of having a tray that can be used for eating or holding drinks and snacks for a get together with friends but yet be attractive when they are not in use.  You may remember the old TV trays, plastic, brass, and phony wood tops that you had to hide in the closet.  They only came out when needed.  This set, on the other hand, looks good just sitting there!

Waiting to be Used

     The design I was after was to have the three of them make a statement when they're together.  They can be arranged as shown, with the widest end out, or reversed with the shorter end out.  This would depend on where you keep them.  In this case they are tucked into a curved wall in our house.
     One design element that needed to be addressed is that when they are not in use, I didn't want a "sea of legs" as Diane put it.  That's the reason for going with only three legs per table.  The prototypes seemed to work and now that we've used them they are very stable.  When you look at them straight on you're not overwhelmed by that sea of legs!
   
To me, the tables have a sense of movement.  Angling the legs out not only added stability but also some life.  The legs taper towards the bottom and their face is beveled as well.  Small, subtle features like this is what gives them life and movement.

It's all about the Wood

For me, my design process is centered around the wood.  Black Walnut was used for the frame and the legs.  The inset tops are Zebrawood which was resawn and then book matched.  In my designs I like joinery details to show.  In this case, the leg tenons go through the top and are splined with maple to mimic the coloration of the Zebrawood.

TV Tray Redux -- First Look

First Look !!

     Most of you, if you remember them at all, would picture a TV tray as brass coated, spindly legged, faux laminated wooden top, on a cart with plastic wheels and handle.  I recall saving Blue Chip stamps and getting the required number of books for a set of them shortly after getting married in '72!  Ugly as they were, they had their place and purpose.
     Over the past six months or so I've been working on these and designing them through mock-ups and drawings.  This has been between commissions so it's had plenty of time to work in my mind!  Let's face it, people still eat their meals while watching TV so there is a need.  One  popular way is to have nesting tables.  The shortcoming with them is that they get smaller so if you're stuck with the littlest of the set, there's not enough room for plate, drink, and utensils.  They do solve the traditional TV tray problem in that they are more attractive and can be left out in a room.
     The current expression is to "think outside of the box" and although I'm not real crazy about any saying that's over-used, that's what I've done here.  The goal for these was to function as TV trays but more importantly, when they're not in use I wanted them to be attractive and make a statement of their own.  In our house there is a blank wall near the entryway, these will be placed against the wall -- somewhat like low console table.  Items can be displayed on it but as you know, I'm all about the wood and, in my opinion, using the Walnut/Zebrawood combination is enough.  However; almost anything you want to display could  be put on the set.  My next thought was who says a table must have four legs?  In this instance three are sufficient and when they are placed along a wall you're not overwhelmed by a sea of legs.  It also lends itself to the shape of the top, which I think is a type of parallelogram.  I played around with the angles so that a regular plate and glass would fit on the top.  To give it more stability the legs have through tenons, cut at 10 degrees that go completely through the top.  These will be wedged with maple, adding to total look.  The other aspect of the legs I wanted to achieve was a lightness.  They taper in the length and also bevel across the face.  The way the light will play off of these angles should be a nice effect.
     Still have lots of work to do before these will be complete but real pleased with how they're coming out.  Here's another angle of them -- gotta love the wood!

Love the Wood, Can you see the leg profile?

Diane's Saying I Always Hear!

     A number of years ago, Diane and I would head out to the desert to paint, run, read, and get away from it all.  I'd do a couple hour run while she set up her easel and found her subject.  When I came back I'd read and just watch her work.  Well, she tends to talk to herself (don't we all!) and I asked her one time what she said.  Her reply has stuck with me: "I work until I get to a problem, figure that one out, and work until I get to the next problem".  It made so much sense to me that I've been approaching my work that way ever since.

Nice Legs!!

     For the trio of tables I'm working on there have been many design and construction problems that needed solving.  Angles, joinery, bevels, etc. all compound the complexity.  I've just completed the legs.  I knew I wanted a lightness to them so a taper and a beveled face seemed appropriate.  The first step was to bevel the face of each leg.  This was easily done on the tablesaw however; the tenon limited being able to work to the center of each leg.  This was solved by using a hand plane.
     After beveling, each side of the leg needed to be tapered.  Using the tapering sled for this was not possible because of the one face being beveled, it wouldn't lay flat on the tapering sled so I needed to come up with a solution for that.  After a bit of head scratching here's how this was accomplished.

Taper Jig & Leg

After Cut

     In the photo on the left you can see a jig I made for the leg to ride in.  The side of the jig of the jig is guided against the fence on the bandsaw and they're pushed through as a unit.  You can see the wedge that was removed in this operation.

Wedge Taped On

Jig & Leg Reversed

   








   



To cut the other side the wedge that was removed is temporarily taped back to the leg.  Then, by reversing the jig and the leg as a unit but keeping the fence in the same position I was able to cut the other side of the taper.


     All that remained is to refine the cut edges and the beveled face.  After honing my smooth plane I completed that step.  There's just something relaxing and rewarding about hand planing a surface.  Trying to capture that on film is pretty difficult but I tried it anyway:

Planed Profile

     The beauty of it is how the light reflects off of the surface and how the grain wraps itself over the beveled surface.  After the surfaces were completed, each edge was chamfered ever so slightly with 8 strokes of a block plane.  Can't wait to see how these turn out after the hand rubbed oil finish.  Next step will be to fit the inset, Zebrawood top into the frames.

Woodworks by John: Custom Work vs. Mass Production

     Now that my hiatus from the table project brought about by visiting family and doing the entertainment doors is over, I can get back to work on them.  I installed the doors this morning and; as suspected, it wasn't a quick process.  Between using some pretty old and dried out material to make them and then installing them in an opening that wasn't  100% square it took some time.  Add to that they were inset doors and you can understand why it was difficult.  But -- bottom line is that they were happy with the results and could see the efforts I went through to make things right.  Ended up using the cardboard off some of their writing pads to shim a filler piece!
     To attach the legs to the tables I'm using a through mortise and tenon, splined to add strength and a decorative element to the top as well.  Going through the process I couldn't help but contrast this to the quicker way of pocket screw joinery which might be used if these were mass-produced.  I thought it would be a good time to share the process with you, it may get complicated!  Let's start with this picture:

Splined Mortise & Tenon 

     What you see here is the table top frame with the leg inserted from the bottom side.  The two white pieces of wood are the splines that will wedge the tenon tightly into the mortise.  Before I got to this point it was necessary to first drill two holes near the base of the tenon and then saw a kerf to those holes.  I put an extra leg in the picture to illustrate that.  Here's what happens when the joint is assembled, the leg is inserted from the bottom with glue, when it comes through the mortise the wedges are inserted and hammered tight.  It's difficult to see, but the wedges are tapered towards the outside of the mortise and the mortise is slightly tapered as well.  As the wedge is hammered home, the hole drilled in the tenon will let the outside splay out tightly against the tapered mortise side.  It's important to put the tapered side of the wedge to the outside e of the joint.  Once the glue has dried the tenon will be cut off and planed flush.
     Time consuming --- yes, worth it --- yes again.  That's the beauty of working this way and personally I can't think of too many other ways I'd like to spend the day.  Sure, it gets a bit tedious at times like when I used a paring chisel to cut the taper on all 18 wedges:

Shaping Wedges

Next up will be the final shaping of the legs.  They will have a double bevel from the center and then be tapered from top to bottom to add a sense of lightness to them.  Like any design process, you're never quite sure how things will end up even after making drawings and several mockups.  I'll keep you posted!

Woodworks by John: Design Process

     Another commission came my way but I was pretty much all set up to begin work on the tenons so wanted to get that done.  This will be more of a photo how to than anything else.  You may recall that I prefer to use machines to do the grunt work and then hand work to refine and fit everything "just so".  After cutting both sides of the tenon cheeks at a 10 degree angle they needed to be individually fit into their corresponding mortise.  The mortise length varied a bit so the first step was to cut 1/2" off of one side:

Rough Size Tenon

This became somewhat of a mass production process to do the 9 legs plus a spare.  Basically, use a knife to locate 1/2", then the dovetail saw to remove it -- next!

     Each mortise and tenon is marked with a metal working stamp in an inconspicuous place to keep things organized.  You measure the width of the mortise, mark it with the double square and knife, then cut with the dovetail saw as before.  The shoulders always need a little paring to get them perfect and in this case, the angle needed to be 10 degrees to allow the legs to splay out a bit.  The small sliding bevel is used to check that.

Trimming Tenon Thickness

     The tenons were cut slightly thicker than 3/8" so that they could be trimmed to fit each individual mortise.  When you use a table saw and tenoning jig the blade can be slightly inconsistent so the width may vary a little.  This is especially true when cutting angled tenons.  This is a definite case of having the proper tool for the job.  In the past I've used chisels to pare tenons and also router planes.  This rabbet block plane is ideal as far as I'm concerned.  Feels great in my hand and look at those shavings!  Just nice to use for this operation.  This model has nickers which leave a tell-tale mark.  By making my initial cuts towards the outside, the nicker leaves a scratch.  Once I remove the scratch I know I've planed the entire surface evenly.

Woodworks by John: Design Process

     In a recent conversation the subject of how to go about about designing projects came up.  Many times the client initiates the process with either sketches or pictures of what they want.  Some of them are so descriptive when they talk about their visions then that's all you need to get you going.  The technique that works well for me is that a design  can germinate in my mind for a long time which is then followed by rough sketches to visualize it.  That's how the design for the Dovetail Chair came about.  I built several mock-ups played around with the joinery, angles, dimensions, etc. and ended up with a set of chairs that are comfortable, stylish, and were awarded an Honorable Mention at the Design in Wood competition.
     We were watching an HGTV show that Vern Yip hosted about an urban condo they are planning to give away in Chicago.  He was talking with his assistant and mentioned places he likes to go to get design inspirations.  Can't quote it directly but what it boiled down to is that you never know what stays in your mind when you just observe things that may come out in a later design.  He's right!!!, as they were walking around in some recycled furniture store I saw a set of tables that inspired me for the ones that have been playing around in my mind for a long time now.

Initial Prototype

     If this were a project for a client I would refine it and present them with a drawing of the project.  If, as is the case here, it's a speculation piece or for personal use I like to play around with it in three dimensions.  You can use cardboard, MDF, or an inexpensive wood such as Poplar.  This photo shows the first general shape of these tables.  Their purpose is twofold, first as occasional tables that are just right to put by a sofa or chair and secondly to fill a blank wall space.  By placing them against the wall so together they will present a larger surface that could be utilized for .....?  I like the shape and size and have selected Walnut for the framework and Zebrawood for the insert.  The struggle has been with the legs.  Heck, you can find a four legged table anywhere so let's see what can be done with three!  Didn't want to have a "sea of legs" when they were parked against the wall.

    The first concept was to cut notches and attach the legs into those.  You can see I experimented with placement of them on the rear.  After doing that and looking at them for a while it just seemed awkward and bulky.  The next idea was to have the legs extend up, into the frame with an exposed and splined tenon.  This, on the other hand, looked too slim and fragile.  Finally, after seeing the tables on the HGTV show I came up with the design I like, that's the one in the lower right side.  Good thing too because the Popular prototype for the frame was running out of space!  The mockup leg is made of MDF and consists of a through tenon that is angled out 10 degrees to add stability and give a sense of movement.  In reality, there will be one centered in the short end and two across the back.  Good, you have the design, now, how are you going to build it?
     For the prototype, where only one thing is required it's no problem to work it out the best you can but when it comes to making three tables and nine legs plus the joinery it helps to have some type of consistent set up.  My work method is to use power tools to basically rough out what I can and then finish with hand tools to refine and fit every part into its proper place.

Mortising 45 degrees at the rear

The front through mortise was no problem.  The rear ones are cut 45 degrees to the back frame member.  I needed to make a jig that would hold the frame at that angle plus clamp down during the mortising operation.  This is the set up for one side, the clamp was re-positioned to the other edge for the others.


Now comes the mating part of the mortise, the tenons.  The legs were left long and the mortise will be cut longer than needed as well.  By angling my tenoning jig at 10 degrees every leg will cant out the same amount.  Each leg required two passes and are cut slightly oversize.

 

Cutting 10 degree tenons

 

After each tenon was cut, I used a rabbet block plane to fit them to the mortises as far as their width goes.  The length of the mortise is about 1 1/8" and the leg is currently 2 1/4" wide.  Each leg will be custom fit into its' location.

Trimming Tenons

There are several more steps to the legs.  After they are fit into their mortises they will first be angled on the front faces.  Then they'll need to be tapered to about an inch or so at the bottom so they will appear light and delicate.  Where they enter the table frame will be splined.  Basically that involves cutting two narrow slots in the tenon and then driving in a wedge to secure the joint.  You can see how it will look in the practice piece behind.

Prototype Leg

Here's another view of the mock up, do you agree that there is a sense of movement in the design?  I like how shadow and light will play on the angles cut into the front of the leg. In reality, there will be one leg centered on the front and two across the back.  I'll keep you informed as we go through this process.