TChisel Project 1 – Build a Federal Style Table

Due to the number of pm's and interest I've been getting, I wanted to post a project to build. If you're interested in learning how to make Federal Style furniture, this small table project is just for you. I’m including the procedure list and lumber required here. Here's some pics of what we're talking about.
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This learning project includes 4 different types of feet, a sand shaded fan inlay, shop made banding, a bit of veneering plus a dovetailed drawer so there’s plenty to learn in a fairly small project. Build this table and you’ll have many of the skills needed to produce Federal Style furniture. Plus, I’ve already posted an entire podcast series on building this table so you can see how its done each step of the way. The podcast episodes are best viewed on iTunes because you can watch them full screen (which is a free download that is available for both windows and mac computers iTunes download). Just go to the Store in iTunes and search + subscribe to The Rough Cut Show. The episodes covering this project are listed under ATM 68 and going through episodes 105 mixed in with the bombe series. The videos are also on the Rough Cut Forum at Tchisel.com.

The materials and procedure list will be posted in another post below.

You can do this! Trust me. By watching the podcasts and following the procedure list, you will learn how to build this table and the skills needed to approach Federal Style furniture. I look forward to seeing your tables so post pictures, and as always if you have questions or need help just ask.

Rough Mill- 1” over length, ½” over width, 1/8” over thickness

Finish Mill
Legs, rails, and dividers.

Arrange legs and rails – mark legs with a triangle on top
-also mark where dovetailed divider will be
-orient rails and dividers and mark them

Joinery

Layout mortises
-set combination square to width of rail (5”)
-measure down from top of each leg and make a small nick with your knife (on all inside faces)
-put knife in nick with bevel side towards top of leg, bring square up to knife and knife across
-on the front legs, where the twin tenons will be:
1. set the knife in the line, bevel towards the top
2. bring square up to knife
3. holding the square in place, remove knife and set divider against the blade of the square
4. holding the divider, move the square, and bring it up to the other side of the divider (the top side)
5. holding the square again, remove the divider and knife against the square (knife bevel towards the bottom of the leg)
-set marking gauge to thickness of outside shoulder
-with the marking gauge fence against the outside of the leg, mark all rail joints from the top of the leg down to the knife line
-mark the twin tenons between the knife lines, from both inside and outside faces
-pencil in haunches

Cut mortises and haunches
-use ¼” mortising bit, set depth to 3/4”
-stay away from bottom knife line by 1/32”
-cut twin mortises, also

Clean up inside of mortise and pare to bottom knife line
- be careful not to change the shape of the mortise, just smooth rough spots and remove crumbs



Layout tenons
-set marking gauge to 3/4” and, with the fence against the end of the board, mark shoulder line on all rails and dividers (all the way around both ends)
-with the fence against the outside face of a leg, set marking gauge to outside edge of mortise (so the back of the cutter lines up with the edge of the mortise)
-with this setting, mark outside shoulder of the tenon on at least one rail
-reset marking gauge to inside face of mortise, mark this on at least one rail (the same rail)

Cut tenons (using dado set)
-first, with blades low, move fence to find shoulder line
-cut outside (reference) cheek, cut on all rails and both edges of twin-tenoned divider
-flip rails over and cut inside (fitting) cheeks
-work up to your line slowly, testing the fit after each cut
-corners of tenons should press into mortise and not fall out
- lower blades to about 1/16” and nick the bottom face of the dovetailed (top) divider

Fit tenons
-line tenon up with mortise and mark haunches, then cut them
-chamfer ends of tenons
- test fit, if tenon fits and shoulder closes, move on
-if tenon is too tight, and
-if outside face of the leg is proud of the rail, take material off outside cheek of tenon
- if outside face of rail is flush with or proud of the leg, remove material from inside cheek of tenon
-on twin tenon, pare outside cheeks until it is flush or proud on both sides, then mark, cut, and fit inside cheeks

Jigs

Tapering Jig
1. cut MDF about 6” wide and longer than your leg blank
2. layout taper on leg, starting 5 ½” from the top and tapering to 7/8” thickness at the bottom.
3. line up taper with edge of MDF and trace the leg blank
4. extend the lines off the edge of the MDF, making a crooked “L” shape\
5. bandsaw on the line and smooth the bandsawn edge

Spade Foot Jig
1. layout the length of the leg, the taper and the top of foot on the leg blank
REMEMBER: This blank is extra long, so the bottom of the leg is 25 ¾” from the top, which is not the bottom of the blank
-the taper begins 5 ½” down from the top and tapers to a 5/8” square centered at the bottom of the leg
-the top of the foot is 2” up from the bottom of the leg
-the foot is ½” wider than the leg at the top of foot line (1/4” on each side)

2. cut MDF to width of leg (1 ½”) and about 6” over in length
3. cut side supports to thickness of leg plus thickness of MDF (2 ¼” if you used ¾” MDF)
-one support is the full length of the jig, the other two are about 4” long
-attach the long support to one edge of the jig
-attach a short support and a stop block at one end

4. lay blank in jig and transfer information
-mark start of taper, top of foot, bottom of leg, and end of taper

5. layout leg, taper and foot, on the jig
6. make the pivot block
-cut a piece of stock to width and thickness of leg, and about 2” long
-find the center of the end of the block and drill a hole for a screw all the way through block
-partially insert the screw into the block, so that the screw points toward where you found the center
-make sure it does not protrude from the other side (screw needs to be longer than pivot block)

7. with leg in jig, secure against the top stop, glue the pivot block snugly against the bottom of the blank, with the tip of the screw pointing towards the blank.

8. bandsaw close to the layout lines on one side, leaving the other side straight (stay away from the top of the foot, where it will be drilled out).

9. clean up bandsawn edges.

Legs

2 inside tapered legs
Think about which face you want to cut first, so that, when you turn the leg, a flat face is against the table, not a tapered face.
1. place blank in jig, with top of leg in the crook of the jig
2. place blank and jig on the saw, the top of the leg should be away from you
3. using a push stick on the bottom of the blank, run the leg through, creeping up on the line
4. creep up on the line, but stay off it, leaving room for cleanup
5. once you get close to the line, rotate the leg and taper the other face

Quad-tapered leg with foot
Foot
1. layout taper and top of the foot on the blank
2. mill a scrap to the same thickness as the blank
3. clamp the scrap beside the blank on the drill press
4. with a ½” forstner bit, position the bit so it just touches both the taper line and the top of the foot
5. drill all the way through the blank, then rotate it, and repeat
Leg
1. set blank in jig and tighten the screw into the bottom of the blank
2. with the blank down, bandsaw close to the jig (DON”T CUT YOUR JIG!)
3. flush cut the bandsawn face on the router table
4. loosen the screw and rotate the blank ¼ turn
5. repeat steps 1-4 on the new face.
6. cut leg to length, be sure to support the leg if you use the table saw

Quad-tapered leg without foot
1. AFTER completing the tapered leg with the foot. Trim the sweep of the foot off the side of the jig and clean it up. This will leave you with just the taper.
2. Repeat the bandsaw, flush cut, rotate procedure with the new jig.

Applied foot for 1 inside tapered leg.
1. Mill stock to 3/16” thick and about 1 ¼” wide (you may be able to use the cut- offs from tapering.
2. Cross-cut 4 pieces about 2 ¼” long.
3. Double-stick pieces side by side along the edge of a piece of MDF.
4. Rip the MDF to 2” wide (effectively trimming the pieces to 2” long).
5. Run the pieces on the router using the box-cutting bit. The cove should be about 3/16” long and leave about 1/16” in thickness.
6. Separate the pieces from the MDF.
7. Glue the two side pieces to the bottom of the leg, making sure the bottoms are flush.
8. After the glue dries, flush the edges down to the leg and then glue on the front and back pieces.
9. Flush-up the edges and trim down the corners to match the cove (using a chisel, file, scraper, whatever)
10. Make a ramp block that is approximately the angle of your taper. It should taper down to the thickness of the applied foot.

11. Double stick tape the block to the leg and plane the foot to that angle.

Embellishments

Scratch Stock –requires: one piece of hardwood (maple is great, but anything works) approximately 8” x 2 ½” x 1” (or greater), 4 screws (drywall is fine, anything that holds well in wood), and a piece of steel (bandsaw blade, jigsaw blade, etc.).
1. Mill two pieces of at least 4/4 stock to about 5” long, 2 ½” wide, and as thick as possible.
2. Drill pilot holes in one piece so that your screws can drop in without grabbing the wood. Drill 3 holes along the length about 1” from the edge and the 4th down below, towards one side (see image).

3. Screw the pieces together.
4. Using a cross-cut boat, raise the blade up about ½” and run a kerf across the bottom of the block, about 1” from the end with the 4th screw.

5. With the bock on its side, bandsaw a notch starting from the far end and ending at the cross-cut. You should now have and ‘L’ shape.

6. Mark about 3/8” up from the long edge of the notch on both sides. Curve the edge of the notch from where the boards meet up to this line.

7. Using a grinder and/or file, shape the end of the piece of steel to your desired shape. In this case, a rectangular “point” the width of the stringing and about 3/16” long.
-You want the stringing to fit snugly in the groove. Scratch a scrap piece and test a small strip of veneer in it. Keep filing your scratch until the veneer presses in and fits fairly tight (remember that glue swells it, so don’t make it too snug).

8. Loosen the screws, insert the scratch wherever you want, and tighten the screws down.
9. Scratch things.

Stringing –requires: thin holly veneer, straight edge, knife, scratch stock, trammel points
On the taper:
1. On the leg with the inside faces tapered, without the applied foot, measure down 1 ½” from the bottom of your mortise and draw a line across the leg. This is the top of your stringing. Next, measure up 2” from the bottom of your leg and draw another line: this is the bottom of the stringing.

2. Set the tip of your scratch 3/16” from the fence.
3. Scratch a groove from the top line to the bottom, be very careful not to go past the top one, the bottom one will have a ½” banding to cover small mistakes.
-When scratching, tip the scratch up and, using its curve, rock it into place, so the tip contacts the wood. Don’t try to scratch too much with each stroke and work in one direction.

4. Once both sides are scratched between the lines, find the center line of your leg. The leg is tapered so find the center at two points and connect the dots.

5. Set up your trammel points. You can either turn one of the points around, or stick a nail in one tip. Then, file this to the thickness of your veneer, just like with the scratch stock.

6. Put the tip of the trammels where your top line intersects your center line.
7. Open the trammels so that the scratch tip lands right on your grooves on both sides.
8. Scratch a half circle out the top of one groove and into the other. You end up with a groove that starts at the bottom line, goes up one side, makes a u- turn and goes back down to the bottom line.

9. Cut strips of stringing using your knife and straight edge. The strips should be about 5/16” wide.

10. Dry fit your stringing in the grooves, making sure it fits, but isn’t too tight. If your strings are long enough, you may be able to work one piece all the way around. Otherwise, scarf pieces together, cutting a very flat angle where the pieces meet, so they slide past each other.

11. Apply glue in the groove and insert the stringing. Start at one end and work your way around. Try not to get too far ahead of yourself with the glue.

Around the badge:
1. Mark a line ½” down from the top of the leg and ½” up from the bottom of the mortise.
2. Using the same scratch stock setting as the other stringing, scratch a groove between the lines, being careful not to go past them.

3. Knife the two lines, with the bevel of the blade towards the inside of the rectangle.
4. Clear out the area inside the rectangle. It needs to be cleared to a depth equal to the thickness of your satinwood veneer.

5. Cut a piece of satinwood slightly larger than the rectangle.
6. Square one corner.
7. Slide the corner of the veneer into the corner of the rectangle and mark the length and width.
8. Cut the satinwood to fit tightly into the rectangle.
9. Glue down the satinwood and clamp with a caul.
10. After the glue dries, re-scratch the sides of the rectangle with the same scratch stock setting as before.
11. Knife just inside the top and bottom of the rectangle, by the thickness of the stringing.
12. Fit the stringing one side at a time. Mitre the ends of each piece. The mitres don’t have to be exactly 45 degrees, just make them look about right and fit snugly.

13. Glue the pieces in, pressing the corners together tightly.


Bellflowers –requires: holly veneer, gouges, sand, hot plate, punch set
1. Starting at the top line from the stringing, layout the bottom tip of all the center petals, with whatever spacing you like. There are 8 center petals, 2 with each gouge. Remember to leave about ½” between the bottom of one petal and the top of the next, for the dots.

2. Starting with the 5-20 at the top, line up the your gouge on the center line, with one corner on the first layout line. Stab down, making sure the back of the bevel is perpendicular to the wood (the chisel will be titled).

3. Turn the gouge around and stab on the other side of the center line, making sure the corners of the gouge are right on the corners of the previous stab.

4. Using a small chisel (1/16” or ¼” work well), pop out the chip. The bottom doesn’t have to be smooth, just a fairly even depth. It only needs to be about as deep as the thickness of your veneer.

5. Using the same gouge, stab a petal out of the veneer, being careful to match the stabs tip to tip. This time, however, make sure the inside of the gouge is vertical.

6. Put some sand in a pan on your burner or hot plate. The sand should be about 3/8” deep. Set the burner to medium - medium/high. Try to get the sand level.

7. Place one edge of the petal in the hot sand. It may take some practice to get the shading right. Try changing the heat, time in the sand, and depth of the sand to get it how you want it.

8. Glue the center petal in place.
9. Repeat steps 2-8 for all center petals. Be sure to shade the same side of all the petals.
10. Starting back at the first flower, stab the left petal using the same technique as the center one. Make sure its top point is on the center line, and it overlaps about the first ¼-1/3 of the center petal. The top of the side petals can start above the top of the center one. This can change the apparent size of the flower, even using the same chisel. (for example, make the petals on the first flower start about 1/8” above the center petal, then the ones on the second flower can be 1/16” above the top).

11. Stab, shade and glue each left petal, one at a time. Again, make sure all the shading is on the same side as the center petals. The last flower only has a center petal, no left or right.

12. Back on the first flower, square a line across the tip of the left petal (square to the outside face of the leg). Stab the right petals the same was as the left. This time, line up the gouge so one tip touches the top of the left petal, and the other touches the line squared off the bottom tip.

13. Layout, stab, shade and glue each right petal.
14. Using your punch set, punch a dot between each flower, on the center line. The first dot goes on the center you used for your trammels.

A. Push the punch into the leg, the dot should come out, if not, poke it out with a small chisel or knife.
B. Punch out a dot of veneer. You may not be able to punch through in one shot, because it will crack the dot. If not, just work the punch in slowly.

C. Using tweezers, put the edge of each dot into the hot sand. TIP: If you are using metal tweezers, do not let go of the dot. The tweezers will absorb some of the heat, so the side they are on will stay cooler, giving you a nice crescent-shaped shading.

D. Glue the dot into place, don’t forget to direct the shading consistently.
E. Punch the next dot. As you work down the leg, steadily decrease the size of the punches.

Banding – requires: figured maple, thin holly, thin black
For the Drawer Front:
1. Mill the maple to about 24” x 6” x ½”.
2. Glue a piece of black veneer and then a piece of white veneer to one side of the maple. Clamp everything down to keep it flat.
3. Set up the tablesaw.
A. Make a zero-clearance insert for a think kerf blade.
B. Mill a piece of scrap about 24” x 1 ½”.
C. Bandsaw one end into a wedge. Clean up the bandsaw marks with a plane.
D. Set a straight edge against the outside of your saw blade, against the blade, not the teeth.
E. Scribe a line from the straight edge back along the insert and out-feed table.
F. Line up the wedge piece with its long edge on the line, and the bevel towards the fence. Tack it into place on the insert and out-feed table.

G. Double-stick tape an auxiliary fence to the fence, up to but not past the front edge of the blade.
H. Clamp a hold-down to the auxiliary fence just before the blade.

4. Joint one edge of the maple log, so the veneers are flush with the maple.
5. Adjust your hold-down so it hold your log against the table, but doesn’t prevent you from moving it.
6. Move the fence over so the auxiliary fence is about a heavy 1/32” from the blade; this will be the thickness of your banding.

7. To cut the banding, run the jointed edge of the log against the fence. The wedge will support the log after it passes the blade. It will also peel off the pieces of banding. You will want to move around to the side of the saw once the log is supported by the wedge. Keep the log against the auxiliary fence and the wedge piece as it is cut. As it comes off the fence at the end, keep it firmly against the wedge piece until you are past the blade.

8. Run enough banding to go around your drawer front. Two or three pieces should be plenty.

For the Cuff:
Making the banding:
1. Rip the remainder of your log in half.
2. Mill the two pieces down to ¼” thick, including the veneer. Lay a piece of MDF on the bed of your planer and clamp a stop block to the end of it, so it hooks over the edge of the planer table. Run the pieces on the MDF. This will prevent them from flexing as they go over the bed rollers. Be sure you are milling down the maple and not the veneer.

3. Glue the two strips together, maple faces together, veneer on the outside. Clamp the new log flat while the glue dries.

4. Cut the banding using the same setup as before. Cut enough to go around 3 sides of your table, with a little extra for the cuff.

Applying the Banding:
1. On your leg, knife a line 2” up from the bottom, where the stringing ends. Be sure that you are always referencing your square off the straight outside faces of the leg, not the tapered faces.

2. Move down slightly less than the width of your banding and knife another line, bevel towards the top.
3. Cutting cross grain with a chisel, clear out the material between the lines.
4. Test the fit of your banding and work the lower knife line down until it fits tightly.
5. Square the lines all the way around the leg and clear out all the material to the depth of the banding.
6. Glue each piece of banding in over length, starting on the inside.
7. When the glue dries, flush the end of the banding down to the bottom of the dado, and glue in the next piece.

Drawer Front
Mill your drawer front to fit tightly in the drawer pocket. Plane about a credit card thickness off the top edge, and about half that much off of each end. Make sure you are making the reveals parallel to the edges of the pocket.

Veneering:
1. Apply packing tape to the outside face of your drawer front (don’t get super cheap packing tape, it has to have some sticking power. Just get the average stuff). Lay the front face down and trim the tape around the edges with a knife.

2. Set your marking gauge to ½” and mark your front face all the way around (don’t change that marking gauge setting). This should cut through the tape. Be careful not to have your lines cross in the corners.

3. Remove the tape from the inside of the face, leaving just a ½” border of packing tape.
4. Cut a piece of veneer for your drawer front (in our case, satinwood) that overlaps the tape on all sides. Also, cut a piece of backer veneer that slightly overhangs your drawer front on all sides.

5. Spread glue evenly on the back of the drawer front and lay it on the backer. Spread glue on the front where the wood is exposed and apply your primary (satinwood) veneer.

6. Clamp the veneers using cauls.
7. Once the glue has dried, flush the edges of the backer veneer to the drawer front, a knife or a plane works well. Be careful not to chip out the corners on the end grain.

8. Using the same marking gauge setting as before, mark around all 4 edges of the front (the same as before), trimming your veneer down to the edge of your tape.

9. Peel off the tape border and any veneer that was cut off.

Banding:
1. Cut a strips of banding longer than the sides of your drawer front. Lay one in place with the black and white against the primary (satinwood) veneer.

2. Mark the corner of the satinwood and the corner of the drawer front on the banding. Cut the banding by lining up a chisel on the two marks.

3. Lining up this first mitre with its corner, mark and cut the mitre on the other end of the piece of banding, so that both ends line up with the veneer on the inside and the corner on the outside.

4. Glue the first piece of banding in place using a caul. Make sure the banding is tight up against the veneer.
5. Lay another strip of banding on a side adjacent to the first. First, cut the mitre that fits against your first piece, making sure it closes. Then cut the other mitre the same way you did before. Once this piece is fit, glue it in place, making sure the joints are closed.

6. Repeat step 5 for one of the remaining sides.
7. Set the last piece of banding in place. Fit one mitre first, leaving extra length on the other side. Then mark the second mitre and work up to it until the piece just fits. It should be tight in both corners and against the veneer.

8. After the glue has been given ample time to dry, Flush the edges of the banding down to the drawer front.

Assemble the Drawer.

Dovetailing the Drawer Front:
*This is just a side note on dealing with the backer when laying out dovetails. If you’d like a more detailed procedure on drawer construction, just let us know and we will post one.
1. Set your marking gauge to the thickness of your drawer sides (1/2”).
2. From both ends, mark the inside face of the drawer front. Make the marks deep enough to just cut through the backer (or close to this depth).

3. Set your marking gauge to the thickness of the lap on your drawer front (about 3/16”) and make a small mark on the end of the drawer front, with the fence against the outside face.

4. Reset your marking gauge to the same point but from the inside face.
5. Mark across both ends of the drawer front. Then set the marking gauge aside, but do not change the setting.

6. Remove the piece of backer veneer that is to the outside of the marking gauge line. Take care not to remove any extra material.

7. Cut a small piece of backer veneer to be used as a shim. It needs to be at least as long as your drawer side is wide, and about ¾” wide.

8. With the same marking gauge setting as in step 4 and 5, put the shim against the front end of your drawer side, and then run the marking gauge against the shim. Do this on the front ends of both drawer sides.

Cock-Beading:
Done AFTER the drawer is glued up. The drawer sides should be flushed to the front, also.

1. Mill a piece of stock down to about 5/32” thick and 1 ¼” wide (the cut-offs from tapering may work). You need enough length to go around the perimeter of the drawer, plus a bit extra, just in case.

2. Shape the edge of the stock into a half round. We filed the profile into the edge of a scraper, then chamfered the corners of the stock and scratched it with the scraper. It can be cleaned up with a light sanding.

3. Using a sacrificial fence and the dado set, cut a notch in a scrap block with the blade out from the fence the width of your beading. Test the beading in the notch to make sure it sits flush with the outside.

4. With that table saw setup, with the drawer face down, cut away the top edge of the front. Raise the blade up until it cuts all the way through the front, but doesn’t cut into the side. Repeat this cut on the bottom edge.

5. Using a mitre fence set to 90º, with the rip fence in the same place, cut the sides of the drawer front. This time only raise the blade through the lap, don’t cut into the dovetails.

6. Once your front is trimmed, rip your beading to width, leaving them a little heavy. The side pieces are very thin so use a push stick. The top and bottom should be left wide enough to cover the veneer backer and still protrude the right amount.

7. Cut the pieces to approximate length
8. Set one of the long sides in place. Mark the inside face of the drawer sides on the piece with a knife. Press your chisel into the knife line until it is as deep as your backer thickness. Remove the material to the outside of the line. The piece should now fit snugly between the sides and cover the veneer.

9. Check the reveal. If the beading sticks out too much, make the notches deeper and then plane the back of the beading to be flush with the backer.

10. Once the piece fits correctly, set it in place. With a sharp pencil, mark where the side rabbets meet the beading; this will be the inside of your mitre. With a knife, mark where the outside face of the drawer side meets the beading; this will be the length of the beading. Also with the knife, mark where the back of the side rabbet meets the beading, this will be the length of the mitre.

11. Cut the beading to length on the knife lines.
12. Cut the mitres. Like the banding, they may not be 45º. They will connect the pencil line on the inside with the outside corner. The miters will extend from the top of the bead down to the knife line on the inside.

13. Once the mitres are cut, glue the piece of beading in place.
14. Fit the opposite piece in the same way and glue it in place.
15. Once the two long pieces are in, fit the side pieces. Fit one mitre first, leaving the piece extra long, then creep up on the other corner.

16. Check that the bead on the side pieces meets up with the top and bottom pieces. If they are proud, plane off the back to move them down.

17. Glue the side pieces in place.


Sand-Shaded Fan

Layout:
1. Layout your axes on a piece of poster board. Make sure they are perpendicular. The short axis is 4” and the long is 6”.

2. On the edge of a piece of paper, from the corner, tick off the half of the short axis and half of the long (put the corner in the center of the axes and tick off each length).

3. Line up the half long mark on the short axis and the half short mark on the long axis. Draw a quarter of the ellipse by moving the marks along their respective axes and ticking off the path of the corner.

4. Complete the ellipse either by continuing with the paper or by cutting around the quadrant and folding on the axis lines to trace it.

5. Cut out the ellipse and fair the edges with sand paper.
6. Trace the ellipse onto a piece of 1/4” plywood or MDF. Transfer the axes, too.
7. Bandsaw the pattern and fair the edges with a file.
8. Using dividers, divide one quadrant of the ellipse into 5 equal parts. Just keep walking them around the outside of the ellipse and adjusting until they go from one axis to the other.

9. Connect the divisions with the center of the ellipse, making rays. Number the rays.
10. Lay the ellipse on a square corner of a piece of poster board.
11. With the edges of the poster lined up with the two axes (so that the corner lies under the center) transfer the rays to the poster.

12. With a straight edge, draw lines connecting the corner of the poster to the marks you made. Extend the lines at least 4 inches from the corner.

13. Using the straight edge, again, cut along the lines with your knife. Cut very carefully so your line doesn’t wander. You need both sides of the cut. Cut the off the rays at least 4 inches long. Make sure you number the ray patterns the same as you did the rays on the ellipse.


Shooting Boards:
1. Cut 3 MDF or plywood rectangles about 7” x 5” and 5 strips about 4” x ½” x ½”.
2. Lay one rectangle flat on the bench and clamp a flat block to one of the long sides. Take your first poster board ray pattern and put it on the rectangle with the long edge against the block (the 90º angle should be away from the block).

3. Put a little glue on one of the strips and press it down on the other side of the ray pattern. Make sure the strip goes all the way to the tip of the ray.

4. Remove the pattern and block and, after a few minutes, tap some brads into the strip. Also, about 3 ¾” from the tip, glue and brad a small stop to the rectangle. This gives you a corner to hold the rays.

5. Repeat steps 2-4 for each ray, numbering them as you go. You can do two rays per rectangle.
6. Once you have all the pieces in place, flip the boards over and glue and brad a strip to the end opposite the tips (the one pictured is on the wrong end, sorry). It can be a piece of scrap, ripped parallel. This serves as a hook on the edge of the bench.

Sand-Shading:
1. Cover the bottom of your pan uniformly with about ½” of sand.
2. Put the pan on the hot plate or burner and set it on medium to medium-high.
3. Cut rectangular blanks from your holly veneer about 1 ¾” x 4”. You’ll need at least 10, plus some extras (so about 15).

4. When your sand is hot, put one of your blanks in with the long edge in the sand. The blank should be tilted so one corner is down in the sand and the other is just barely in. You are trying for a tapered burn. Keep checking the blank until it is to your liking. You may have to change the depth of the sand, the depth of the blank or the angle of the blank.

5. Once you get one side shaded, rotate the blank and shade the opposite edge so that the tapers are parallel (corners diagonal from each other should be shaded most).

Rays:
1. If necessary, re-flatten the shaded edges with your hand plane.
2. Set a blank in the first shooting board. The shaded corner should be in the corner of the stops, with the shading tapering to the tip. Hold the piece in place and flip the board over. Draw the line of the ray against the back of the blank.

3. With a straight edge, knife just outside this line.
4. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for 4 rays.
5. Stack the knifed rays and put them in the correct shooting board, making sure they are against both stops.
6. Holding them down with one hand, lay your hand plane on it’s side and run it along the edge of the shooting board, towards the tips.

7. Flush the rays to the edge of the shooting board.
8. After they are flush, shoot each one individually to be sure.
9. Number the rays with the correct number.
10. Repeat steps 2-9 for each ray number.
11. Test fit half the rays together, making sure you have the same numbers together in the middle. If they don’t form a nearly straight line, adjust the shooting boards by planing more from the tip or the base.

12. Re-shoot the adjusted rays and check again.

Assembly:
During the assembly, keep the fan clamped flat whenever it’s going to be sitting for a while. Otherwise, it can start to curl and won’t lie flat.

1. Make a ladder of veneer tape by sticking long horizontal strips to short vertical strips, all adhesive side up. The bed should be large enough to hold half of the ellipse.

2. Wet the veneer tape and stick down the rays. Start at one side and work around. Make sure that all the shading is to the same side, so that shaded edges touch non-shaded edges. Also, make sure that each rays is tight against the previous one and the tips meet at a point. The first and last pieces you put down should have the same number.

3. Make another ladder and tape up the other half of the ellipse. Make sure the shading continues in the direction of the first half.

4. The edges should be nearly flat, but joint them carefully with your hand plane to make sure. Take very light shavings, making sure that you don’t plane through your tips.

5. Veneer tape the halves together, making the joint very tight.
6. Glue the entire assembly to a piece of backer so the tape is on one side, and the backer is on the other. Clamp it flat while the glue dries so it doesn’t curl.

7. When the glue is dry, remove the tape. Warm water and a scraper work well, but be gentle and try to scrape with the grain of the rays, not across.

8. Lay your plywood or mdf pattern on the fan, lining up the axes with the correct rays, and trace around it with a pencil.

9. Using your 5-20 gouge, stab the end of each ray. The stab should connect the corners where the ellipse meets the edges of the ray. The flute should be out and the bevel of the gouge should be vertical (making the handle tilt out).

10. Glue the gouged fan to another piece of backer, with the rays showing. Be careful with the glue and try to clean up any squeeze out before it hardens.

11. Clamp the fan flat while it dries.
12. Clean up any squeeze out.

Black Thumbnails and White Stringing:
1. Cut a strip of the thick black veneer a little wider than your 5-20.
2. With the 5-20 stab out 20 (plus extras) short grain pieces of the veneer, keeping the flute vertical. The pieces only need to be long enough to hold together, about 3/32”.

3. Glue every other thumbnail into the sweeps around the fan. Press them in snug so there is no gap.
4. Cut off the ends of the glued thumbnails, where they go into the next sweep. These cuts don’t have to follow the sweep, they can be straight and quite extreme. Just preserve the corner where the sweep comes to a point.

5. Glue in the other half of the thumbnails.
6. Align the ellipse pattern on the fan and clamp it down.
7. Knife around the pattern. Take multiple light passes until you are all the way through.
8. Carefully fare the fan with a file or sand-paper.
9. Cut a piece of holly stringing long enough to wrap around the ellipse and overlap itself by about ½”
10. Wet the holly and tape it around the pattern until it dries.
11. At one end of the stringing, cut a sharp taper on the outside, so the point is on the inside.
12. Clamp the fan flat on a piece of mdf covered in wax paper. Leave the edges of the fan exposed.
13. Starting with the tapered end, put glue on the inside face of the stringing. Put the stringing against the outside of the fan and hold it in place by pushing a straight pin into the mdf, holding the stringing against the fan.

14. Work around the outside of the fan, pinning the stringing as you go.
15. When you get to the end, glue and pin the overlapping part tight against the tapered end.
16. When the glue dries, remove the pins and pull up the fan. Use a chisel, file, and sandpaper to get rid of the bump from the overlapping ends.

17. Flush the black and white down to the rest of the fan.

Installing the Fan:
1. Draw center lines on your top.
2. Line up the fan on the center lines and either clamp it down or hold it REALLY well. (I’d try to find a way to clamp it.

3. Trace around it very carefully with a knife. You don’t have to cut very deep, just enough to see it.
4. Remove the fan and clear out the wood inside the knife line to the depth of the fan. A router plane, dremel, or router all work fine. Stay off your lines.

5. Using your gouges, work around the ellipse, cleaning up the edges. Just use whatever gouge is close to what you need. They don’t have to be perfect, as long as you don’t go outside the line.

6. Back-bevel the underside of the fan with some sand paper. Don’t sand away any of the top edge.
7. Test the fan in the top and clean up the hole as necessary to make it fit.
8. Once it fits snugly, apply glue in the hole and clamp the fan in place.
9. Clean up the surface and flush up the fan and the table top. Use a scraper on the fan and scrape with the grain of the rays, not across. Try to avoid sanding the fan.
10. Post a picture and show it to all your friends.
11. Bask in the glory

The first cutlist is for cutting stock to rough dimension so you can allow it to acclimate for a couple days. The second is the finish size cutlist for each part.

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/3775/cutlist1uw8.jpg
http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/9049/cutlist2fr1.jpg

Not listed are the materials for the veneering and banding which are covered in the podcast.

That's a wonderful table, Thomas.

Tom,
I visited your site and I see you visited my page here. Thanks for the peek:)
I decorate most everything I make with inlay or marquetry so I can appreciate federal work.

I see you have an impressive ww schooling back ground and this appears to be a classroom piece.

Very long but informative thread.

What are you working on outside your classroom teachings and running your website? Any projects that take 14 months or less?

Take care!

hey d. after the bombe the guys asked for some projects ..thats how all this came about..the fed table took me 2 weeks..all the backwork was done by a friend and current student ...i really just banged those 3 projects out...i really didnt do much more than shoot them...i do think there is a ton of info to be taken in...the procedure list is wicked intimidating and long ..but you know how woodworkers get...i think i can build it in the time it takes to read it:)...but any way...the slant top desk i posted was started on nov 5th ..and its all done ...except the finish which will be done before christmas...the entire bedroom set took maybe 2 month work time ...over 6 months real time....i got side tracked with the projects....if you go into my site you will see some killer federal stuff which got me on the cover of wood shop news and forbes mag...as you know ..that takes some tenacity..and time..i think i got both the sideboard and breakfront done in 8 months...but it was my very first attempt at veneering and federal embellishments....man...john and thomas seymour were amazing...i know how to build some stuff and i would be easy for me to just stay within my comfort zone and bang stuff out ..and probably make a pretty good living ....BUT what the heck...i am not married ,no kids,no mortgage to worry about ..so shame on me if i dont at least try to reach my total potential...thats why i stretch beyond my abilities on most project i choose....i am about to start building a couple of newport pieces...i have no idea how to do some of the things that go into this...so onward and upward...i hope ....and i am pretty sure we will shoot this one and put it out there..the good,bad and the ugly of it....thanks man...oh did you like the shout outs to woodnet on the last video...if you guys want to have some questions answered on the show..please go into the site and post in ask the masters...i am always looking for a tough one to answer....

Tom,
You got these anywhere but the iTunes store?
I dont want to have a huge download that takes over my computer. It is bad enough I have to deal with quicktime, but iTunes? No thank you.
Mike

www.tchisel.com

Tom,
thanks for the alternate video source.
Mike

hey eric... just incase you saw the pics :eek:and didnt read the list .:confused:..the legs are all different because it is a learning project on how to do some federal styles and embellishments....thats it man....if i wanted to build a federal piece ..it would not be a shaker style night stand with a bunch of messed up parts.:rolleyes:...i hope since you have such an interest in this piece you will at least try to do some of the aspects i provided....thanks and keep us posted:)

Thomas...
Please ignore "Eric"...he's been a problem under different names for a while.

he got me:p....thank you ....

so guys ..have you checked into the table at all....it would be great if you could get a sawmill group together to build this ..or any aspect of it or... maybe one of the other 2 projects i got going on over there....it would be no problem for me to post the information over here...i just didn't want to look like i was bombarding you guys with my stuff...so let me know...thanks!!i want to see some sand shaded fans come from here!!!