Queen Anne side table

['Jacques Malan']

I've bought the book Queen Anne Furniture by Norman Vandal in a second hand bookstore here in South Africa a few years ago. The projects did seem a bit complicated to me so it stood on the shelf until about August when I took it down again and had another look. I gave the book to my brother and told him to select a project for me to make, and he was nice enough to choose an easy one.

I drew the profiles in CAD and cut templates on the CNC at work, all the actual work was done on manual machines.

It was my very first attempt at making Queen Anne legs as well as hand cut dovetails, and probably my most complicated project to date.

All wood except the drawer were laminated. I had a very low budget.

Wood used is Meranti, stained with an old tin of Mahogany matching stain I had on the shelf.

Finish were Woodoc 2000, a South African product that I also had an old tin. I had to sieve it to remove all the gelled bits. First coat was sprayed on, then sanded and then atnother two coats were sprayed.

A time breakdown for those who contemplate making this.

CAD drawing and cutting templates: 4 hours
Laminating and planing wood: 5 hours
Cutting the aprons on the bandsaw: 1 hour
Making the legs: 4 hours
Shaping the table top: 1.5 hours
Making and mortising the drawer runners: 1 hour
Making the drawer: 1.5 hours
Making and shaping the leg brackets: 1 hour
Making and inserting tenon dowels: 1 hour
Final sanding: .5 hours
Staining and finishing: 2 hours

Total time: 22.5 hours
Started on Monday 13 September 2010 and completed on Thursday 28 October 2010.

In retrospect, it was much easier to make than I thought it would be.

Criticism would be welcome. I see a few things that I think could be improved, but would like to see if other people see the same mistakes.

My mother thinks it is nice.

[Mick A Martin]

Very nice table, good job

[C Scott McDonald]

Criticism would be welcome. I see a few things that I think could be improved, but would like to see if other people see the same mistakes.

Well since you asked....

The color is awesome.

On the legs the knee is generally rounded over more all the way down to the angle so it does'nt have that point.

Looks great though that is a tough project.

Scott

[Jim Underwood]

All in all, a nice job on a (contrary to what you say) a difficult project. I don't have the confidence in my ability to get the cuts right on those legs...

Here's the criticism - and I don't know if this was your design or whether your plans called for this, or whether this is a "style". Take my criticism with a grain of salt, because it's just my taste and opinion.

I think the busy lines in the apron and top conflict with the graceful lines in the legs. I would suggest a simple oval top (with perhaps one dipsy-do for interest), and an apron with a simple swooping line.
Also the projecting point near the top of the leg could be blended into the graceful swoop of the apron, so the eye naturally follows the line up the leg and into the apron.

The router profile on the top needs a little more detail. I would probably drop the router bit down so you had a 1/16th lip and create a shadow line to give it that extra definition. This would help tie in with the sharp lines in the legs too.

I would also make the drawer wider and lower so as to be more in proportion to the apron size. It's kind of hiding under the top, and looks rather an afterthought that was pasted on later.

Again, perhaps some of this is simply the style of the era...

Overall, your proportions look good and are pleasing to the eye. It also looks like you got a good finish on it. I think it's a well executed table, and I'm certain you learned a lot. You'll go on to make even better looking stuff I'm sure.

And it only took you 22 hours?! Holy cow, you must be a sawdust generatin' machine! I'da figgered 40 hours min...

[Jim Becker]

Very nice work, Jacques!

[Cody Colston]

That's a great looking table, Jacques. As soon as I saw it, I wished I had done the tops on my end tables like yours. I like that shape. Nice work.

[Tom Sontag]

...My mother thinks it is nice.

Well, with all due respect, you certainly can't go by that!

Frankly, the crowd around here tends to be fairly soft too, but in this case I agree with them. It is a very nice piece of furniture you have made. Over time you might evolve to a subtler finish schedule (but perhaps not; a matter of taste as well as experience).

If you stick with classic designs it will be hard to go far wrong. (Jim U: get the book!)

I like what you have done. Great work!

[Jim Underwood]

If you stick with classic designs it will be hard to go far wrong. (Jim U: get the book!)

I take it y'all disagree with me... That's ok. It's a difference of opinion, as I said in my first post.

I'd like to hear Jaques' critique. Hopefully he's not so mad at me he won't chime in at the end...

I do love the shape of those legs. Jacques has done a bang up job on them.

['Jacques Malan']

Thanks for the nice comments.

Jim, it isn't my plan but I made it out of the book. In the beginning I also thought maybe it is going to look funny with all the curves but it does look good at the end.

The bit I'm unhappy about is the curve on the leg that just don't seem to sweep right, there do seem to be a bit of an awkward bump half way through. Next time I will make sure the curve is exactly right pn the bandsaw before I will start to do the final shaping. The books tutorial on how to make the legs is excellent.

One big mistake that I made and isn't obvious except in the sun is the sanding of the top. I did it with an orbital sander and there is a deep swirl over the top where I went too rough. But that is what happened when you get in a hurry.

Next project is the oval-top table.