My Latest Table - WIP with lots of pics

[Dana Nurmela]

I started this thing back in August 2010. It's not that it really took that long, its just that other stuff crept up and got in the way! All in all, approximately 120 hours or so including finish.

So here we go:

This project started like so many of mine do. No real plan, just some "idea" stuck in the nether between my ears. Visualizing this idea started with a simple template:



I had a decent supply of hardwoods in the racks, and I wanted some decent contrast in this table, so I decided on hard maple. That is kind of white, and if I add a little Wenge to it in some way, that will be very "contrastful"

Apron stock:


Leg stock:


So now I have a least some idea of how this is going to manifest itself. No sense standing around, might as well glue these things up and move on:



On to the next...

[Dana Nurmela]

So now that I had something to work with, its time to start shaping this thing. Following the template, I cut out its shape in my apron stock. Those, coupled with the legs, ended up like this:


Hmm.. those legs look a little flat. I decided to jazz them up a bit:



At this point, I realize this will be a "nightmare" when it comes time to glue up and making sure that wenge line in the middle of the aprons needs to also line up exactly or this will look odd. Or does it?

I decided to "break" the line from the straight apron into the curved apron with another piece of wenge. This should blur the transition for the eye so if it isn't quite exact on glue up.. Also, a little roundover of those edges needed to be done as well.



Those legs need a taper as well.



On to the next...

[Dana Nurmela]

Now comes that PITA glue up that I backed myself into. Seems like I will need something to help with the clamping of the straight apron to the curved apron. Not to mention that little "transition" piece. I guess its time for some kind of jig.



It worked out really well. The rest of the assembly was "easier" to some degree.







With that out of the way, I needed to make some brackets to hold the top up and give a semi illusion that it was "floating". This was part of my original idea, so scavenging through the cutoffs from the aprons, I came up with these.



On to the next...

[Dana Nurmela]

Now its time for the top. Back to the racks to decide on what that will be. I stumbled upon a piece of curly cherry that I picked up. I had seen it several times in the past and no one ever bought it. Probably because it wasn't clean, but I figured one day I would have a use for it. Maybe some bookmatched veneer top. Well what do ya know:

Cherry on the left and a companion veneer for the botton out of maple on the right.



Glued together and pressed onto the 1/2 plywood substrate:





Once that was set, I flush trimmed the top. Now I needed a way to hide that 1/2 ply on the sides. To tie it all together, I made some thick banding for the top out of wenge.



A lot of sanding and rounding over of the edges, and even a little "transition" break much like I did with the aprons, yielded a decent looking top



Almost done now!...

[Dana Nurmela]

After a little bit of final sanding, it was time attach the top. Those brackets make it unique for a glue up so I used so good old fashioned clamps of mine.



Now its time for the finish. I always use the same type and schedule. It really is a no brainer and I like no brainers when it comes to finishing. 1 coat Seal-A-Cell, several coats of Arm-R-Seal Semi Gloss until it looks "good" to me.







And the final picture in its current home (mine!) although I'm not sure exactly where in the house it will stay. I will leave that part to my wife



I hope you all enjoy. It was a blast to build even though in the early beginning, I got the thought in my head that if the maple were black and the wengle were gold, it would be a Black Lacquer throwback from the 90's. Fortunately (although I did like that stuff back then), it ended up not so much!

Thanks for looking

[Bill Edwards(2)]

Outrageous!

The "build" alone looks like it was great fun. (and a terrific challenge)

[Rick Moyer]

That's gorgeous! Great imagination on the piece and very well executed, too. Me likey!

[Robert Malone]

Dana, I have to say this is The Best Project on the Creek I have ever seen.
Thank you for showing.

[Bruce Page]

Dana, great Post! Absolutely wild table!

[Jeff Monson]

Thats a great design, great writeup and choice of contrasting wood. I really like the unique projects like this one. Great job.

[Dave Avery]

Seriously cool work......

[Ed Morgano]

Dana,
This (along with several other projects here on the creek) has been an inspiration to me. It makes me want to do better work. Hopefully, some day, I'll get to this level. Thanks for sharing.

[Bret Duffin]

Dana,

Thanks for a great post. What a beautiful table! It is a very unique and creative design and the execution looks superb with extra points for the degree or difficulty. Very inspiring!

Bret

[Bill Wyko]

Absolutely exquisite. The first word out of my mouth was WOW! Showed it to my BIL he said the same thing.

[Jim Tobias]

Fantastic table! Nice design and execution. The tutorial was outstanding as it made me "feel" the process.
Jim