Mahogany Consort/Side Table

[Roger Berwick]

Well having completed the Davenport and a few small jobs started on a new project this week - A mahogany consort/Hall Table.


The basic dimensions are 30" tall, with the top being 40" by 16" with fine tapered legs and a pair of narrow drawers.


Started by taking some square section stock





Which was rough sawn down on the table saw to just over 40mm square





Before being planed down to 40mm square on the thicknesser





The taper in the legs was initially cut using a home made taper jig on the table saw, only the two inner edges were tapered leaving the outer line of the leg straight








The tapered edges were then planed with a jack plane (No5) leaving a nice crisp finish despite the mahogany having a very twisted/interlocking grain.





The legs were duly morticed ready for the frame rails





The customer had specifically requested that the top be made from a single piece of timber rather than jointed and I had a well figured board in my woodstore that had been sitting there for a number of years which was ideal for this, it also had a particularly nice grain pattern





The board was duly cut and both thicknessed and then passed through the panel sander to flat the board





The rest of the board was machined and used for the sides/back of the table as well as the drawer supports.


When I left this afternoon it was looking like this








I placed the top onto the frame, and whilst the edges are not yet moulded I think it will work quite well

[Roger Berwick]

To fit the inlay stringing I started by routing a 2mm groove around the top ready for the black inlay stringing line to be fitted





And after gluing in the stringing put the top aside to allow the glue to cure, I then cut grooves into the front face of each front leg again with the router





and after cutting in the stringing, duly mitreing the corners the stringing was also glued into the legs.


The customer only wanted the stringing in the top and front faces of the legs so with that done made some cock beaded moulding and having duly rebated the bottoms of the rails to accept this glued it into place and held with masking tape.





The titebond had now cured on the stringing so the proud excess was planed off leaving the surface nice and crisp





This is when you can tell if your glue has taken ok as the shavings come off looking like liquorice allsorts!(I'm not sure if you have liquorice Allsorts in America but if you don't you will have to google them to see what I mean!)





The carcase for the table frame was then glued up and left in cramps for a couple of hours whilst I got on cleaning up the stringing in the top and applying the top mouldings to the edges.








I then got the timber machined for the drawer sides/fronts ready for dovetailing tomorrow.


The table frame and top is now complete - just the drawers to go!








The customer supplied me with the handles which they wish to use which I believe are ones from an old antique cabinet and are nice solid brass, not naff pressed repro ones!





Its getting there!

[Bob Lloyd]

Great job, thanks for all the detailed photos.

[denis tuomey]

WoW! Roger, that is some beautiful work. What kind of finish do you plan for it?

[Roger Berwick]

Traditional French Polish

[Patrick McCarthy]

Again Roger, very nicly done. It is nice to have your input on the forum, and very much appreciate the photographs.

Best regards, Patrick

[Andrew Hughes]

I really enjoyed reading your posts.Love that piece of mah you used on the top. Andrew

[Jeff Monson]

Very nice Roger, I really like the design of the table, the beading looks wonderful. Great writeup and photo show also.

[Breck Whitworth]

Beautiful wood and work

[Lori Kleinberg]

Very nice piece. Thank you for sharing the pictures and details of this project.

[frank shic]

can't wait to see it after the finish!

[Roger Berwick]

After a couple of days on other things I was back on the Side Table today and started by inserting the oval marquetry fan into the centre of the top, having marked the position I starting by initially scoring around the motif with a marking knife








The majority of the waste was then removed with the router free hand leaving just a small edge to remove by hand





having glued the inlay in one the Titebond had cured I carefully scraped away the backing film with a freshly sharpened cabinet scraper being very careful not to cut through the veneer





And after a careful sand with fine paper that was completed





I then turned my attention to the drawers and got these made, inlaying the drawer fronts with the same black inlay stringing, unfortunately I cannot post many pictures of the drawer construction as my camera batteries died just as I started taking piccies so you will have to trust me that I made them!








Anyway the construction is now complete and ready for finishing which I will start on Monday with a wipe of brown mahogany spirit stain to balance the colour before polishing, obviously masking the inlay fan in the top.


Will post finished pictures next week.

[Jim Becker]

That's a really nice piece! Great details and so nice you could use that wonderful wide board for the top.

[Shawn Pixley]

Very nice piece and craftsmanship!

[Gary Venable]

That is a very nice piece. Thanks for sharing.

-Gary