Technique to add an under-bevel to a table top??

[George Farra]

Hi All,

I'm building a side table that will have a top that is equal in thickness to the legs. The legs are 1.5"x15" square legs straight up and down. I'm designing the top to also be 1.5" thick but would like to add a bevel on the bottom of the top which intersects the side at approx. 25% down the thickness of the top.

Is there generally a desired set up to produce a pleasing looking top like this.....cut angle, contrast ratio (difference betw the length of the top versus the bottom), etc??

Thank you

George

[Kent A Bathurst]

First - I don't "get" the point about the 1.5" dimension on the table top. If you bevel the edges, this design detail will never be seen. You can certainly do it, of course, but it will have the same visual impact as a 3/4" thick top would.

I generally go with 30* +/-, and leave "about" 1/2" of edge. This curly maple top is 13/16" thick in the body.

My jig, and visuals of the last top like this that I made [one of a pair, actually]



Hall Tables - 38.jpg

Hall Tables - 44.jpg


Hall Tables - 67.jpg

Hall Tables - 69.jpg


Hall Tables - 88.jpg

[George Farra]

Ken,

That is a beautiful table. I love the visual effect where the top looks like it is floating. I noticed that you clamped the work piece to the tall fence. Is your jig riding the TS fence, or are using the miter tracks. It looks like its riding the TS fence.

The thick top is a feature my wife wanted.....she is after a hefty look.

Thank you for sharing your setup and technique

Regards, George

[Kent A Bathurst]

THnx - I alwasy wanted to make a table like this - CM floating top over ebonized WO. My wife said it did not "fit" in her house. I was whining about it one night over cocktails with neighbors, and one jumped in "I like it. I'll buy one. In fact - make it 2."

The jig sits over the TS fence. Not shown - there are tee-nuts on the RH side, with blots that go through and lock it to the fence.

The top is clamped in that position for the photos only .

"Because she wants it that way" is an always-accepted answer, in these here parts. Just be sure she realizes that the beveled edges will completely hide that design detail from the finished product. The purpose of the beveled edge is to make the top look "less hefty".

[Lee Schierer]

Router bits come in various angles such as 11-1/2, 15, 22-1/2, 25, 30 and 45. A piloted bit will follow your edge and give you the bevel you are after, without building a jig.

Here's a link: Beveled router bits

[Peter Quinn]

I've used a raised panel bit, 25 degree bevel IIR, with a 1 1/4" or so profile length, freehand in a router. They tell you they are table mounted use only, but in a big router with an offset base it goes fine, especially on a top too large to get over a TS. multi pass of course. I have 34" TS height and 7' ceilings in the shop, so thats most tops I've ever made!

Here is the one I usually use.....

[Prashun Patel]

+1 for kens method. Such a jig is versatile for tenons and tongues and slots on tall panels as well.

Also, that jig will let u vary the angle.

[Ellen Benkin]

I just tilt the blade of my tablesaw and run the piece over that. I use a scrap of the wood for the top to try out different angles until I get one that shows the correct angle and move slowly into the top until I leave the desired amount on the top. I've done this on many pieces of furniture.

[Jake Goodson]

To give another example of cut angles and depth of the bevel, check out the bench top that Daniel Chaffin made in FWW issue #207. He used the table saw to cut a 30 degree bevel, that bevel was the full depth of the top.

Chaffin later wrote another FWW article on building the matching dining table. I don't have a link to that article, but it's in FWW issue #235. A link to his website with pictures of that table is here. He beveled the ends at 30 degrees, beveled the sides at over 60 degrees. For both the ends and the sides he used a track saw for the bevel cut, for the sides he finished by hand planing it (track saw would only go to 45 degrees). He also used a jig saw on the sides to cut a gentle curve after he beveled it, makes for a unique look.

just a few more reference points for you...

[Jim Becker]

A side table design I've done a number of times requires the bottom bevel and I simply use a beveled raised panel bit to do the deed. One can also use the Neander method with a very sharp hand plane, some careful marking and a good eye.