Another cherry shaker table completed

[Adam Grills]

Built this past weekend and now have completed the finish. It is a little heavier than the last one. Table is 26"H 17 1/2" Dia top. The spindle is 3 3/8 dia. Wood is cherry. Finish is hand rubbed poly.

Legs are joined via recessed sliding dovetail (which is different from the last). I know I could have just made a flat spot on the column where the dovetails are but- why not make it more challenging by recessing it too? Plus this way there is a clean line with no step in the bottom of the column to hide the round to flat transition.

The top joint- Turned mortise on column that sits in a 6" disk glued and then screwed from the top for a little extra umff. The real top is held on by 4 screws in over sized holes and metal washers to allow for wood movement.

Here are some picks. Comments and critiques welcome.

Grillzy

[keith ouellette]

thats some nice work. What is the number in the dove tail slot for?
Is it to match the parts.

[Jason Scott]

Wow that's beautiful!

[Jim Becker]

Very nice work, Adam! I do like how you did the recess for the junction of the legs to the column. Nice!

thats some nice work. What is the number in the dove tail slot for? Is it to match the parts.

More than likely. When you fit legs for this kind of thing, despite some machining, there is still a bit of hand-work involved.

[Adam Grills]

thats some nice work. What is the number in the dove tail slot for?
Is it to match the parts.

The number corresponds to the correct leg for that slot. The DT were cut on the router table (have not made index wheel and router box for lathe yet) and the dados were done by hand. I am picky about joints- most if all people do not notice the difference of .005 but I do.

I have learned over the years that as best I try things are always slightly different. E.g. rebuilding a motor I would always put piston #1 in sleve #1. They always fit better. I label/ number every board, screw, leg, apron, etc. during all stages of building. Maybe its overkill but it only takes 1/2 sec to number your parts.

Grillzy

[Hans Braul]

Sweet! Good job.

[Greg Cole]

Hi Adam,
I too am one to be "retentive" about labelling joints. I hand chop mortises for most projects, so it's imperative to label each as there is always a slight variance, and it you pare the tenon to fit a specific mortise, you will notice a difference when fitting them up if they aren't in the right spot.
I too learned some hands on that marking some things (grease pen, center punch marks.. something) BEFORE taking them apart makes a much easier reassembly (if this flange was made to +.005 and the other "identical" flange was made to the other end of the tolerance sprectrum say -.01.... you know where it leads).
Oh yeah, nice table.

Cheers,
Greg

[John Hedges]

Very nice table. I like it.

[Stephen Clem]

Nice Work! How did you stabilize the round spindle on the router table when mortising the sliding dovetail? Did you mill the dovetail before turning the spindle?

[Adam Grills]

DT's were done after turning. Not the safest practice but. Gripped in hand and supported against the fence. Straight bit first and then DT bit. Quite easy with a firm grip (not tight). Used a stop block for the depth.

It would be easy to screw a board on each side so the screws go into the opposite board and have them ride against the fence. They would prevent it from twisting.

Grillzy

[Dave Ray]

Nice table Adam. I like the extra steps you took to hide the "Flat to Round Joint".

[Roy Wall]

Adam - nice work!!

The recessed slidiing DT is the best solution (IMHO). Should the joint ever dry or shrink a tiny bit - the gap cannot ever be seen. Good go!

[Claudio Olivas]

Beautiful work Adam.

[Adam Grills]

Thanks for the wonderful comments everyone. Take care
Grillzy