Kitchen table

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bobscarle

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My brother asked me to make them a small oak table for their kitchen. It had to be small enough to fit in a little space, have two drawers and two shelves. It also had to be on lockable wheels so that they could move it around. I drew the plan on Turbocad so I cannot post it here.

I worked it out that I would need almost 3Cu Ft of American White Oak, plus something nice (still oak) for the top. A trip up north to John Boddy Timber and I had all the wood I needed.

Doesn't look much at the moment
kitchen_table1.jpg


First job was to rip three boards down, plane one side and glue two pieces together thereby forming four leg blanks. These will end up being 45mm square.
kitchen_table2.jpg


Four leg blanks made and the rest of the timber for the frame planed and thicknessed. The drawer parts and the shelves are not included at this point.
kitchen_table3.jpg


At the top of the table there will be two drawers. I made up three panels for the sides and the back where the drawers fit. The side panels are in the clamps, the back one on the bench waiting for the clamps to become free.
kitchen_table4.jpg


I cut all the mortices out in the legs with a hollow chisel morticer. How boring is this job? The morticer was quick and cut fairly acurate, if a little untidy, mortices but it is about as satisfying as ripping a board to width. Maybe on the next project I will try to do more by hand.
kitchen_table5.jpg


kitchen_table6.jpg


The first tenon cut and fitted. This is the divider between the drawers fitting to the top rail. Thats one down only another 27 to go!
kitchen_table7.jpg


I cut the rest of the tenons simply using a router and a fence. I could have used my tenoning jig but I would not have been able to fit the large panels in. I clamped the pieces together and cut four at once.
kitchen_table8.jpg


Cutting the shoulders with a little gents saw.
kitchen_table9.jpg


Thats one side dry fitted. It's getting there.
kitchen_table10.jpg


Today I have fitted all but six of the tenons which will done in the next couple of days.

More to follow

Bob
 
Looking good Bob I am interested to see how the rest turns out do you plan to finish with the Lemon oil I've not used it before.

Cheers Alan
 
Bob,
At the risk of teaching Granny about eggs etc. that is rather a wide tenon in the top section - how will you accommodate wood movement?
 
Alan ... I have yet to decide on the finish but Lemon Oil is a favourite of mine so it may be that. I know my brother is keen on wax finishes.

Chris ... As the tenons are quite wide and the boards may move a bit, I intend to only apply glue to the mid section about 25 - 30mm. I have also allowed a little room at each end for any expansion. The draw runners will be attached to the legs so they should not be affected.

Bob
 
All your pics are offline to me :(

Adam
 
Bob, re posting your plan from TurboCad. If you execute the following actions

File
Save As
In Save as Type - Select JPG option
Click ok

This will give you a JPG file which you can post as normal.
 
Well, its been about a month since I last posted any pictures of the table. I have been relaying our patio so woodwork has had to wait. :(

I left it last time with one end glued up. The other end was glued up to make a matching pair, then the front and back rails were added and the table is now starting to look something like.
kitchen_table19.jpg


Connecting the top front rail to the back is a small piece of oak which stops the drawer tipping forward when it is opened. Dovetailed front and back, glued in at the front but loose at the back so that any shrinkage of the back will not make the drawer tight.
kitchen_table20.jpg


The end slats on each shelf fit into a housing in the leg.
kitchen_table11.jpg


At this point I decided that it may be an advantage to have a little more mobility. I bought 4 locking casters which are fixed to each leg by means of a central coach screw. I had to remove the wheel to fix it, no great problem.
kitchen_table12.jpg


The rest of the slats are fitted to a batten fixed to the inside of the rails. I had not got enough clamps to do this so 2 bits of scrap and 5 house bricks seemed to be the answer. It did the job, and I was very pleased I had fitted the casters before, this is starting to get heavy!
kitchen_table13.jpg


So on to the drawers. I made each drawer with through dovetails then glued a piece onto the front. Yes I know its cheating, but, the idea came from a Rob Cosman DVD. Now I have not had any practice at cutting half blind dovetails and I did not feel confident enough to have a go on this.

Anyway I thought, if its good enough for Rob Cosman, its must be good enough for me.
kitchen_table14.jpg


The top is made from 3 pieces of 50mm thick oak glued up to make a panel.
kitchen_table15.jpg


Out of the clamps and planed flat. I am new to hand tools but I found this very satisfying, much better than using a machine. My Stanley number 4 worked quite well and gave a nice finish.
kitchen_table16.jpg


The top was trimmed to size and fixed to the base with wooden buttons. A coat of wax later and its looking good. The drawer cheat doesn't look too bad either.
kitchen_table17.jpg


There it is in its new home. The drawer handles are still to be fitted.
kitchen_table18.jpg


All in, it was a very good project. I have made a table that I am proud of, despite the mistakes, and which my brother and his family really like. I have learnt a lot of new things making this, in particular the use of hand tools. I realise that I am going to need much more practice but it is so much more satisfying.

I hope you like the table.

Bob
 
Very nice, Its got a very modern feel about it, It is always usefull to see work in progress shots and it is reassuring to know that other people have doubts about design too.
Owen
 

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