Never thought I'd see the day

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

sunnybob

wysiwyg
Joined
11 Oct 2014
Messages
8,399
Reaction score
169
Location
cyprus
When I actually post a picture of a piece of furniture I made with M&T joints :shock: :shock: :shock: :lol: :lol:
Its the base for a large glass oval coffee table, all made from a single plank of bubinga. M&T joints on the legs, a simple half lap on the cross joint.

Not finished yet, this is only the first coat of shellac.I am planning 2 coats, and then a wipe on poly gloss to make the bubinga grain jump out.

Custom gallery standard it aint, but its all my own work.

small coffee table.jpg
 

Attachments

  • small coffee table.jpg
    small coffee table.jpg
    181.5 KB · Views: 964
Brilliant. Love a proper piece of furniture.......they're like hen's teeth these days. Where are your photos of the joints?
 
I only took two pics today, the other one actually has shadows :shock: , but the pic is very poor.
Another coat of shellac and one of wipe on poly is scheduled for tomorrow, I'll see if I can get any of the joints to pose for the camera. :roll:

The lap joint, despite my best effort with the table saw sled is slightly loose (I just CAN'T measure wood accurately). I havent secured it yet and am not sure whether to just glue, or screw from underneath as well? I did considered dowel, but it would need at least two to prevent racking and the joint is only 45 mm square.
 
As an aside, I'm curious about the extra joint in the floor tiles. Is that a movement joint. filled with mastic? Or is it to do with services in the floor? Or something else?
 
Looking good Bob. Look forward to seeing it with the top on. Smart that.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
 
MikeG.":3ivb9qr3 said:
As an aside, I'm curious about the extra joint in the floor tiles. Is that a movement joint. filled with mastic? Or is it to do with services in the floor? Or something else?

To my shame,...that was what I noticed as well Mike!
Sorry Sunny Bob, it's a nice looking table base =D>
 
Looks really nice Bob, Bubinga is a lovely wood but I don't think you can get a hold of it in the UK imported anymore, it has to be in the country already :(. Doesn't stop the locals in Africa from turning it into cheap timber for their own needs though! :lol:. I remember seeing a video where this guy was on the India/Burma border walking down a street where there was a lot of wood workshops, they were all selling Teak doors for the same sort of money that would buy a decentish quality hollow-core Jewsons door here in the UK, they were also making other things out of it as well like internal furniture but nothing overly special and all pretty utilitarian. On the one hand, you don't want to (you can't) stop the locals from using the material they have on-hand, on the other hand, why are they allowed to squander such a precious commodity on such mundane things whilst people have a really hard time getting it for good reasoned purposes.

sunnybob":f47u5qsc said:
The lap joint, despite my best effort with the table saw sled is slightly loose (I just CAN'T measure wood accurately). I havent secured it yet and am not sure whether to just glue, or screw from underneath as well? I did considered dowel, but it would need at least two to prevent racking and the joint is only 45 mm square.

I'd personally screw from underneath with a couple of screws and plug the holes with the same timber or contrasting timber if you want to be fancy 8)
 
I dont care if my tiled floor is more interesting then my woodwork. I dont, really.

The tiles are all original from the house being built. but the tilers here never cut an outside tile because of the ragged edge showing. So they start at the outside edges and work along untill they have to cut tiles to fit the internal spaces.
The edge tiles have a torillo bonded to them.

I'll make a point of getting a better shot of the tiles.

:roll: 8)
 
I cut the plank into blanks on the table saw.
I cut the mortices on the router table and the haunched tenons with a sled mounted router.
The only chisel work involved was squaring off the round ends of the mortice when I realised I was not skillfull enough to make round ended tenons.
 
I would like to say that the joints look outstanding, the piece is extremely well designed, and I like it a lot. I didn't even notice the tiles, because I was looking at the fabulous quality of woodwork.

Tiles? What tiles? I see no tiles.

(I've just finished my first "proper piece, but it is so carp I may have to set fire to it. I certainly won't be posting any photos, with or without tiles.)
 
Sorry, but that tile layout just looks wrong. And surely it results in a cut edge in the middle of the floor rather than at the edge where it can be hidden by skirting or upstand?
 
Thank you.
The joints are the best I have ever made (not saying much, my last M&T's were in 1962 and I did not bring the raffia stool home from school :roll: ) but they would not stand up to close scrutiny by even a moderately skilled carpenter. :lol: :lol:

I made it as I went, no plans, just a vague idea of what a coffee table frame should look like.
Dont fret about burning your first attempt. for the first couple of years after starting this hobby, I was keeping TWO :shock: O.A.P.'s in firewood kindling from my "out takes" and offcuts. :lol: One of them still gets the occasional box of bits.

Just hit a snag, I applied the second coat of shellac, waited for it to dry, and then discovered that I have run out of the clear gloss poly that I use for wipe on, and my local DIY shop is closed on sundays. (hammer) (hammer)
Might have to take some more tile pics to keep the audience interested till I can finish the piece. 8) 8) 8)
 
Marineboy":3q28upkn said:
Sorry, but that tile layout just looks wrong. And surely it results in a cut edge in the middle of the floor rather than at the edge where it can be hidden by skirting or upstand?

Its not pretty is it?
The distancing meant that if they followed the full tile sizes to the very edge, there would only be an inch or so of tile to attach the torillo to. Which would have been dangerous when someone stepped on the edge as theres a 14" drop from the portico to the floor.
So they cut a 3/4 tile for the edge, then filled in the gap with another cut tile.

As thread hijacks go, this is quite a quick one from the start of post.
 
I dont want to get the tile fanatics too excited, so I've put the short crossmember on the workbench for this shot.

short leg.jpg
 

Attachments

  • short leg.jpg
    short leg.jpg
    285.9 KB · Views: 241
NO NO No. :shock: :shock:
Its an electrical conduit along a plastered wall.
I am NOT posting more pics of the electrical system. (hammer) (hammer) (hammer)
 
Back
Top