ken werner
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- Central NY State
Well, this is a project I've wanted to do for a long time, and have finally jumped in. It's a Shaker small spider leg table. CH Becksvoort wrote an article in FWW #110 about it. I'm also going to use a jig described by Mario Rodriguez to cut the dovetails in the pedestal. Not exactly flatwork, but it isn't purely Neander either, so I'll put it in this section of FW.
The first day of work involved making the jig, which was a bit fussy. But I figure the better it is made, the better it will work. Scrap plywood really, and some bits of hardware. I'm hoping to make two tables, and perhaps more later, so the jig should be worthwhile:
Shown without the router or workpiece in it:
And shown with the router in place, but again no workpiece. The idea is to have a register to place the three female sliding dovetails 120 degrees apart, and have tight control as it is done:
I went up to my attic, where I keep my lumber dry, [it is like a no-cost kiln in the summer] and scrounged around. Behind a pile of wood, I found a piece of log I cut with a chainsaw and split - I don't remember when. But it will supply my two blanks. The large piece is what was left after I bandsawed the blanks out, but captures the sense of where I started.
Next is the bandsawn blank before it will go to the lathe:
Now, I've said this before, and I'll say it again, I am a really poor turner. 60 grit paper is a turning tool for me. Anyway, my understanding is that precise dimensions are not as important as the overall flow of the curves on this pedestal. So after finding some old worm holes, I adjusted the diameters for the best look. The dark line on the tulip [the little bulge to the right] is a worm line I filled with coffee and epoxy. The dovetails will be cut into the slightly narrower cylinder to the left.
The pedestal is sanded to 800. I'll finish it on the lathe, before cutting the dovetails. More to come later.....
The first day of work involved making the jig, which was a bit fussy. But I figure the better it is made, the better it will work. Scrap plywood really, and some bits of hardware. I'm hoping to make two tables, and perhaps more later, so the jig should be worthwhile:
Shown without the router or workpiece in it:
And shown with the router in place, but again no workpiece. The idea is to have a register to place the three female sliding dovetails 120 degrees apart, and have tight control as it is done:
I went up to my attic, where I keep my lumber dry, [it is like a no-cost kiln in the summer] and scrounged around. Behind a pile of wood, I found a piece of log I cut with a chainsaw and split - I don't remember when. But it will supply my two blanks. The large piece is what was left after I bandsawed the blanks out, but captures the sense of where I started.
Next is the bandsawn blank before it will go to the lathe:
Now, I've said this before, and I'll say it again, I am a really poor turner. 60 grit paper is a turning tool for me. Anyway, my understanding is that precise dimensions are not as important as the overall flow of the curves on this pedestal. So after finding some old worm holes, I adjusted the diameters for the best look. The dark line on the tulip [the little bulge to the right] is a worm line I filled with coffee and epoxy. The dovetails will be cut into the slightly narrower cylinder to the left.
The pedestal is sanded to 800. I'll finish it on the lathe, before cutting the dovetails. More to come later.....