Draped table opinions wanted!!

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Hi there.

I started to make the table of the attached skecht, but at some point I lost north and drifted to want to simulate a drape with the intention of making the table look as if it was table cloth standing in the air without a table underneath.

As the original idea was not that one I ended having to cut through the edge of the joint and expose the end grain of the top, which originaly I didn't want to.

To be able to make it without having to move big pieces around I made four quarters to be assembled at the end.

Now I'm disoriented, I do not know if to follow what I have started or toss away that quarter of the table and make another quarter and stick to the original idea


Question 1:
What design do you think I should make, the original or the drape one?

Question 2: The drape, although unfinished does it look like a drape to you? Does it give the sensation of gravity?

Question3: Does the end grain showing on the top arris bother you at all?

Any comment, help and opinion will be greatly appreciated at this moment I'm lost!
I've included three equal pictures with different lighting so you can how perception changes depending on it.

Heeeeelp!!!!
 

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Toni,
I am no expert, so I'll just give you my "gut feel" opinions. I think your progress so far is outstanding. Hopefully some with more knowledge will chime in.

Wes

Question 1:
What design do you think I should make, the original or the drape one?


I think the drape concept is really cool. The illusion of a "fabric" being "structural" has great potential.

Question 2: The drape, although unfinished does it look like a drape to you? Does it give the sensation of gravity?
Yep, it looks like draped fabric to me.

Question3: Does the end grain showing on the top arris bother you at all?

I guess it depends how you finish it. At the moment, the hard line of the end grain counters the soft flowing lines of the drape. It would look better if it wasn't so pronounced.
 
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Question 1:
What design do you think I should make, the original or the drape one?

Question 2: The drape, although unfinished does it look like a drape to you? Does it give the sensation of gravity?

Question3: Does the end grain showing on the top arris bother you at all?

Toni,

Q1. This probably won't help much, but I like the sketch, but seeing the drape taking shape in the wood, I think you should continue with what you are working on.

Q2. Definitely, it looks like a drape. I think you are doing a great job replicating that flowing look in a very non-flowing medium.

Q3. I really don't think the end grain showing is any problem. I guess if you wanted to get more complicated you could glue on a few small pieces to the top and shape them into wrinkles in the "fabric" of the drape.


I have heard carvers say that the wood tells them what to make. I think this might be the case here, where you started out with one thing in mind and the wood has revealed its intentions.

Great work! I can't wait to see it progress along.:thumb:
 
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The draped cloth look is excellent. It flows very nicely. Your carving skills impress me every time I see them. Beautiful work. :clap:

I like the way it is looking now. It's better than the original drawing, in my opinion. I don't think the end grain will be too much of a distraction. It would be nice if the end grain did not show, but I don't think it is enough of a problem to be worth re-making that piece. Ultimately it will have to make you happy. ;)
 
Sean, Wes, Vaughn.

Thanks a lot for your comments, they are helping me to clarify my mind.

As the total thickness of the top is about 2" I just had the idea of planning the top down to make the glue line coincide with the arris, in this way I could get rid of the end grain showing and use that 1/4" of thicknes to carve the wrinkles that Sean was suggesting.

Another problem is that now I do not like so much the bent over itself corner.
 
Toni,

This is so far beyond my skill level that I feel very odd contributing at all. WOW.
Yes, it looks like draped material and I agree with Vaughn - the end grain issue will work out, if, for no other reason, that you are a very gifted carver and you'll make it work out!
 
Thanks Rennie.

But to be honest it is my first attempt at carving something that looks "soft" so your skill level is not so far from mine.

If I was so sure about my skill I wouldn't have posted this thread in search for help:( I wish I could foresee what will it look like eventually, chances of messing it up are high:(
 
Draping

I can only say bravo for the carving technique and character. Do you have gaudi influencing your work? It must be in the water. Congratulations also to Spain winning the Euro Cup for futbol.
Cheers
Irv
 
I can only say bravo for the carving technique and character. Do you have gaudi influencing your work? It must be in the water. Congratulations also to Spain winning the Euro Cup for futbol.
Cheers
Irv

Thanks Irv.
I do not know if I have Gaudi's influence in my work, he was a genius and I like his work very much, specially his furniture designs, if it is in the water I should think about getting it all or selling it at good price:D.

As far as the Euro cup is concerned, well... it was time, 44 years since last time is a lot of time:(
 
Hi Toni!

The carving looks great! I'm not sure I understand the swag just to the right of the corner though. Doesn't seem to belong there.
 
Hi Toni!

The carving looks great! I'm not sure I understand the swag just to the right of the corner though. Doesn't seem to belong there.

Hi Ed.

Yes, that part is driving me nuts, this is the problem of starting with an idea and change your mind while you're at it.

If you look at the original sketch you'll know where it comes from. I was thinking about simulating that it was nailed to the side with one of those huge hand forged nails with big heads.

Shapes need to more defined, and I need to make my mind up and stick to whatever decision I take, hence my post.
 
I think I see what you're trying to do. Are the other corners going to be like the drawing? If so, try mocking up the corner and drape an actual cloth to see how it lays. That way you will have a model to work from.
 
Senior Ciuranota

I dont know much about woodworking other than the outdoor stuff I fiddle with and play with.

Its quite clear why the elderly gentleman, the 80 y/o craftsman wanted you to have his tools.

You do him proud with that work sir.


(on a completely different level, offering an opinion, is there anyway to cut out that small section even {straight}so you can attach a piece overlapping it and carve it with an overlap so no seams are noticed? just a crazy idea)
 
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I think I see what you're trying to do. Are the other corners going to be like the drawing? If so, try mocking up the corner and drape an actual cloth to see how it lays. That way you will have a model to work from.

Thanks Ed.

That is actually what I just did, and it looks quite different from the drawing!
There are certain volumes almost unperceptible that make a whole lot of difference and that are the border between making it look like fabric or not.

As far as ther other corners, yes, I'm thinking about making them go around the table like in the drawing, but I'm also thinking about getting rid of them.
 
(on a completely different level, offering an opinion, is there anyway to cut out that small section even {straight}so you can attach a piece overlapping it and carve it with an overlap so no seams are noticed? just a crazy idea)


Hi Allen.
In fact, as I used a miter joint on that, (and have enough thickness)I can rebate down the top until the seam remains in the arris and there it will be less noticed, as I matched the grain of the sides with the top.

Thanks for the idea.
 
First of all I really did think that was a piece of cloth covering your design. the I opened the 3rd pictures and looked and realized it is wood carved.

Second, I really like the design in the drawing and would love to see that after what you did with the backless chair.

That said, the current work could be very nice. The large swosh around the corner would not happen with a piece of cloth. I like your idea of pinning it back, but then I think it would become thinner, more delicate.

You might think about an idea where only one corner of the table is covered with a cloth and the other three corners have a stylized, but consistent leg. That same leg design might appear from under the corner with the drape.

So really you have two very wonderful interesting pieces. It will be interesting, as always, to see where you go.

What wood are you using? That's alot of carving.
 
Hi Bartee thanks a lot for the input.

You're right, it seems that I've got two designs to work on, not just one.
I might make both of them, but work is piling up:(

You are right as far as the swosh is concerned, actually it is thinner now than in the picture, the piece is not finished yet, so wait and see:)

The wood I'm using is tulipwood, quite soft but with some weard grain, at first I was going to use tile wood because the grain is more dense and the colour almost white and more uniform, but the sizes and thicness they had at the lumber store were too small so I opted for tulipwood.
 
Tulipwood? Wow. Where I live, that's a fairly exotic wood. Small turning blanks are expensive. I'll bet it looks great in your table.
 
Toni

Stunning as always, both in concept and execution.

Keep going like this. Yes it looks like draped fabric. No, the end grain isn't gonna be what catches peoples eye when this is finished and finished.

I agree with trying to add a little bit of texture on the top as well. As far as the swag on the right of the corner, I would try and add a little block to enable me to carve it so that it looked like a corner of the cloth had been lifted up and laid on top of the surface. But then if I did actually try to do that who knows what on earth it would actually end up looking like!

Oh - and congratulations on the football.
 
Tulipwood? Wow. Where I live, that's a fairly exotic wood. Small turning blanks are expensive. I'll bet it looks great in your table.

Hi Vaughn, to be honest I might have made a mistake there.
This is one of my drawbacks, not knowing the right translation of wood names, I've been looking for a book that has some sort of glossary but only found english-latin (scientific name)glossaries. And at the lumber wharehouse they couldn't ( or wouldn't) help me with that.

The wood colour is described as pale yellowish almost white colour with some stripes of a greenish tone that gets brownish when exposed. Here they call it Tulipier and it's a rather affordable wood. I don't think it would be good for turning though because it is quite soft with open grain.

On a web page I found this pics, and the color matches with the wood I'm using. But from your comments I can see that that matching may not be enough to identify it.

PS Just found another place where they say it is Yellow Poplar, does it make sense to you?
 

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