This week’s project is submitted by Bryan. Let’s check out what he has to say:

“This is my first piece of ‘fine’ furniture, which has helped to develop my passion for woodworking. I built this piece as part of a Furniture Design class in the architecture school during my undergrad, even though I was a finance major. The piece is made of red oak and walnut and the table tops stand at 12” and 24” respectively. I started out with all rough lumber, 5/4 red oak, and 8/4 walnut. I milled the oak with the thickness planer down to 1” thick by 3” wide for the larger side, and 1” thick by 2” wide for the smaller side. Once I had these measurements, I used the table saw to cut all of my angles for both the longer pieces and smaller ‘head’ and ‘foot’ pieces. At this point I had cut all of my oak pieces and it was time for glue up. I did this in sections. First I glued up the 3” section by combining two long pieces with the appropriate ‘head’ and ‘foot’ pieces. Once all of these smaller sections were done, I glued them together until I eventually had one long row of alternating blank sections and long sections 17” wide. I then built a jig to hold this entire piece at the appropriate angle in order to route out the section for the walnut/glass, which took a nice long 2” router bit a while to hog out. Once this step was done, I was able to put the last two outside boards to make the ends look more finished. I cut the walnut to size, drilled the holes for the dowels, cut the angle on the walnut and glued it into place, along with the red oak dowels. I used a ½ piece of wood as a spacer for the glass. I did the a similar process for the 2” smaller side, except I didn’t glue the alternating boards on the bottom section until after I meshed the two together. Once together, I glued in the missing pieces, securing the two sections forever. The last step was inserting the 17”Wx23”Lx1/2”D glass into the top section and the 17”Wx11”Lx1/2”D glass into the bottom section.”

“It is finished with about 3 coats of Danish Oil sanded down to about 400 grit and has a poly spray topcoat. Overall this is a very strong piece, and has no problem holding the glass, even with me leaning on it, as the table will tip over before the joint would ever fail. There are definitely things I would consider doing different though, but that’s the challenge for my next piece. Enjoy my cantilevered end table and thanks for all of the inspiration. As always, I look forward to the next video!

Related Posts

• July 11, 2008 — Walnut Side Table - Project of the Week
• March 13, 2008 — Sculpted End Table - Project of the Week
• March 3, 2008 — Episode 42 - End Table (Pt. 6)

The EAIA meetup last weekend was held at the recently renovated Dills Tavern, originally built in 1794. The weathermen promised a warm, sunny day, but it was cloudy and frigid, which prevented me from staying for all the day's activities. I was sorry to have missed Jim Leamy's afternoon lecture on making plow planes. The ivory plow plane was one of many of his exquisite planes that were on display.

Tailgating with vendors who were selling antique tools started early, and was followed by presentations by the man in charge of restoration —Sam McKinney—and a decendant of the family who purchased the tavern in 1800—Bob Eichelberger.

The three years it's taken to bring the tavern back to its original form included removal of many Victorian elements and additions that were added in the late 19th century. The kitchen needed to be gutted and other rooms needed major work, but as much as possible of the original architecture and flooring was salvaged. That which could not be saved was either replaced with elements that were purchased from other period buildings or were authentically reproduced by the men who conducted the renovations. On display were a plethora of antique moulding planes that they employed during construction.

"We basically removed anything that used common nails" explained Sam, who in my opinion is part detective—because of his ability to uncover the clues that enabled him to restore the historic building to its original state—and part visionary.

The tavern, outbuildings, and grounds are being fashioned in the same pattern as Eastfield Village, where Sam has taken classes since 1983. His vision is to replicate the original Dills Tavern setting, including distillery (ironic, since Dillsburg is currently a dry town), and to offer workshops that teach 18th c. techniques in stonework, timber framing, basket making, wool dyeing, and open hearth cooking.

But that's not the best part.

They have recently started construction of an 18th c. timber frame woodwright's shop, in which the 3 men who have so diligently reconstructed the tavern will build authentic reproduction furniture, including my favorite, PA German. Their pieces will furnish the tavern and will also be for sale.

With only a 15 minute drive to Dillsburg, I plan to conduct many drive-by droolings as the shop is being constructed, and occasionally stop to talk with the builders. One gave me his card and said to "stop by anytime." (honest!)

I will try my best to practice restraint and not make him regret having told me that....lest I be labeled the Dills Tavern Stalker.

Have you ever designed a project from scratch and tried to decide what molding profile to use on the edge of the top? Why is it some moldings make a project appear “heavy” and some make a project seem light, like it defies gravity? Here’s a web site I ran across that’s got a great article and graphics on architectural moldings. It’s written by Donald M. Rattner, Director of the Institute for the Study of Classical Architecture at the Real Estate Institute of New York University. The article is a bit technical, but I found it interesting to see the different styles of moldings and how they affect the overall look of a project. The article is focused on architectual design elements, but the basic principles apply to your projects around the house, too.

I took a chip carving class this weekend at Olde Mill Cabinet Shoppe with master carver, Wayne Barton, who studied all disciplines of carving in Switzerland, has won both national and international awards, is the author of two chip carving books, has appeared on both The American Woodshop and The Woodwright's Shop, and is a very entertaining and affable man.

Wayne not only taught us several techniques and patterns, he discussed wood choice, finishing, tools, sharpening, design considerations, and the characteristics that indicate a well executed chip carving.

Wood: Basswood, butternut and white pine.

Finishes: Spray-on, satin polyurethane for a natural finish, and General or Bartley gel stains for a darker finish.

Tools: Wayne developed carving knives that are made from high carbon steel, which hold an edge longer than knives made from high speed steel. They take longer to sharpen, but work much better. He sells his knives on his website.

Sharpening: Wayne recommends ceramic stones, available on his website. We used them in class and they are small enough to fit in your hand, easy to clean, and remain forever flat. Wayne's pearl of wisdom: "The world has been made with a sharp edge."

Design: Wayne is influenced by gothic architecture and European cathedrals. He designs his pieces with attention to visual rhythm, negative & positive movement, spacing, balance, contrast in size, variation in line, and focal points. Diagonal lines represent movement & energy. They are lines in transition, as opposed to horizontal and vertical lines, which are stagnant.

Good chip carving: Has single facets and sharp ridges, and does not have little remnants stuck in corners. It is clean and crisp.

We spent several hours sharpening our knives and working on techniques. Chip carving is more fun and relaxing than I had anticipated and the design possibilities are endless. According to Wayne, it's the oldest form of carving, and has found its way into all countries and cultures.

The last two photos are my practice boards along with the two knives we used in class. The knife on the right is the workhorse and the knife above the board is used for decorative stab cuts— the only tools you need if you want to include chip carving in your projects.

During class, Wayne played CDs of various types of music including classical and opera performed by people whose names I can't pronounce, and threatened to play polkas if we got out of line. What an incentive to be studious!

５月１日から６日までは森林文化アカデミー・ものづくり研究会の作品展です。
奈良市の「奈良町物語館」で行っています。

「和をつくる〜森林文化アカデミーのものづくり」
2008年5月1-6日
10-17時
奈良町物語館
奈良市中新屋町2-1
tel 0742-26-3476

Our annual exhibition is taking place in Nara from 1st to 6th May.

Craft and Furniture Exhibition of Gifu Academy of Forest Science and Culture
1-6 May, 2oo8
10:00-17:00
Nara-machi Monogatari Kan
2-1 Nakashin-ya Machi, Nara, Japan


それを前に先週、２年生が展示する作品のプレゼンテーションが行われました。
２年生たちはこの１年間学んできたことをもとに、オリジナルの作品をつくることが求められます。
決められた時間内に、ある程度の個数をまとめてつくり、原価計算もします。
これを「商品化」という実習として行っています。

Last week the second year students finished their works for the exhibition and presented them in front of the teachers.
They are requested to make their original products according to what they learned during their first year.
They need to produce them in a batch within a limited shedule, calculate the cost and assess their productivity.
This 'merchandising' lesson is a part of our curriculum.

奈良町物語館は観光地の中心にあり、ゴールデンウイークのこの時期には毎日数百人が訪れます。はじめて一般の人たちに実際に自分たちがつくった作品を見てもらい、評価を受けます。
この期間中、お近くにおられるならぜひ会場へ。
直接手に取って、作者である学生たちに声をかけてあげてください。
The venue, Nara-machi Monogatari Kan is in the city centre of the old capital Nara. Hundreds of people come and see our exhibition every day. Students show their works to the public for the first time and receive many comments from them.
Please come and see our exhibition. Students are waiting for your compliments!

松岡さんの行灯　ユニークな楕円形
Unique oval floor lamps by Ken-ichi Matsuoka


星野さんの皿　孫のためにとデザイン
Plates by Hajime Hoshino. Designed for his grand child.


横井君のスツール　岐阜市のカルチャースクールからの依頼で制作に取り組んだもの
Stools by Atsushi Yokoi. He was commissioned them from an adult education centre in Gifu.


上田君のスツール　腰痛の人が立ちやすいデザイン
Stools for backache patients by Yosuke Ueda. Easy to stand up with handles.


福島君の手鏡　飛騨の建築意匠を盛り込む
Hand mirrors by Keiichi Fukushima. Inspired by details of architecture in Hida.


谷山さんのかんざし　桜の花が舞うイメージ
Hairpins by Mako Taniyama. An image of cherry blossom falling.


岡部君のバターナイフ　寄せ木細工で
Parquetry butter knives by Hiroshi Okabe.