Tuesday, January 23, 2007

New Idea



Hi Folks
Right-ho. I've spent some time on my new design idea and built some mock-up and test pieces. Changed the design and then exposed it to certain people. Then changed it again after some constructive critism (you know, "What on earth are you doing? You 've got plenty of jobs around the house to do.....")
So, here it is. A side table with fluted sides and drawer. Timber? Probably Paduak. There is a slight splay (2 degrees) to the sides.
I've been experimenting with the flutes in the sides. A carriage has been made for the router table to cut them. And I;ve extended my router table due to the length of the carriage. So I've been busy...........;)
It's funny how much the timber choice can alter the feel of a piece. I made up samples in oak and it just didn't look right. A heavy, fine grained timber is required that will take a fine polish to show off the (hopefully!) crisp detailing.
So this one should be taking shape over the next couple of months. Stay tuned......
Oh, and i've put step-by-step pics on my website for the table mats project.
Cheers
Philly

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Phil, fun project. Want some unsolicited comments? Yes? Well, if you insist...

Looking at it, my thought would be to investigate leaving the sides truly vertical--no sply. Instead, having them get thicker as they get to the bottom, all the thickness to the outside. Slightly wedged. Flutes getting deeper towards the bottom as well.

Leaves the mitered DTs [that was how you were joining the pieces, right?] square to each other. But the effect would be similar as concerns the outside edges of the legs and create a differing "weight" or feel to the piece.

Take care, Mike

Philly said...

Mike
Your comments are gratefully received, thanks!
Good idea with tapering the thickness - the flutes are about 3/4 inch deep at the foot of the piece and gradually shrink until they stop just short of the top. I added the splay because the piece seemed thinner at the bottom, tapering will make my joinery easier ;)
I'll have a play with it - thanks again!
p.s. Did you see the thread on dovetails on UK Workshop? The 4 inch dovetail saw??

Anonymous said...

Hi Phil--yep--I saw it...

I have had a little time to pop into the forum, but mainly when on the phone and so haven't had much input. Felt good tonight catching up reading.

You know, if I ever can make it over there and bring a bunch of kits, it wouldn't be a big deal to have the medallions altered to commemorate the visit and do a one-off series of saws. Now, a 4" one maybe a tad short, but good friend uses a 7" saw with 1 3/8" usable depth we made.

And there is a possibility of being in the UK the summer of 2008, but mums the word.

Take care, Mike

Anonymous said...

It would be great if you were able to come over, Mike. I'm sure that there are a lot of people who would like to meet you - me for one!

It will be nice to see that table as it evolves, Phil.

Cheers,

Paul Chapman