Here we go, another project series. This was originally gonna be 1 demuline table I was going to build out of some Lyptus I got a while back. The dimensions are custom for a spot in our guestroom. The project is roughly based on the article that Steve Latta did awhile back in Fine Woodworking "Federal Card Table" Mines not a card table, has just 3 legs, and is gonna be taller.
So here's the beginning. I took a piece of mdf cut a 48" X 48" square and layed out a circle that then allowed me to lay out the dimensions of my demuline top, apron, and leg placement. I then cut out (1) 1" piece that coresponds to the outside diameter of the table (this gives me a template for pattern routing the top.
Then the exposed new semicircle corresponds to the diameter of the apron. So now we make the apron. Their are a bunch of different ways to make this, you could try and steam bend, laminate thin strips on a form, or use a staggered buildup. Latta does the staggered buildup and as I'd not done it before that's the route I chose. The concept is you cut alternating layers and glue them up one at a time. On layer will have 3 boards cut at the approxiamate angle to correspond to the curve and the next layer will have 4 boards. Heres the idea:
As you build them up you use the bottom mdf edge to pattern route the outside curve. When your done you've got a buildup that looks like this
Then you layout how thick you want the apron, and cut the back out to rough size on the bandsaw and then pattern route the back.
Now here's where 1 turned into 2 for me. The boards I used for my buildup were wider than I needed (1st time so I was cautious) So that when I was cutting the back curve out I realized the leftover wood was enough for a second apron with a smaller diameter. So I did the same pattern routing for it and got 2 table aprons for the price of 1:eusa_danc.
Next was to laminate the poplar core with shop made Lyptus Veneer. I experimented here as I had 2 tables now so the Lyptus was 1/8" thick self cut veneer that I used plastic resin glue to glue to the core, on the other table I had some paper backed sapele veneer left over from another project so I used that and glued it on with Wilsonart contact cement.
Here's the Lyptus veneer glue-up
Then I did the same process for the back U shaped curve. And here the final product:
So at the end of part 1 I've got (2) laminated aprons. Part 2 will detail cutting the leg joinery with a combination of the tablesaw and my new JDS multi-router.
So here's the beginning. I took a piece of mdf cut a 48" X 48" square and layed out a circle that then allowed me to lay out the dimensions of my demuline top, apron, and leg placement. I then cut out (1) 1" piece that coresponds to the outside diameter of the table (this gives me a template for pattern routing the top.
Then the exposed new semicircle corresponds to the diameter of the apron. So now we make the apron. Their are a bunch of different ways to make this, you could try and steam bend, laminate thin strips on a form, or use a staggered buildup. Latta does the staggered buildup and as I'd not done it before that's the route I chose. The concept is you cut alternating layers and glue them up one at a time. On layer will have 3 boards cut at the approxiamate angle to correspond to the curve and the next layer will have 4 boards. Heres the idea:
As you build them up you use the bottom mdf edge to pattern route the outside curve. When your done you've got a buildup that looks like this
Then you layout how thick you want the apron, and cut the back out to rough size on the bandsaw and then pattern route the back.
Now here's where 1 turned into 2 for me. The boards I used for my buildup were wider than I needed (1st time so I was cautious) So that when I was cutting the back curve out I realized the leftover wood was enough for a second apron with a smaller diameter. So I did the same pattern routing for it and got 2 table aprons for the price of 1:eusa_danc.
Next was to laminate the poplar core with shop made Lyptus Veneer. I experimented here as I had 2 tables now so the Lyptus was 1/8" thick self cut veneer that I used plastic resin glue to glue to the core, on the other table I had some paper backed sapele veneer left over from another project so I used that and glued it on with Wilsonart contact cement.
Here's the Lyptus veneer glue-up
Then I did the same process for the back U shaped curve. And here the final product:
So at the end of part 1 I've got (2) laminated aprons. Part 2 will detail cutting the leg joinery with a combination of the tablesaw and my new JDS multi-router.
Even the smallest project seems to take a dozen clamps.
