My wife's grandfather built a coffee table about 30 years ago. It is a very simple design: Four metal legs and a 2'x5' top constructed of plywood covered with Formica/ laminate. It has held up well, but it's too modern of a look for my taste.
Here's a shot of the underside, and a closeup of the date.
It has too much sentimental value to throw away, but it doesn't really work in our house. So I've decided to keep the top but replace the legs with a larger frame, and use it in the shop. The surface is pretty much impervious, so this will do great in my finishing room.
I've been itching to put my new doweling jig to use. I used it when building some shop cabinets but casework is not its strength. I had a bunch of oak lying around from past projects. Some of it has significant knots and blemishes, too much for fine furniture but perfect for a shop table frame. I glued up 3 boards to make 2" x 2" legs.
Here's a shot of the dry fit of one half of the table. I will glue the legs and short stretchers, then cover the dowel holes for the long stretchers with some tape and apply the finish. It will be a lot simpler to work with each section than trying to finish the table fully assembled.
The joints are extremely tight. Here's a closeup:
The short stretchers are joined with 6 1 1/2" dowels, the long stretchers will get 6 2" dowels. That should hold. I'll be happy if it lasts as long as the top did
The Jessem doweling jig is a joy to use. It's not foolproof. If you reference from the wrong face, your joint won't line up. (Yes, I know that that's the equivalent of saying the table saw won't run if it's not plugged in, but how many of us have swapped out the blade, gotten the board ready, hit the power switch, only to see the plug lying across the outfeed table?I thought as much...). But if you can get past operator stupidity, your joints will line up perfectly: Square, straight and strong. And a drill is a lot less noisy than using a router.
Here's a shot of the underside, and a closeup of the date.
It has too much sentimental value to throw away, but it doesn't really work in our house. So I've decided to keep the top but replace the legs with a larger frame, and use it in the shop. The surface is pretty much impervious, so this will do great in my finishing room.
I've been itching to put my new doweling jig to use. I used it when building some shop cabinets but casework is not its strength. I had a bunch of oak lying around from past projects. Some of it has significant knots and blemishes, too much for fine furniture but perfect for a shop table frame. I glued up 3 boards to make 2" x 2" legs.
Here's a shot of the dry fit of one half of the table. I will glue the legs and short stretchers, then cover the dowel holes for the long stretchers with some tape and apply the finish. It will be a lot simpler to work with each section than trying to finish the table fully assembled.
The joints are extremely tight. Here's a closeup:
The short stretchers are joined with 6 1 1/2" dowels, the long stretchers will get 6 2" dowels. That should hold. I'll be happy if it lasts as long as the top did
The Jessem doweling jig is a joy to use. It's not foolproof. If you reference from the wrong face, your joint won't line up. (Yes, I know that that's the equivalent of saying the table saw won't run if it's not plugged in, but how many of us have swapped out the blade, gotten the board ready, hit the power switch, only to see the plug lying across the outfeed table?I thought as much...). But if you can get past operator stupidity, your joints will line up perfectly: Square, straight and strong. And a drill is a lot less noisy than using a router.
