Tea table

creasman

Jim
Staff member
Corporate Member
My work place commissioned a door prize for the upcoming holiday party. I took a break from my current project to make this small tea table. It's made from cherry and finished with garnet shellac. The pattern is from an 18th century piece in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Tea table.jpg
 

drw

Donn
Corporate Member
Gorgeous! This will be an awesome grand-prize for whomever is lucky enough to win it!
 

Michael Mathews

Michael
Corporate Member
Very nice! Did you turn the table on the lathe or is that routed detail around the edges? If turned, what diameter? Looks like it would have been a fun turning project with the main post. Love the detail on the legs too! I presume that you also turned the main post. Very nicely done!
 

creasman

Jim
Staff member
Corporate Member
Very nice! Did you turn the table on the lathe or is that routed detail around the edges? If turned, what diameter? Looks like it would have been a fun turning project with the main post. Love the detail on the legs too! I presume that you also turned the main post. Very nicely done!

Thanks for the interest! My first choice would have been to turn the top, but I don't have a faceplate that fits the outboard on my lathe. It's an old Dunlap model (same as Craftsman), circa 1920. Bit of a challenge to find parts and match threads. I did use the lathe to turn the post.

The diameter of the top is slightly over 12". It's made from gluing up a 7" wide, quarter-sawn board. The thickness of the top is 9/16" at the rim and just over 3/8" for the rest. I have a circle cutter for my bandsaw and a similar setup for my router table. I used the bandsaw to cut out the top and the router table to shape the inside cove. I also used the router to remove most of the material from the top in order leave a rim. After that is was a small plane and scrapers to get the final surface. (@Rwe2156 tagging you here since you also asked about the top).

The legs actually took the longest to make since they are all hand work. These begin square and transition to round at the ankles with a bead to form the sole of each foot. They attach to the post with a dovetail joint.

I had made two similar tables a few years ago out of pecan. These were from a big tree on a friend's property that was taken out by a tornado. The base is the same on these, but the tops are veneered in sections. Likewise, the rim is individual pieces. I kept one and gave the other to my friend. Overall, a fun project and great skill builder.

1575129542656.png
 

creasman

Jim
Staff member
Corporate Member
Beautiful! and why aren't you hosting the shop crawl?

Funny you should ask about that... I will be attending, but wasn't on the original list of hosts. I learned recently that one of the hosts had to drop out. Unfortunately, I will be out of town until Dec 6 and won't have time to get things ready. Would love to host in the future, though. I am definitely looking forward to going on the crawl.
 
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Hjanes

Harlan
User
What a prize! I like the design of the legs. Beefy at the right places, then shaped into a nicely refined foot. That should reduce the chance of failure on similar, but more slender legs on tea tables and candle stands configured like this. How would I know this?
Congratulations on a notable project.
 

marinosr

Richard
Corporate Member
Also excited to see what comes of those legs with the bellflowers shown to the right of the table in the first pic.
 

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