Cherry Trestle Table with Leaves

I just finished this table yesterday and am now sitting and waiting for the shippers to get here to take it to California. Ok, I am working on the computer. You caught me.

Below is a shot of the table with the end leaves attached. It is 6' long without leaves and 8' long with the leaves. The challenge of this project was to make the method of attaching the slides work well, be strong, and look great.  I think I succeeded on this one.  My feeling is that, I hate to cut a table in two in order to have it extend. I like the main table to be rock solid on its own. That is why I like the idea of end leaves.

The darker strip of wood is the breadboard end that is part of the table itself.  The leaf is shaped to mate to the convex surface of the breadboard end.

The hollowed edge of the leaf is designed to mate to the convex edge of the end of the main table. 

Here, you can see the keyed saddle joint that holds the leaf firmly in place.

This shows the leaf support slides in their resting position, with the leaves off.

Here is the table without the leaves with one of my New Waltham side chairs.

You can see more about this table at my website.

Have a good one,

Tim

New Waltham Side Chairs in a New Home

Here is a set of my New Waltham side chairs around a clients modern dining table.  I think the light has washed out the red of the cherry a bit in this photo.  I do like seeing these chairs with very minimal tables. They seem to work well like this.  The warm wood is a nice contract to the glass and stone.

Below is one of these chairs as photographed in my shop. You can see that they actually have a bit more color even when new.  With time, the cherry will darken quite a bit more.

You can find more on this chair here on my website.

Have a good one.

Tim

Finishing the 5' Waltham Bench

This windsor bench is one of my favorites.  In my mind, it embodies the best characteristics of the first American windsor chairs.   Compared to other furniture of the day (mid to late 1700's) American windsors were very lean and streamlined.  My version takes it another step in the lean direction due to the Shaker influence that much of my work has.

Getting the shape right before final sanding of the seat.

Doing some of the detail painting work on the second coat of milk paint.

This shot shows the long lean lines of this bench. Also, you can see the chalkiness of the milk paint before it is oiled and varnished.

I designed my Waltham line of chairs and benches to be something that could have been made by a farmer.  All of the spindles and legs are shaved on the shaving horse rather than turned on a lathe. Fancy furniture would have intricate turnings for legs, stretchers and some spindles. Any farmer would have had the tools to make this bench.

Enjoy the dry weather,

Tim

Trestle Table Base with Through Mortice and Tenons, Wedged and Pegged

A trestle table in my opinion is the most sturdy of table base designs.  It also does not have an apron which leaves the sitter with more knee room.  Below are a few shots as one of the trestles goes together. The fitting of the tenon is a time consuming process to get it just right. The assembly is uncomfortably quick and it often feels as if I am forgetting something.  This table will be a custom version of the table on my website.

The trestle parts, top, post and base are laid out.

The tenons are slotted to accept long wedges which will tighten the joint after assembly.  The mortice or hole is wider at the top to allow the wedges to lock the tenon in place.

Large pegs are added to the joint to make sure that it stays put. Belt and suspenders.

Flattening a table top with a hand plane

Here is a video clip showing how to use a hand plane to even up individual planks of a table top and also to flatten it across it's width.

This is one of the techniques that goes into a hand made table.  Working with a sharp plane like this is a lot of fun.  It is very satisfying as it hisses through the wood.  This will be one of my Trestle Tables but with have two add-on end leaves.  I will post more about this table as it comes along.
Happy Spring.
Stay dry,
Tim

Chairs, Tables, Rain

I have not posted in a while as spring is here and things are very busy with work, kid's soccer, outside clean up and projects after a long winter and the joy of warmer weather even if it has been very, very, very, wet.

I am working on a couple of dining tables at the moment as well as getting a set of eight New Waltham Side Chairs together.  

These chairs have the laminated leg brace that is morticed into the leg. The picture below shows that being fitted. I rough the fit on the jointer and finish it off to a tight friction fit with a hand plane.

Getting ready to assemble the legs and braces for a New Waltham Side Chair.  Behind me is a cherry table top for a Trestle Table that I am making.  

All of my chairs use wedged tenon joinery. This is the wedged leg tenon coming through the  top of the seat.  This will be chiseled off and then the seat will be ground to it's final shaped and sanded smooth.

Hopefully, we will have some more sunshine soon.  It has been a very wet spring here.  Flooding generally is not an issue in this area but it is getting to be a real problem for some.  The weather does seem to be changing with so much snow this winter and now all of the rain.  

Time to go grind some chair seats. 

Stay dry,

Tim

"You can't get there from here"

Yesterday I made a big delivery to an Island in Maine. (When I post information or images from a customers house, I never mention names or exact places to protect the privacy of my customers.)  It sure is fun, though, to be able to see where my work is going. And it is rare that I can actually get a decent photo of the furniture in place. 

 The caretaker for the owner of the house arranged for the mail boat to meet me at the pier where the mailboat captain and the caretaker's son helped me load 10 Waltham chairs and a painted pencil post bed into the boat (a great old wooden boat).  Robert, the captain, let me know that the, boat, Sea Queen,  was built by the the boat owner's father many years before.  I appreciate fiberglass and steel but there is nothing like a wooden boat.

We made the two mile trip out to the island under clear skies, smooth water and 50 degree temps.  We hit it just right.  If we had planned this one day ahead or behind, it would have been raining.  And moving $12,000. worth of furniture in the rain would have been more than stressful.

Waltham chairs, wrapped and ready, aboard Sea Queen.

 At the island, the captain, Robert,  and I, (the only one's aboard as things are slow this time of year) were met by the caretaker Michael with two vans and a trailer to take all of the furniture to the client's house.   These islands in Maine are great places.  I spend so much time alone that I really feel drawn to these quiet places.   Maybe being the youngest of four has something to do with that.  But that again is another story.

Waltham chairs in place around the dining table.

Pencil Post bed in place. This bed was painted with oil based enamel paint instead of my usual milk paint. We tried for a white milk paint but you have to want a real antique look especially in the white ranges.  This light cream color worked well in an enamel as the house is full of this fresh paint look and it matches the tables and chest that they already had.

view from the island

After unwrapping and setting up the chairs and bed I was returned to the mainland by the caretaker, his son and a friend of theirs who was working on one of the island's 30- 40 houses.  The four of us and four man sized bags of packing blankets loaded into the pictured skiff for that trip.  It was a safe trip in a very beamy skiff over calm water,  but highly unusual for the Vermont furniture maker making a delivery

I had intended to stay on the coast for the night but all of the hotels were closed down for the off season.  So, I hit the road again and arrived home in the wee hours of the morning after 15 hours of driving.   My new, used Dodge Grand Caravan did a great job on the country roads that connect central Vermont to central Maine (you can get there but it ain't easy).  It got 22- 24 miles per gallon and I think I could have fit 12 or 14 chairs in it as well as the pencil post bed.   We furniture makers do learn how to pack a vehicle.

Enjoy the sun,

Tim