This is a project that will take a little time as I am using freshly felled ash for the legs that will be shaped from about 15 cm diameter ash trunks collected locally. These were free from any noticeable ash dieback that has affected many of the local trees in the woodlands in Devon and also in many other parts of the UK.
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| Making the table legs using green ash |
I have a slab of waney sweet chestnut (Teale & Sons Timber Ltd.) about 1180 mm long by 280 mm wide and 27 mm thick that should make two coffee or side tables with a little to spare. I plan to make the legs from green ash.
The ash was about 15 cm diameter and about 45 cm in length enabling me to split into four billets. The grain was reasonable straight and so cleaving with a froe was easy. The original log and three of the billets are shown above together with a rounded leg. Once cleaved the corners were removed using the froe and then chopped into shape using a carving axe. The final shaping of the billet for the pole lathe was done with a draw knife and large spoke shave. This was then mounted on the pole lathe (for spindle turning), and both ends were worked to produce a regular cylinder. The billet was then removed from the lathe and the wood between the ends removed with a large draw knife. This made the rough shaping on the lathe much easier. Once the spindle was turned (about 40 mm in diameter), the ends were sealed with oil/molten wax and then left to dry over several months. Several of these were made and stored.
After air drying in the workshop, the legs were shaped on the pole lathe as shown below. The total length is 42 cm. The top 5 cm was made 1+ inch diameter for the first 5 cm and then widened to 39 mm over a length of 17 cm. The diameter of 39 mm was continued for a further 5 cm and decreased to 30 mm over a length of 10 cm. The final 5 cm was turned to 30 mm for the bottom of the legs. The part of the leg to be inserted into the top was left slightly greater in diameter then 1 inch and was finally adjusted on the lathe after the holes in the top were drilled. This insured a tight fit was achieved.
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| Ash table leg turned to size. |
A piece of sweet chestnut was chosen with a shape that looked like a surf-board together with the obvious figuration resembling a wave pattern. My artistic talents are limited so I was helped by my daughter Bex to design the top. The shape was adjusted by sawing with a key-hole saw (to get a curved shape) and then planing with spokeshaves. The edge and rim of the board displayed spalting which was preserved to add some features. The surfaces had been rough cut so needed careful planing, scraping and finally sanding to 320 grit size.
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| Sweet chestnut top planed and sanded ready for drilling the 1 inch holes for the legs. |
The positions of the legs were marked on the top. This was decided by calculating the distance of the top of the legs from the outside edge of the top so that the bottoms of the legs were not protruding. The angle of the legs was set at 12 degrees from vertical as this had proved good for previous tables and I had a jig to aid drilling at this this angle. This distance was 8.1 cm so this decided the approximate hole positions from the edges. The exact positions were made symmetrical along the length of the board and to give a good balance for the table.
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| Set-up using a rig to drill the 1 inch holes at 12 degrees from vertical. |
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| The top after one treatment with danish oil and the legs ready for final adjustment and mounting. The oil brought-out the rich brown colour of the wood and the wave figuration. |
Once the legs were dry (checked by weighing over 3 weeks), they were finished on the pole lathe by sanding and adjusting the top diameter to fit tightly into the pre-drilled holes. The tops were then sawn to length allowing about 2 mm of the legs to protrude. The legs were fitted by using glue and hardwood wedges with slits sawn in the leg tops. Care was taken to saw across the grain and fit with the wedges hammered in across the grain of the table top to avoid the risk of splitting with the grain. Once dry, the protruding leg tops were sawn off and finished with a chisel and sandpaper.
The lengths of the legs were adjusted by placing the table on a flat surface, levelling the table as necessary by propping up the legs with cardboard. Then, a thin wooden slab was used to hold a pencil while it was rotated around each leg. This technique guarantees that the table is level and the legs are parallel to the ground.
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| The finished table after treatment with danish oil, Notice the wave pattern of the top and also the spalting of the sweet chestnut. The ash legs also show some grain patterns. |
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| My artistic daughters design imitating a surf board! |
The table was finished with three coats of danish oil and sanding between coats with 320 grit sand paper. Hopefully the table will last many years.
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| Sycamore top and ash legs. |
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| Watney edge sycamore top and ash legs. |
