I have one of the best jobs in the world, at least if you love furniture making. And one of my favorite parts of the job is working with our authors, like Michael Fortune. His design chops are first rate, but I’m even more impressed by his technical skill in the shop. He is a true master of the craft. That’s why his article in FWW #220, “Finest Way to Expand a Table,” is such a wonderful contribution to furniture making. Not only is the table’s aesthetic design elegant, its technical design is exquisite, too. He has taken something which could be a nightmare to figure out and presented it in a way that all of us can understand. Before this, the butterfly table was something only the most advanced furniture makers could execute. Hoewever, it’s now something that just about all of us can do, because he has clarified and simplified the most complicated part: figuring out where to put the pivots. And even if you can’t do it now, it’s certainly within your reach not too far down the road.
The reason Michael is able to present the technique in a clear and easy to understand manner is that he’s done all the hard work, making a lot of butterfly tables and learning his lessons. I’d thought it would be nice to show you some of his other work. Enjoy.
(By the way, I’ve always found that the truly gifted people are those who can take complicated material and present it in a way that makes it seem easy. Thank goodness for Michael Fortune and all of the other wonderful authors writing for FWW! I’d be a worse furniture maker without them and the craft would be far less healthy.)
Comments
When will this article be available online? I'm looking forward to it!
I have a question: How long an extension would be stable with the slide design shown in this article. I am thinking of a cherry table about 45" wide and 72" to 80" long in its compressed state, going to 110" long when extended. So, each side has to extend 19" and would have a 38" leaf. Is that too long not to have secondary supports that slide with the extensions?
The article by Michael fortune is excellent with simple explainations of the mechanism, its well put together.
My next project is an extending dining table , its closed dimensions being 36 inches x 72 inches with an insert leaf of 21 inches extending the table to 93 inches long.
Before reading the article by Michael Fortune I intended to use ball bearing steel slides located outside a compartment within the table frame measuring 24x 56 inches. The leaf would be stored inside this compartment together with other ancillary equipment like protective pads and table mats.
I am now undecided whether or not to give up this storage space and opt for a slick folding mechanism ? Maybe I can find room to make one of each!
I love the concept of the butterfly leaf, but it seems that, with the exception of a pedestal table, the legs would get in the way when the table is extended to seat six with two on each side.
Is there a plan to build one on here?
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