I’m getting set to build a coffee table for our living room to my wife’s specifications (which are pretty rough: she wants a particular size (6′ x 3′), wants it made from Cherry, and wants a “clean, sort of modern look”). I fiddled around with some designs until I got something she generally likes, and now I’d appreciate some a few more experienced eyeballs on the design. I’m a brand new woodworker who’s done a lot of reading, but has very little actual construction under my belt so far. I’m striving for a design that looks decent, and has straight-forward milling, joinery and assembly.
Any comments on this design, from proportions to construction to finishing would be hugely appreciated!
Thanks,
-M.
Replies
Hi Mark,
I'm in the process of writing a design manual for the 16-18 year olds that I teach.
You've obviously spent a fair bit of time drawing this up.
The first thing I get my students to do is to write down what materials and finishes are used in the room that the furniture is to be put in. As you've already had cherry specified, then that's the timber. Finish should match the other articles close by to 'fit in' appearance wise. Often this limits your selection.
The part of the spec that says 'clean lines' says that the pigeon holes are out for me. I'd instead use a drawer for storage, with the drawer pull moulded onto the bottom inside lip of the drawer front. This would be a wide shallow drawer, mating into the apron that would be no more than 75mm wide (making a drawer depth of 40-50mm). To keep the lines clean, I'd put a false front onto the apron either side of the drawer so that the drawer front is flush when closed.
Personally, I prefer straight tapered legs and bevelled edges on simple designs (also easier to make), but these legs also work fine, especially if the most important boss says they do. If you wanted to fiddle with proportion, I'd look at a 35mm square leg tapering down to 25mm at the foot (1 1/2" rough sawn stock)
Re: joinery, don't forget to allow for seasonal movement in the tabletop. Use steel table clips, figure eights or wooden buttons to fasten the top to the apron.
The classic joint used to fasten the apron to the leg is a mortice and tenon. This will give you a bulletproof table, but you could get away with dowels or biscuits at a pinch here - the dowel option is often used in mass produced coffee tables, biscuits far less so in my experience. Others may differ here.
Also, don't forget the corner blocks to reinforce the aprons/legs.
Cheers,
eddie
Edited 8/13/2003 2:59:38 AM ET by eddie (aust)
Personally, I think that 6x3 is a bit large for a coffee table. However, regardless of my personal feelings on this size, I would definitely suggest that you make a mock up, full size, of your table and put it in the room for a day or two and live with it to see what you think. Get a piece of plywood, rough cut your legs on a band saw out of scrap (actually, cut two or three different styles and attach them all to see which looks good), and put in some pieces for your apron to help you decide the balance of width. I think you'll find that in spite of all your hard work on the computer, the real thing will give you greater impact on final design.
Scott
MarkH,
Just to clarify, will the top be solid cherry or cherry ply with a solid wood trim?
Solid cherry for the top. I'm planning on using edge-banded cherry ply for cubbyholes.
Hello Mark, I was impressed with the computer sketches you drafted. What program do you use to do that?
Thanks!
I used 3ds MAX to buld the model -- it's a general purpose 3D modelling application that I often use for technical animations for work. It's expensive, with a steep learning curve -- but once you learn it reasonably well, it works great for designing furniture!
Congratulations on the CAD work. All of the advide you've received so far is excellent. I would suggest that you use the mortise and tenon approach for attaching the legs - if the table will be prone to serve as an informal "seat" when you have a crowd, the mortise and tenon will survive while the biscuits may not. BTW I learned this the hard way!
Your getting al lot of great advice. I agree with the use of drawers, those nooks might be hard to reach the remote if it's shoved back. The legs I like, degree of difficulty only comes into play for me if it's impossible/difficult but then I'll still try.
As to the mock up, another very good idea because 6' might be tough.
I have a better suggestion though go buy some 4'x8' cardboard and build your mock-up. It's easier, faster and cheaper. You can even faux paint it similar if you need the visual.
J.ust A G.uy W.ith A H.ammer (formerly the guy called Bob)
A couple of items: what will you store in the table? I agree with the others that the cubby holes will become little traps for stuff, so a drawer might be more practical. If you're up in the air on this, and recognizing that either a drawer or cubby holes as you've drawn them will represent the majority of time spent on the project, perhaps you could forego both and use an apron only. Just a thought... When wives are promised something they expect delivery on a timely basis, and you can gobble up a lot of time and material if you don't keep it simple.
Another bit of advice: I was at my wood supplier on Saturday picking up about 70 BF of cherry and saw two gentlemen selecting borads of the same species. I'm guessing it's their first cherry project since the boards they had picked all had lots and lots of sapwood...which you really do not want! (I'm ashamed to admit I did not jump in and offer advice...had they asked, though, I would have offered.) If uncertain about selecting your materials, please take someone along who has experience or if you realy trust your lumber person he/she can help you out. Or, you can look for some other customer who's covered with sawdust and buying lots of wood and that person for advice.
How do I know this? Never mind!!!
Fortunatley, we have a little hardwood supplier in town (a father-and-son operation). They're both very knowledgeable and extremely helpful. They've already taught me to recognize the difference between heartwood and sapwood.
My wife likes the cubby holes. They're sized to hold magazines.
The suggestion someone made earlier to mock up the parts was excellent. I used some 1/2" foamboard to make a top of the dimensions she'd requested (6'x3') and she was shocked to see how big that was. A couple of iterations with my handy-dandy utility knife later, she's happy with a 54" x 39" dimension.
Thanks to everybody for the help!
-M.
Lofton,
I built a quilt rack some time ago and used cherry. It was the first (and only) time I used cherry for a project. It was only after it was finished that I discovered the sapwood in the upright pieces. Would you mind sharing some of your wisdom with me so I can avoid the same mistake on future projects?
Thanks in advance,
trusche2
Hi, Truche2,
The sapwood is easy to see if you know to look for it (which I originally did not). It is nearly white in color, contrasting with the reddish color of the heartwood. As you select lumber, you can find sapwood on one side of a board but not the other (clever milling), which is OK so long as the sapwood does not show. I'm not aware whether, other than color, the sapwood is not as sound as heartwood. You rprobably already have your answer if you've managed to incorporate sapwood into a piece!
Lofton
Mark:
I agree with some of the other posters here...I'd scrap the cubby holes for more than one reason. For one, I think that it kinda clutters the look of what you're doing with the rest of the piece. #2 is that if you actually want to use these cubby holes, you'll have papers/pencils/remotes/whatever hanging out of them all the time.
I can think of three alternatives:
1) make a simple apron
2) make a drawer/drawers
3) make an apron, but have a hidden compartment behind the apron that can hold some of this stuff that you don't want to see. This would be similar to some of the cookbook holders that are mounted underneath a cabinet to keep the cookbook out of the way. You could make this fairly simply, IMO.
Other than the cubby holes, I think that you're on a good tack there. Keep in mind that a lot of the opinions expressed here (including mine) are from OUR point of view. If you and the little lady want cubby holes, then so be it.
Take care, and good luck - I'll be looking for finished pics in the gallery when it's done... :~)
Jamie
Mark
I will throw in a suggestion that is not WW related, but will affect the piece you have designed. I would go with drawers as most have posted. An this leads me to my point. Let me give you a scenario.
I'm painting the living room. My wife wants blue. I hire 100 professional decorators to give suggestions on what color. They all concur that teal would be the appropriate application. The da*n living room is getting painted blue regardless. I do not have to live with the 100 professional decorators, but I do have to live with my wife 24/7. If I painted the room teal, it would probaly be beautiful. But, I have violated a basic rule of common sense.
If you can design it so the cubbie's could be removed an apron or drawers added latter, that would be a plus. That would be thinking one step ahead. A woman can reverse a decision on a dime and give a nickel's change.
Conclusion: If your wife wants cubby-holes, install cubby-holes. If you don't, you'll be sorry! ha..ha..
Good Luck...
sarge..jt
Mark,
I'm in agreement with the Rev. You should mock this up first. I don't know how many times I have built a prop only to have the art director say "Wow, that's really huge. Can we make it smaller." Love the "we" part. LOL.
It will also help you to work out some of the details. A couple of 4x8 sheets of plywood will be a great investment.
I like the design. You might want to consider stretchers People kick the legs of coffee tables a lot.
What type of joints are you considering? Mortise and tenon? Biscuits?
Good luck and nice computer work. I use Autocad and 3DMax. I find Autocad better for construction details.
Just my 2 cents.
Enjoy,
Len
Mock up completed, and (as I indicated in an earlier post), a darn good idea, as it resulted in a substantial reduction in the size of the coffee table. I bought my lumber today, and will start milling tomorrow. I'd planned on using 5/4 for the top, but all of the 5/4 lumber (at two different hardwood suppliers) was 50-60% sapwood. Very disappointing. The 4/4 was much better, so that's what I'm using. Also got a beautiful piece of 12/4 for the legs.
A young worker at one of the places told me that "sapwood was what gave cherry it's character". Uh huh. An older and wiser co-worker sorted him out in the most graceful way I've ever heard. He said to the kid, "well, remember the thing about woodworking is that everybody has different tastes and preferences, and that's why God made so many different trees." Much nicer than chewing the kid out for lecturing to a customer, and it might even stick in his head.
-M.
Edited 8/16/2003 2:21:46 AM ET by MarkH
I think you settled of 54" by 39" for the top. That still seems very large to me, but the mockup shouldn't result in any surprises later on. My choice would have been 30 inches wide, at most.
Anyway, if you're doing the cubbies, with a table this wide, I'd put a support in the middle so there are separate cub bies on each side. This way each cubby will be about 15 inches deep and things won't get lost. This will also add structural rigidity to the table ... you can have a board as deep as the apron which runs down the middle of the table. You can even add some buttons here as well as the outer apron.
John
PS - I'd also use drawers, but since you've decided on cubbies I'd make them as useful as possible ... hence my suggestion above.
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