Replies

1. 
   RMillard | Jul 02, 2003 01:31pm | #1

   Despite its complex look, the top of a pie crust table is quite easy to make.

   The top should be made from a single board. For the highest historical accuracy, lay your top out so it is a slight oval. Most original tops are narrower across the grain by about ½ “ due to shrinkage. You’d be surprised how noticeable this is.

   Originals were dished on the lathe, an option that I didn’t even consider. I used a router to remove the bulk of the waste from the center, leaving bridges , to support the base, which I later removed with a chisel. This just happened to make the largest pile of fine nasty dust I have ever seen.

   The center is then scraped to level and refine it. The carving of the edge is best done completely by hand, using various gouges, with my favorite being the following. No. 7 10mm fish tail, No. 5 8mm, No. 2 5mm, and the No. 28 6mm ( these are all Pfeil). One place that I think a lot of reproductions fall short is that they make the outside bead too pronounced, which results in a clumsy look. The transition from the flat portion of the top, to the raised edge requires great care to insure it remains flat, with no high spots or dips. This is another area that some reproductions have trouble with.

   The beveling ( or more accurately the rounding) of the underside, is done by first removing the bulk of the waste with a chamfer bit and then completed with rasps and ever finer files. This is not a whole lot of fun, and it seems like it takes forever. Don’t worry about a few file marks being left behind, these are present on the originals.

   As far a reference material goes, there are the following, that I know of.

   November/December 1987 Fine Woodworking, with articles by Mr. Pine and Landon

   Making a Piecrust Tea Table by Tom Heller and Ron Clarkson, Schiffer Pub. 1994.

   The Heller/Clarkson book is very complete, but suffers on one major point, the finish. The table in the book is in my opinion poorly finished, and is certainly not up to the level of what a table like this calls for. The turnings are rough with noticeable tearout, and the shellac is applied very thick, and was not rubbed out, creating cheap overly glossy look.

   The Landon article is very good, and shows the edge as is should look, which is quite shallow. The Pine article give an excellent overview of how the complete table should go together.

   I think my piecrust is still in the gallery section under the title Pie Crust Tea Table c 1760 take 2

   Rob Millard

2. 
   TJW | Jul 02, 2003 05:41pm | #2

   I've made a number of piecrust tops but use a different method than Rob describes.  His requires quite a bit of carving skill, which you can see from his submission in the gallery he has done exceptionally well.   I was reluctant to test my abilities in that area on a project that requires so much time and that has to be done well to be worth doing at all.  So, I developed a pattern-routing technique for shaping the rim that produces a final result indistinguishable from the traditional method.  The only difference may be that it is too uniform.  And, the top will be perfectly round, which these tables normally are when they are new.  In any case, the only difficult hand work will be carving the inside corners on the rim.   The middle of the top is dished out as Rob describes.

   This is a little long, and I've had to leave out some details, but the technique goes like this:

   1. Make an exact pattern of one segment of the rim (Pattern 1).  Include the centerpoint of the table on the pattern.  I use 1/2" MDF.  Thicker material can pose problems with router bit length later.

   2.  Use Pattern 1 to make an exact pattern of the top (Pattern 2).  Do this by moving Pattern 1 about a center point on the Pattern 2 blank and rout the edge for each segment at the appropriate place.  The points will be delicate so I soak them with super glue.

   3. Use Pattern 2 to make an outside pattern using complementary pattern routing techniques.  That requires that you first make an intermediate pattern (Pattern 3) that will be used to make the complementary pattern (Pattern 4).  Pattern 2 (the full top pattern) will fit exactly inside Pattern 4.  Mark both so that you can orient them the same later.  If you don't know what complementary pattern routing is, I can explain later.  It is the same technigue often used to inlay butterfly keys and such.

   4.  Screw or clamp Pattern 4 to your top blank.  With appropriately-sized guide bushings, rout the profile.  You will probably have to make one or more guides.  You will need, for a 3/4" wide profile, a 1" diameter ball-end bit with a 1 1/2" guide for the cove, a 1/8" plunge-cutting bead bit with a 3/4" guide for the bead, and a 1/4" straight with a 1 3/4" guide to define the inside of the profile and the final level of the top's middle.  These sizes will result in a nice profile that will end up 4 or 5/16" deep.  When that is done, trace with a pencil the inside of the pattern on to the top and remove the pattern.  You are done with Pattern 4.

   5.  Attach Pattern 2 with screws, tacks, double-faced tape or clamps, aligning it exactly on the outline you traced. Be careful if you use screws or tacks that they do not penetrate the middle of the top more than 1/4".   Rout the outside of the top using the pattern to guide a flush-cutter.  Remove the pattern and, with a 3/16" round-over, rout the outer profile of the bead.  Re-attach the pattern and use a 7/8" roundover to route the bottom edge.  The pattern is needed for the bearing to ride on.  It was removed for the top roundover first so that each bit would have a square surface to ride against.  Remove the pattern and the rim profile is 95% complete.

   6.  Dish out the top as Rob describes.

   7.  Carve the inside corners of the rim profile.  I reground a couple cheap gouges with sweeps slightly smaller than the cove by rounding them so that the would fit into the corners.  A rounded scraper also is very useful.  Sharp tools are everything here.

   8.  Scrape and sand everything and you're done.

   9.  Store the patterns by putting them together and screwing battens across them

   This may appear to be a lot of extra work, and is certainly confusing at first, but it actually goes pretty fast  and enables you to do something you might not otherwise do.  Carving the inside corners and final scraping and sanding will take longer than all the routing.  And, you have the templates for future use.

   I hope this helps.  I'll try to include some more detail and pictures in the future.

   Tom Witzig

   
   

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   Edited 7/5/2003 10:50:33 PM ET by TJ

1. 
   chri7s | Jul 02, 2003 09:23pm | #3

   thank you all for your prompt responses.  Now I have a launching point and some additional reading to do.  I look forward to actually starting the project.

2. 
   snapperhead | Feb 12, 2004 12:04am | #4

   I was reading your posting on making the pie crust table top.  I have started making a pie crust table, about 1/4th finished.  I was wondering if you might have any pictures of the pie crust table jigs you use.  The words are great but a few picture will fill in a few questions.

   Thanks for any help you might have.  Also I am not in a great hurry, I still have three legs to cut out and carve on .

   thanks, Chris.

1. 
   TJW | Feb 16, 2004 04:55am | #7

   Chris:

   Here are a few pictures of my patterns.  They are:

   1) Template 1.  A segment of a round table, this one 27" diameter with eight scalloped segments.  You can see the centerpoint at the bottom.  The pattern is rotated around the center of the blank and fixed in place for each segment, and a flush cuttting bit used to cut out the template (Template 2) that is the exact shape as the top.

   2) An alternative Template 1, this one for an oval table.  Used the same as the round one, but it is flipped over for each quadrant.

   I don't have a picture of Template 3 because I threw it out.

   3) Templates 2 and 4, the final templates needed to rout the actual top.  In the picture, they are screwed together with battens across the back.  2 is the inside pattern and 4 the outside.  4 is used to rout the inside of the table rim.

   4) Part of the finished rim, after the corners are carved and the middle scraped and sanded. 

   Hope this helps.

   
3. 
   kensshop | Feb 12, 2004 03:22am | #5

   chri7s

   Get a copy of FINE FURNITURE FOR THE AMATEUR CABINETMAKER by A.W. Marlow.  In this book are the detailed instructions for a VERY fine piecrust table.    Good luck, Ken

4. 
   GHR | Feb 12, 2004 03:55am | #6

   Mass produced ones have a raised edge milled and glued on.

   I made my first one 20 years ago. I prefer turning the interior, sawing the outline, and then carving and scraping the profile.