Hi everyone. I’ve been a bit of a watcher here and have learned lots. But now I have a question of my own.
I’m making a cherry coffee table/cocktail table. The top is of 6/4 material and is of dimension 32 by 52 inches in an ovoid shape. We want to undercut the edge of the table top to lighten the appearance of the edge.
My plan is to do this with the router on the table but I am quite aware of the issues – large bit size, large work size, end grain tearout. However, I cannot think of another way to do this and want to do it safely.
My thoughts were these. Complete the lamination and flatten the top – not a siimple task in and of itself. Then rough cut with the band saw. The have a lexan or plexi blank cut and fix to the underside of the table top. Then use a bearing bit to work against the blank taking the bearing radius down 1/16 at a time. Additionally use an idler pin and a support table to hold the work. This sounds like alot of work but I can’t think of another way to do this and I really only want to do it once.
Am I crazy? Is this making this too complicated and if so, what other approaches can I take?
Thanks in advance
Mark MacLeod
Replies
Make your template of the top out of 12 mm MDF-- easy to shape with a jigsaw and compass plane and/or spokeshaves, and sandpaper, and cheap if you make a balls up and need to chuck it away and start again. Attach the template to your table top with two or three G or F cramps, pencil round the template, remove it and rough out the table top with a jigsaw. Reattach the template and do the final shaping with a hand held router and top bearing pattern cutting bit-- the bigger the diameter of the bit the better.
Pencil in the extent of the bevel on the underside and the edge of the table top using the hand held pencil marking gauge technique. Tear off the bulk of the bevel with a hand held power plane freehand. Finesse it with hand planes. In both planing scenarios work the end grain first so that any break out is cleaned up by the long grain planing.
Simple, cheap and comparatively safe by taking the tools to the top rather than trying to take an unwieldy top to the machines. I've done this job using the method described probably a hundred times or more and would never consider your proposed overly complex method for a simple one-off. You'll maybe be surprised how easy the method I described is when you get to it. The method I described is certainly not the only one, but it is cheap, it's quick and it's effective. Slainte.
Richard Jones Furniture
This was a great suggestion . . . or set of suggestions. This makes alot more sense. And after seeing the article in FWW on tapered legs this month, I think I can do this. Thanks again for your help.Mark
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled