The original colonial tavern table modeled for this project came from Wexford, Pennsylvania and has been dated by appraisers to be constructed somewhere within the mid to late 1700’s. Brought to Missouri by my grandmother, Gloria Townsend, in the mid 1960’s, this table was featured as a vibrant décor item during my childhood. The impetus for this project originated during my teens, when I began to develop a keen talent for woodworking. Unable to find the time or excuse to build a replica of the somewhat complex colonial table envisioned during my upbringing, the dream of someday completing the project was delayed. An endeavor of this magnitude also requires a vast array of tools, which I still needed and began to acquire during early adolescence. Through tiresome research, observation and practice, the project sprang to life as the culmination of my undergraduate college career.  Spending somewhere between forty and fifty actual hours in the workshop, the table was finally completed Monday, April 27, 2009.

            Unlike the original builders of the vintage piece, I was able to construct the table with the aid of technologically advanced precision tools. Often built with rather crude hand tools, many pieces of this period are somewhat irregular and not uniform. Advances in woodworking technology were used during this project replacing older out-dated methods. Some of these techniques include the use of a lathe duplicator, ellipsis jig as well as pocket hole joinery. The duplicator allowed for all four legs to be turned to near exact proportions unlike the free-hand turning methods of craftsmen during the 1700’s. Utilizing an ellipsis jig, the oval shape of the table top was uniformly cut to shape. Pocket hole joinery replaced the older style of pinning the top to the base, allowing for an easier, more effective way of joining the top.  Artistic liberties are also represented in the stain and finish, which are not historically accurate, replacing old techniques with technologically advanced materials and methods.

 

To complete this project one will need the following:

 

            Materials list:              – 18  board feet of 5/4 hard maple

                                                – 6  board feet of 8/4 hard maple

                                                – 1  3/8 in x 3 ft walnut dowel rod

                                                – Glue, Stain, and Polyurethane

                                                – 1 ¼ inch pocket hole screws  

 

            Equipment required: table saw, miter saw, band saw, angle head mortiser, lathe, lathe duplicator, tenoning jig, sliding miter gauge, pocket hole jig, ellipsis jig, router table, router and bits, drill, flush cut saw, clamps, random orbit sander, measurement tools.

 

 

 

 

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