photography

The Champion Table Build, Part 3: Leg Joinery

flattening walnut stock with a wooden joiner for the top rails of the leg assembly

using winding-sticks to make sure there is no twist in the board

finishing up with a #7 jack plane

squaring up the remaining edges and dimensioning the walnut on the bandsaw

layout lines

initial shaping of the curves on the top rail of the legs

testing it against the table-top

sawing lengths of white-oak for the vertical posts of the leg assembly

the white oak after squaring-up

testing the concept and a few angles before committing

laying out the leg joints

establishing the sliding dovetail angle with a knife

cutting the front of the sliding dovetail

all the bandsaw work done, now the hand-tools will finish

paring the back cheek of the tenon

the joint is most of the way there- the waste between the mortise and the dovetail is yet to be removed

the four white oak legs all cut

the arsenal of tools to accurately transfer the dimensions of the tenon/ dovetails onto the walnut rails

marking

starting the cut for the sliding dovetail socket with a carcass saw

another view cutting sliding dovetail sockets

chopping out the waste in the socket

paring the sidewalls unreached by the saw

using a router plane to achieve an accurate floor of the joint- the leg on the cutter allows it to reach the angled corners

another view of the router-plane

starting the mortise with a 3/4 mortise chisel

the first row is delicate- just establishing the shape and protecting the corners

going the full depth of the mortise with an auger – you can see the round-topped sliding dovetail socket parallel to the mortise

squaring the mortise the rest of the way with the mortise chisel

cleaning the sidewalls with my extra-big paring chisel

thank God, they fit!

step one is successful- to get to this point took endless drawings and two complete practice joints and a lot of patience

marking the leg rails for some shaping/ sculpting cuts on the band saw

the top rails post rough-shaping, and the taper of one of the white-oak legs marked with blue tape

dry re-assembly just to make sure

the glue-up

next week will concern the joining of the bottom rail and the final shaping of the leg assemblies

Der Aufbau des Champion-Tisches, Teil 2: Rand

surface preparation with a Stanley #80 scraper

the swirly walnut grain is difficult to plane but the scraper is able to deal with it efficiently

beginning to fit the side rails and bread-board ends

marking the end cuts with a sharp knife

then creating a shoulder along that line with a chisel assures a clean cut without tearing the grain

cutting along the shoulder with a sharp crosscut saw

a small array of saws to do this job

cutting the central breadboard tenon

coming up to the other side with a pull-saw

both ends of the table are now cut

cutting the base of the tenon “cheeks”

really no other position to accurately make this cut

cutting away the “cheeks”

the finished tenon, and a groove has been cut to receive a floating tongue to align the breadboard

laying out the positions of the mortise and tenons on the side rails and breadboards

cutting the tenon on the side rails

checking for a tight fit. the side rails are attached with glued tongue and groove joints, while the breadboards are “floating”, held in place by a tongue and groove joint and two “draw-bored” mortise and tenon joints, which will allow for expansion and contraction where the grain intersects perpendicular rather than parallel, yet holding the boards tight to the edge of the table. Two opposing corners are pinned miters and the other two are mortised. imagine the table being able to expand in width along the length of the two boards left long to see the allowance for seasonal cross grain movement.

treating the edges before the final assembly

drilling for the dowels for the pinned miter joints where the live edges come together

a brad point drill marks the center of the tenon inside

re-marking the tenon with an offset so that the dowel pin will “draw” it tight to the edge of the table. the holes will be elongated laterally to allow for joint movement.

altering geometry with violence

shaping the dowel pins by pounding the straight oak through a succession of smaller holes drilled in a steel plate until they are round and the size I need

nearly there

a batch of pins

planing a taper

the taper will allow the pin to engage the offset hole in the tenon and slowly pull it tight

pounding the pins home for the final assembly

a little help form a ratchet strap to pull the center tight

cutting away the exposed ends with a saw

a tightly pinned joint

the top all joined. there will be a considerable amount of detail work on the top yet, but first the base

The Champion Table Build, Part 1: Compose, Scribe and Fit

the beauty of God’s edge

composing pieces

flattening black walnut with a router and jig

more looking, more composing

smoothing and shaping edges

smoothing and joining white oak

assembling white oak panels

white oak and black walnut adjusted and clamped for scribing

knife scribing every curve

the white oak panel marked and ready to cut

rough cutting on the bandsaw, staying about 1/16th to 1/8th away from the scribed line

cutting the line deeper

paring away the waste to establish a shoulder along the scribe-line

making the shoulders broad and deep

chopping and paring right up to the line

the shoulder becomes a jig to cut the rest of the piece right to the line using a pattern bit and router

after cutting a slot for a floating tenon, dry-fitting pieces

the floating tenons cut and laid out

tenons glued in

glued and clamped

joining and smoothing the new edges

on to the next step…

Holy, the Lesser Saints

the lesser saints

weave their quiet

agile stories

amongst the lives

of greater lights

holy, the lesser saints

the color

upon their brows

they do not cry out

they do not turn

hearts raised like rafters

heavenward

forever orbiting

tireless in quest

the sphere of your glory

to enter and remain

bring newer life

from ancient tribes

all in anticipation

groaning in the yearning

their own eternal ribbon voice

those who have ears…

let them hear

holy, the lesser saints

bring your longing

bring your capacity

for fullness

in the life of the soil

countless prophets

behold and know

see and have understanding

awaken, members of wholeness

you are provision

you are appointed

little lights, you are His

lesser saints

holding up mountains

echoes of distant voice

priests of the eternal present

fierce and strange

are the quiet ones

in silent witness

givers of the heart of God

receiving and giving from the heart of God

celebrating mystery in plain-ness

in infinite variety and order

teach the spiritual truths of rest and labor

sweat and awe

all from silent knees and horns

in the unending world, glory will be known forever

Johnny

“Johnny” is a spoon carved in figured hard maple.

The Priesthood of the Land

“In some places the mysterious relation man has with sheep has never been forgotten, people have not so far left the land, and still honor the sheep who help them to live on it. For them there is joy of life in the shearing of the sheep…” Kevin Ford, Shearing Day.