Coffee Table – part 1
I’ve started a furniture class at the Philadelphia Furniture Workshop school. The project for this class is a solid walnut coffee table in a Mid-Century Modern style.
The first step was to select and match walnut boards that will make up the coffee table top. I chose 4 boards with an even pattern, but with several knots and other visually interesting features. Other students chose high contrast boards with bright sapwood.
Then we planed and jointed the boards. The boards were marked with a chalk triangle so the orientation of the boards could be maintained while they were being milled.
The next step was to glue the boards together and clamp them to dry.
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After the boards dried, the new table top was run through a planer to create a perfectly flat top.
I chose two slightly darker pieces that will be come the breadboard ends of the table top.
A dado was cut into the breadboard ends after they were milled. A tongue was cut into the table top on the table saw.
The ends were glued to the top (with some room for the wood to expand on the ends) and clamped to dry.
