My first ever table......final use

[AJB Temple]

This amazing piece of work was one of two I made as bedside tables, long ago when I was 25. Up until then all I had made was guitars and model aeroplanes. No money to buy them. Made out of oak. The mouldings were done with one of those old green cylindrical Bosch routers. The legs were turned on my dad's metal work lathe and if you look to closely at the grooves you can see they were done with the pointy end of a b'stard file . The top bit is held to the bottom bit with steel screws, and the top itself is screwed on as well. I probably copied something. Made of oak. Ludicrously heavy. Spent the last 2 decades in store in the mezzanine of a farm barn being cleared out of necessity now. One has disappeared. may be in my brother's garage. Decided to chuck it out then thought again.

Top looks shiny because I just wiped it down with white spirit.

 

[AJB Temple]

Pressed into temporary use as a "get stuff out of the way" stand.


I've gone right off brown furniture so painted it with some left over Mylands paint. It's too low obviously for the coffee machine currently plonked on it. So it might yet get slung out !

 

[AndyT]

Don't be so hard on your younger self!
Painted like that, it would have a £200 price tag on it in any secondhand shop round here, regardless of any alleged "faults" in the way it was built.

 

[Malc2098]

Nice.

 

[AJB Temple]

I regard it as junk . The 'carving' was done freehand with a router and a craft knife as I recall.

 

[Cabinetman]

Well if you managed to do that carving with a router and a craft knife I am most impressed!

 

[duke]

Carving looks ok to me Adrian. Glad it has a use after all those years in storage.

 

[AndyP]

Would be a shame to through it out.

 

[TrimTheKing]

Looks nice, and defo cannot be thrown out. Get it on FB marketplace or similar and there will definitely be buyers for it, even if for not huge cash. Allow someone else to get pleasure and use from it, and know that your woodworking legacy is out there in the world!

 

[Mike G]

It's part of the process, Adrian. This hobby of ours seems simple when you start, but the more you do, the more you realise there is some complexity to it......and of course, the better you get. I've got some old stuff kicking around which makes me cringe every time I see it, but without that stuff, I wouldn't be anywhere near as semi-competent as I feel these days. We're all the same in that regard.

 

[AJB Temple]

^^ Yebbut, I fear I'm getting worse

There are actually photos (not digital obvs) of me making it. At that time my trousers were 30" waist and a bit loose

 

[Woodbloke]

I recollect the first table I made was in the early 70's for my parents. It was a solid teak (!) telephone table with a tiled top and space underneath for the requisite 'Yellow Pages'. I shudder to think about the horrendous gaffs I made but do remember that my planes never stayed sharp for long - Rob

 

[Blackswanwood]

Looks like quite a bit of ingenuity went into making it. So what if you could do it better today - you’ve had a lot more time to practice!

 

[AJB Temple]

Good question actually. Today it would be much simpler. No turning, no carving, no leg chamfers on the top corners, much thinner sections and more elegance. It would also be taller. Top & legs would be integral and there would be no (unnecessary) cross brace beneath the drawer. Drawer pull would be simpler and the release screw would not be covered by a cap. No varnish would be used. It was of it's time.

That said the drawer was dovetailed and looking back on it they were good. All of the mortice & tenon structure has held up with no gaps. Original cascamite used I expect.

 

[BentonTool]

Very nice carving job (IMHO)!