Stunning Side Tables
When I moved into my place in the north Georgia mountains, I found several maple stumps that had been pulled from the yard and stored in a shed to dry. I took one of them to a wood mill and had them cut it into 3" thick slices. I made two of them into dogwood themed end tables using various hardwoods and epoxy for inlays. The vines and leaves were made from solid square copper wire that was inlayed into grooves cut into the wood. I designed the bases as a tripod style using Wenge, a very dense and stiff hardwood to give the slabs a floating appearance. They are available for purchase at my Etsy® store at the button below.
Here's what I started with - maple stump cookie about 3" thick. I spent lots of time flattening it and even more time sanding. Fun fact - getting surfacing lines out of end grain is a lot of work. After this step, I filled all the cracks (checks) with epoxy. Then did more sanding.
Using a photo of the piece, I laid out the design using Illustrator. The idea was to use the grain in the wood to show me where to place elements.
All set up with the Origin to begin cutting the butterflies to inlay.
The butterflies are actually functional as they span the checks in the wood and prevent further splitting, so I made them out of 1/4" thick hardwood. Fancy names like Chakte Viga, Goncalo Alves, and the less exotic birdseye maple.
Adding a few more areas to pour more colored epoxy to the butterflies.
Dogwood blossoms were filled using two colors of epoxy that I kind of convinced to play nicely with a toothpick. I wanted to show the wood underneath to show off the checks in the wood that made up the veins in the petals, but in hindsight, that may have been a bit too precious. I think they may have looked better with more contrast to
Dogwood blossoms were filled using two colors of epoxy that I kind of convinced to play nicely with a toothpick. I wanted to show the wood underneath to show off the checks in the wood that made up the veins in the petals, but in hindsight, that may have been a bit too precious. I think they may have looked better with more contrast to the wood. I made the center of the flower out of copper beads.
With the inlay sanded flush and epoxy cured, I was able to cut the grooves for the copper wire inlays.
The copper wire was square stock I found on the interwebs, and it was pretty difficult to work with because it was super stiff. Fortunately the interwebs also told me to wrap it in paper, set it on fire, and quench it in a bucket of water to soften it. Night. And. Day. Thanks interwebs!
The best part of any project is putting that first coat of finish on it. I used a satin finish poly for this one. It looks glossy because it's wet.
The process for the second table was largely the same. This image shows it after cutting, but before adding the Geegaws and flimflam. You can see my heat treated copper material laying there waiting to be abused into submission.
The big butterfly was made out of birdseye maple, which originally didn't show enough contrast for my liking. However after putting finish on it, I found that it literally disappears if you look at the table from certain angles, but shows up like a beacon from other angles. Happy accidents, as Bob Ross might say.
Super pretty with the finish on it.
I cut the parts for the base with my shaper as well, but didn't get any pictures because I'm very dumb. In any case, this is the glue up with clamps and squares and whatnot.
A nice look for the bases. I wanted them visually "lightweight" but strong, so my wood choice was wenge, and I used gentle curves and half-lap joints for strength and stability.
First dry fit, and while I was going for the visual contrast of the heavy top on a light stand, the thickness of the top was just too stark. cutting a 45 degree bevel on the bottom could solve that. Or ruin it.
Freehand cutting with a 6" blade on my jigsaw. The good thing about natural edge wood is you can't really see your mistakes.
Much Better.
Walnut dowel standoffs. I tried setting the top directly on the frame, but it still needed a little room. I dig it.
Engraved brass plate with my signature inlaid into the back edge.
And, blammo. Two groovy end tables. You should totally buy them- they'd look great next to that one piece of furniture. Or between those other things you have that are also there.
Gorgeous Gathering Tables
This table was built as a response to everyone I know saying "you should sell this stuff". It is a mid century style dining table with a cedar top and hard maple legs. 8 Feet long and 30" wide, it is a blatant ripoff of the together table which allows different seating arrangements, more places at the table due to the round ends, and an easier reach across the table when your stupid brother is hogging the gravy or whatever.
This one of a kind table can be yours for $5,000.00 + shipping and handling. You can find at my Etsy® store at the button below.
It all starts with a sketch - trying to figure out angles, cuts, and how things will fit together.
Transferring the lines from the sketch to the piece that will become one of the leg cleats. Now the challenge is to make sure I don't cut on the wrong line.
After much cutting and cussing, the cleat looks like I had envisioned.
Dry fit of the legs to the cleats before gluing.
I had cut a rough radius around the ends of the table top, but had to fashion this super fancy space age jig using scrap wood and a nail to make it just right. These are the kinds of cuts that make the difference between a nice table and expensive firewood; you only have one chance not to screw it up.
Setting up the table to check alignment and level.
After looking at the lines of the table, the profile looked a little chunky with the almost 2" thickness of the table, so I used a huge chamfer bit and beveled the edge to give it a lighter silhouette.
Putting on the finish - I used an oil/wax combo that I created with beeswax, olive oil, coconut oil, and clove oil. Smells pretty good.
Always feels good to see the lines you had in mind. The leg assemblies are held on with threaded inserts and stainless steel screws, so it is sturdy and can break down easily for shipping. In case you want to buy it. Which, of course, you do.
