Monday, April 16, 2018

A Barnsley hayrake table 1, stock preparation and the frame.

I have started making a Barnsley hayrake table for a friend of mine.
He needed a large table, and I am more than happy to build another table like this. For some reason large tables are pretty popular over here, and my friend said that he would like the top to be 118" x 48". So I am once again ending up with a hefty tabletop that will be difficult to move around. But I am also given the opportunity to make a nice sturdy base to go along with it.

A thing that bothered me a bit about the last hayrake table that I made, was that it didn't have breadboard ends. So this time I am going to make some of those.
Another thing was the fact that suddenly the size requirements for that table changed, so the legs are way too close to the edges of the table - but now I get a second chance for making it look right.

I milled some larch about half a year ago, and while it isn't furniture grade dry, it will be dry enough for me to make a table out of. I can't get the moisture content down to furniture grade anyway, so I'll just be prepared for a bit of wood movement.
It might even ad some character to the finished table.

The stock for the frame was jointed and planed to thickness on the thickness planer. The legs started out as 6x6" timber, and the hayrake part was a 3x5". I removed approximately 5/8" from the legs, and a bit less from the stretcher stock.

I started making the mortises in the center stretcher by drilling and chiseling out the waste. The result was really good. I then decided that it might be fun to test the chain mortiser on the leg mortises. To avoid tear out on the front side of the legs, I didn't plunge the machine all the way through, but stopped maybe 1/8" from going through.
I had marked out the location of the mortise on both sides, but I was curious to see if the machine was going straight in - or if it worked at an angle once loaded. So the first few taps with the mallet on a chisel were really interesting. Much to my surprise, the hole was dead accurate. I know for sure that I could never make such a good looking almost 6" deep mortise by hand.
So already now the machine has earned its keep.

Apart from making a lot of mortises, the stretcher also needs a lot of tenons. I am gradually becoming better and better at making those, though I still find the angled tenons to be a bit difficult to execute.

There is still quite a bit of way to go, but I am enjoying every minute of the building time.
Some parts of the stretcher.

Planing a 6x6

This chain mortiser is amazing!






10 comments:

  1. that chain mortiser looks awesome!

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    1. Hi Jeremy

      It is a fantastic piece of machinery. I ought to make some more mortises with it, just for fun :-)
      Brgds
      Jonas

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  2. Nice old iron machines you got there... With a bit of maintenance they should run for another lifetime :-)

    Bob

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    Replies
    1. Hi Bob

      They are certainly good for another lifetime of use. They are not easy to move around, but they are so incredible stable due to the mass of the cast iron.
      Brgds
      Jonas

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  3. Furniture grade joinery on such massive pieces is very impressive, especially with angles like these.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jeff

      I have to admit that it does take a bit of time and patience, but it is fun to make nice tight fitting joints of this size.
      One of the harder things for me is to bore a straight hole for the drawbore peg. But with a bit of practice I am slowly getting there too.

      Brgds
      Jonas

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  4. It is going to be awesome! I like to make the same piece of furniture more than once, if I can. There's always something you would like to have done better this time...

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    Replies
    1. Hi Brian

      You are absolutely right about there being a benefit in making the same piece twice. My problem here is that I can't remember the dimensions I used for the last table, but I just decided that I would make it so I thought that it looked good. This base will most likely be a bit narrower, but I think the length is approximately the same.
      Brgds
      Jonas

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  5. Fedt bord. Jeg har også altid været glad for den model.

    "Breadboards" hedder i øvrigt "kernelister" på dansk. Læste om det i en gammel lærebog for snedkere engang. De omtalte det som en samling, der blandt andet blev brugt på skillevægge mellem offentlige toiletter - Antageligt før man begyndte at bruge krydsfiner til den slags ;-)

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    Replies
    1. Hej Mikkel

      Tak for kommentaren.
      Jeg tvivler på at der er nogen der vil bruge tid på at lave kernelister til toiletskillevægge i dagens Danmark. Du har garanteret ret i, at det var før krydsfiner og MDF plade osv.

      Jeg synes det er et spændende bord på grund af understellet, og jeg kunne godt finde på en gang at lave et sofabord med det samme understel på. Men nu må jeg nok hellere lige lave det her færsig først :-)

      Mvh
      Jonas

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