Gatekeeper table

I do a bit a woodworking and we have a need of a nice little drop leaf gatekeeper table in our abode.
So, the trusty table saw was dusted down today and put to work on a few planks of Ash I have had in stock for a number of years.

After a few hours of making sawdust I now have a pile of sized timber all ready for sanding and jointing.

 

oooohhhh be interesting to see the end results ... keep us posted

 

will do

 

Yeah, Can't wait

 

I shall show you a blow by blow progression of events..

 

I'm all for a bit of quality DIY, Robert, so I'm going to keep my eye on the proceedings too. Lovely wood you have there...

 

I have made two other tables that see daily use.
I shall spend hours on the finish.
I reckon if its going to be around for years it deserves to be well presented.
Im using dowels as a joint medium for this project.
I would normally mortice and tenon but these plans use dowels.
The challenging part will be what they call the rule joint that allows the leaf to drop without any unsightly gaps.
After the final build it will have several coats of sanding sealer, rubbing down after each. Then stained with Peruvian Mahogany and finally wax polished.
phew

 

Now that's what I call a useful hobby :gnthb:
Looking forward to seeing the finished result. I couldn't see any sawdust in the picture, you look like a tidy worker!

 

Today after the weekly shop it was back in the workshop for a few hours with the gatekeper table.
I wanted to get all the sawing finished with the table saw so I dont have to drag it out from its storage space agian, so it ended up a long day.
Bit of sanding to start the day.

After spending some time making a taper jig a practising on some scrap it was time for the real thing.
I had to taper just 1/4 inch down to the bottom of each of the five legs.
You can see the taper jig on the right of the piece I`m cutting.

The result turned out just fine with five 1/4inch tapered legs.

 

You are a meticulous craftsman and I can hardly wait to see the final results. Bet that sander made a lot of dust...:hehe: :thmb:

 

Luckily it was a breezy day today so most of the fine dust was blown away. The heavy stuff gets vacuumed up and dumped in the composter.

 

I have spent the best part of the last two days making up the butt hinge that supports the fifth leg and the drop leaf.
All done by hand and apart from a final clean up that hinge joint is looking good to me.:gnthb:

 

Wow! Robert, that is one skill that I don't think I could ever master. When I think of the rubbish sold in furniture shops today, it makes yours worth more than money can buy. I'm really eager to see what you're going to do next. Well done...

 

Thanks strawman for your comments.
Today I may spend some time and start to joint the frame and legs together.
But, I must not neglect the garden.
I need to pop out today and track down some shallots.