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7/30/2019 Curved-Leg End Table Plan
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CURVED LEGEND TABLE
2007 August Home Publishing Co.
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HeirloomProject
curved-legendtableCreate the gracefully curved legs for this table using an easy,
bent-lamination technique.
1 www.Woodsmith.com 2007 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.
here are a couple o things about
this table that catch your eye
right away the sweeping curve o
the legs and the decorative, circular
inlay in the round top. But i you take
a closer look at these details, youll
discover that theres more here than
meets the eye.
Laminated Legs. For example, each
o the legs looks like its cut roma single piece o wood. But theyre
actually made up o thin layers,
bent in a curve and glued together.
The good news is, the laminating
technique is pretty easy to master.
epoxy inLay. You might also assume
that the decorative inlay is wood. In
act, its colored epoxy. This creates
a great eect without the hassle o it-
ting inlay pieces. Its just poured into
a shallow, routed groove.
This project is a great opportunity
to try both techniques. And the end
result is an attractive table.
{ The key to bent-lamination is a solid bending form. Thedouble layers of MDF on this form provide plenty of strength
and lots of places to add clamps. The form also detachesfrom the base so it can be used with a miter gauge to trim theends of the legs to their finished length at the table saw.
T
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CUTTING THIN STRIPS
2 www.Woodsmith.com 2007 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserve
Like most tables, this project can
be divided into two parts the
base and the top. The base consistso our identical legs made using a
bent-lamination technique. Since
each leg needs to remain in a bend-
ing orm or a ull day, I began by
making the legs rst. This way, you
can work on the top in between glu-
ing up the legs.
make a tempLate. To get started on
the base, the irst step is to lay out
the shape o the legs on a piece o14"
hardboard, like the one you see on
the ar right. This way, youll have a
ull-sized pattern. And later youll useit to lay out the shape o the bending
orms. For now, just cut out the tem-
plate and sand it smooth.
Cutting the Laminates. Now youre
ready to cut the thin strips or the
laminations. For a curve o this
radius, the thickness o each strip
should not exceed 18". I did this by
cutting some 34"-thick stock into
112"-wide blanks and then resaw-
ing them into thin strips, as shown
below. Youll want to stack and mark
the pieces in the order they were
.
. .
To cut the thin strips needed or the
laminated legs, rst install a good
rip blade on your table saw. Then
just set your ence a hair wider than18" and rip the strips. Make sure to
b.
Start with the Legs
use a push block with a small heel to
saely hold the thin pieces.
Now you can remove the saw
marks by using a sanding drum on
your drill press and a support block
attached to the ence. With a 100-
grit sleeve on the drum, all you need
to do is pull each strip through the
drum to leave a smooth, lat surace
ready or glue-up.
cut to keep them in place or the
glue-up. Keeping them in order will
help you get a seamless glue line
when you assemble the pieces.
At this point, you can eel how the
strips will bend. Dont be concerned
i it seems like they wont bend ar
enough without cracking. Theyll
become more lexible as they absorb
some moisture rom the glue.
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BUILD THE BENDING FORM
Gluing Up the Legs
3 www.Woodsmith.com 2007 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.
Add a Second Layer.Cut out a second piece oMDFand
attach it to the irst layer with glue and screws. Then, with
a lush-trim bit in the router, trim the pieces to match.
With the strips or the legs cut and
the template shaped and sanded,
youre ready to build the bending
orms. The box at the bottom o the
page shows you how thats done.
Ater youve completed the orm,
its a good idea to give it a coat o in-ish and thoroughly wax the suraces
that will come in contact with glue.
This way, youll have a much easier
time removing the pieces.
gLue the Laminations. Once the orm
is built, youre ready to start gluing
up the legs. One thing to keep in
mind here is that youll be covering
.
Dowels temporarily hold thestrips in place during glue-up
.
a lot o surace and it can be time-
consuming. So its important to use
a glue that gives you plenty o open
time beore it sets up. I used Titebond
Extend, a strong PVAglue that pro-
vides extra open time.
How you apply the glue is also
important. You can roll or brush iton, but youll need to make sure to
ully cover every surace to prevent
voids in the lamination (Fig. 1).
CLamp the forms. Ater youve com-
pleted the glue sandwich, just tip
it on its side, as shown in Fig. 2,
bend it around the orm, and use a
couple dowels to hold the lamination
secure. Then move the outside orm
into position and add a single clamp
(Fig. 3) in the center to hold things in
place. Now you can add more clamps
to the orm, alternating between theright and let side o center, slowly
bringing the pieces together. Use a
piece o scrap and a mallet (detail a)
to tap the strips lat against the bot-
tom o the orm.
1
2 3
Start with the Template. Trace the shape o the template onto a piece
o#/4" MDF. Cut out both pieces o the orm, staying on the waste side o
the cut. Then sand the edges smooth.
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BUILD THE BENDING FORM
4 www.Woodsmith.com 2007 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserve
CLeaning up. Youll need to give the
glue a ull day to cure beore remov-
ing the leg rom the bending orm.
Ater gluing up the remaining three
legs, you can break out a scraper and
remove the squeeze-out. I also like
to ollow up with a good sanding to
remove as much o the hardened glue
as possible. Then just latten one edgeo each leg at the jointer and run the
other side through your planer. Plane
the leg to a inal width o 118".
square the ends. Now youre ready to
trim the ends o the legs parallel. This
way, theyll sit lat on the loor and
also create a lat surace or the top
o the table. The bending orm comes
in handy or making these cuts. Just
remove the inside orm and attach
it to an auxiliary ence on your miter
gauge, as shown in Fig. 6. Then you
can clamp the leg in position on theorm and make the squaring cuts on
each end.
fLatten one faCe. With the legs cut to
length, the next step is to create a lat
spot on the inside ace o each leg
or a center block that will be added
later. This will allow you to assemble
the legs into a solid base.
To do this, remove the orm rom
the miter gauge and place the lat
edge against the rip ence (Fig. 7).
Hold the leg in position with spring
clamps, well out o the way o the
table saw blade. For this cut, I care-
ully adjusted the rip ence to just
Attach bending jig to auxiliaryfence on miter gauge to
cut leg blank to final length.
.
.
barely shave o the outside edge o
the curve on each leg (Fig. 7a).
finishing touChes. To complete the
legs, I moved to the router table and
sotened the edges using a18" roun-
dover bit. I rounded both the inside
and outside edges, avoiding the lat-
tened ace. Then I sanded the outside
tip o the bottom o each leg to match
the round proile. Now, just give the
pieces a inal sanding and theyre
ready to assemble.
4 5
6
7
Add a Base. Mount the inside orm to the base using screws. Then drill
a series o 1!/2"-dia. holes or clamps. Also add two #/4"-dia. holes or
the dowels. Trim the corners to make it easier to tighten the clamps.
Complete the Form. Cut the outside part o the
a uniorm width to provide even clamping pressure
spray on a coat o fnish and wax both parts o the
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BASE ASSEMBLY DETAILS
5 www.Woodsmith.com 2007 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.
The key to successully assembling
the base is to glue up the irst two
pieces lat and square. You can do
this by laying two legs on your work-
bench and clamping a straightedge
to the bench top to use as a lat
reerence or the ends o the legs.
Then its just a matter o gluing the
center block in place and clamping
the assembly. Ater its dry, drill and
counterbore holes in the ends, as
shown in detail a. Then attach the
assembly with screws and use the
tabletop to keep things square as
you add the remaining legs.
With the legs complete, the next
step is making the top. Youll need
to have it ready beore joining
the legs so you can use it to
keep the assembly square.a round tabLetop. As you can
see in the illustration at right, the top
is glued up rom narrower boards.
Its a pretty straightorward assem-
bly, but youll want to take the time
to align your stock or the best grain
match. You may also want to use
cauls to keep the boards lat.
Ater youve smoothed and sanded
the blank, youre ready to cut the top
to size. To do this, I used a router and
trammel. This allowed me to cut the
circle and add a shallow groove orthe inlay using the same setup just by
adjusting the radius o the cut. You can
see how I did this on the next page.
The last step is to glue the legs
together to orm the base. The box
at the bottom o the page shows an
easy way to assemble the base and
keep it aligned and square.
Now just add a inish and the table
is sure to ind a good home next to
your avorite chair.
.
.
b.
Adding the Top & Center Bloc
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ROUT CIRCLES WITH A TRAMMEL
6 www.Woodsmith.com 2007 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserve
When I need to cut a circle, like the top
or a table, I reach or my router and
a trammel. There are a couple good
reasons why I like this method. First,
its quick and easy to set up and makethe cut. But, more importantly, it cuts a
perect circle and leaves a smooth edge
that requires very little sanding.
the trammeL. The shop-built tram-
mel I use is pretty simple to make.
You can ind the plans or it on page
9. Its very stable and accurate. And
unlike most other trammels, this one
doesnt require you to drill a hole in
the workpiece or its pivot pin. The
pin its into a base thats held in place
with carpet tape.
setting up the Cut. To get started,youll need to elevate the workpiece
o the bench so you can make a
through cut. I used carpet tape and a
couple pieces o scrap on the bench.
Then I taped the workpiece to them
(Fig 1.) Make sure to place the tape
so it will hold both the top and the
waste in place. This way, they cant
move as you cut through.
Now you need to ind the center
. b.
o the workpiece. An easy
way to do this is to draw
intersecting lines rom
the corners, as shown in
Fig. 1. Then line up thosemarks with the corners o
the base, tape it in position,
and youll be assured o a
centered cut.
routing the CirCLe. With
the base in position, the next step is
to install a12"-dia. straight bit in the
router. Then, adjust the trammel to
establish the diameter o the circle.
Remember that you need to measure
rom the center o the pivot point to
the inside edge o the router bit to
get the right diameter. Then you justtighten the lock on the arm.
For a cut this deep, I always make
multiple passes. This way I know the
router wont bog down. In this case, I
made three passes, lowering the bit14" ater each pass.
inLay ChanneL. To cut the groove or
the epoxy inlay, all you need to do
is move the adjustable arm 114" in
toward the center and install a18"-dia.
straight bit. The epoxy will adhere
to the channel very well, so you only
need to rout a116"-deep groove. You
can rout this groove in a single pass.
See the next page or details o how
to add the epoxy inlay.
1
2
Materials
A LegStrips(32) !/8x1!/8-32
B Top(1) #/4x21!/2-21!/2
C CenterBlock(1) 1!/8x1!/8-2!/4
(4)No.8x3/4"Fhwoodscrews
Epoxy
CUttiNG DiaGraM
7/30/2019 Curved-Leg End Table Plan
8/107 www.Woodsmith.com 2007 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.
Traditional wood inlays are a great
way to dress up the appearance o
a project. The problem is cutting
and tting small, oddly shaped in-
lay pieces can be both dicult and
time-consuming. An easy alternative
is to use colored epoxy instead
o wood. Epoxy will fow
into just about any
addinganePoxy inlayGive your projects an eye-catching inlay in minutes, not hours.
WoodWorkingtecHnique
{ Test the colormixes on a sample
board to find theshade you want
for your project.
shape, saving a lot o time and eort
over conventional wood inlays.
For example, the table on page
1 eatures a round top with an inlay
near the edge, shown above. Hand
tting small, curved pieces o wood
into the circular channel would be a
pretty tough task.
But you can get a similar eect by
simply mixing up a batch o epoxy
and adding a little color. Then you
just apply the mixture into a shal-
low recess cut in the shape o your
choice. With this technique, I wasable to add a great-looking design
detail without a lot o trouble.
getting started. Like any inlay, the
place to begin is by creating a re-
cess. For the round tabletop, I used
a trammel and a router with a 18"
straight bit to cut the groove. And
because epoxy adheres so well, the
groove only needs to be 116" deep.
preparing the wood. Ater you cut the
recess or the inlay, theres just one
more step beore mixing the epoxy.
To prevent the epoxy rom bleeding
into the grain, its a good idea to seal
the wood rst by spraying on a coat
o lacquer. And to make it easier to
remove any excess epoxy, rub a coat
o wax on the surace o the wood.
mix epoxy and CoLor. With the sur-
ace prepared, the next step is to
choose an epoxy. Ive ound most
brands work ne, but its best to use
a slow-setting epoxy. This way, youll
have plenty o time to get it in placebeore it starts to harden.
You can use just about any kind o
coloring in epoxy, rom aniline dyes
to the black urniture powder I used
on the table top. Youll just want to
avoid colors that are soluble in the
type o nish youll be adding to the
piece. For instance, i youre plan-
ning to use a water-based nish, stay
away rom water-soluble colors or
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WORkING WITH EPOxYthey will bleed when you apply thenish, even ater the epoxy cures.
Its a good idea to mix up a ew
batches and test them on scrap
pieces rst. Then youll get a eel
or how well the epoxy works into
the grooves. You can also experi-
ment with dierent coloring agents
to nd the right mixture or the in-lay. Note: I used a slow-set, two-part
epoxy mixed with some Behlens
urniture powder or color.
appLying epoxy. When youve ound
the shade you like, youre ready
to start lling in the inlay. You can
see the step-by-step process in the
box at right. I the epoxy mixture is
thin enough, you can draw it into a
syringe and then simply squeeze it
into the recess. I like this method
because it gives me better control.
And it also makes cleaning up theexcess a lot less hassle.
I the mixture is too thick or a
syringe, you can press it into the
recess using a thin piece o scrap
wood or plastic. Just be sure to
add enough so the epoxy remains
slightly proud o the surace.
CLeaning up. Since you waxed the
surace, the overfow will come o
pretty easily with a sharp chisel. The
bottom two photos at right show you
how to clean up the epoxy and ll in
any exposed air bubbles. You can
remove the wax with mineral spirits.
Then, ater a nal sanding to remove
the sealer coat o lacquer, youre
ready to add a nish. Using this sim-
ple technique, youll nd even the
most intricate inlays are possible.
There are a couple things to keep in mind
when working with epoxy. First, it will
bond to just about anything, including your
skin. So I always wear rubber gloves when
mixing and applying epoxy. Second, the
resins not only smell bad, but can cause
8 www.Woodsmith.com 2007 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserve
{ To make removing the excess epoxyeasier, first apply a coat of lacquer
to seal the grain and then rub on acoat of wax.
allergic reactions in some people. So its a
good idea to work in a well-ventilated area.
The same rule applies or sanding the
hardened epoxy. The dust can be a real ir-
ritant, so use a good dust collector on your
sander and wear a mask.
Start by mixing the epoxy
according to the manu-
facturers instructions (usually,
equal amounts of resin and
hardener). Then mix in the
color. Stir the epoxy gently to
minimize air bubbles.
A disposable plastic
syringe makes it easy to
apply the epoxy. You can cut
the plastic tip to fit the size
of the groove. Make sure to
overfill the groove a little bit to
allow for some shrinkage.
After about an hour, use
a chisel to remove most
of the overflow. At this point,
the epoxy is rubbery. After its
cured (usually 8 hours) move
on to a hand scraper, then sand
the inlay smooth.
Holes caused by air bub-
bles in the inlay are almost
unavoidable. But you can fill
them using a drop of epoxy on
a paperclip or toothpick. Then
just sand again after the repairs
are dry.
1
2
3
4
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.
c.
d.
b.
routertrammel jig
tiPs Fromour sHoP
Cutting the round top or the table
is an ideal job or a router and atrammel jig. It not only cuts a per-
ect circle but allows you to rout the
groove or the inlay. The problem is,
most trammels require a hole in the
center o the workpiece or the pivot
point. The design o this trammel
solves that problem.
I you look at the photo, youll see
that the trammel is made up o a
slotted adjustable arm that its over
a base. The base is secured to the
workpiece with carpet tape. A pivot
pin in the base allows the adjust-able arm to rotate (see the drawings
below).
I started by
making the
adjustable arm.
A dado blade
in the table
saw orms the
.
groove on the bottom o the arm. I
drilled the hole at the end o the slot
and then cut out the waste with a jig
saw (detail b).
The base comes next. Theres
nothing tricky about it. Its a square
piece o plywood with a center hole
or the pivot pin.
The T-shaped index block com
next. The goal is to make it it in th
grooved slot in the adjustable ar
(detail a). A small piece o hardwoo
acts as the clamping block whe
adjusting the radius o the jig. Th
star knob and threaded insert com
plete the adjustment assembly.
Finally, add an acrylic baseplate
your router. I used my routers a
tory baseplate as a pattern or th
screw holes. Fasten a spacer to th
adjustable arm, then you can attac
the baseplate to the spacer. All tha
let is to attach your router.