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A Shaker Table for Mother’s Day

The Shaker-style table is complete, just in time for Mother’s Day.

Lynndy wanted a table for her sewing machine. It needed to be high enough to sit at using a diningroom chair, large enough for the sewing machine, and compact enough to fit into a corner of a small spare room. The Shakers actually designed a sewing table, however I don’t think that they had in mind the use of a machine with it!

The overall dimensions are 30” high, 33” wide and 19” deep.

The wood is Jarrah, all of it salvaged from roof trusses and old floor boards, all very well seasoned, dry and almost brittle, which made it a challenge to handplane and turn on the lathe. The wood also was filled with voids where gum had dried and fallen out. I filled a few with black-tinted epoxy, but left most alone.

The finish is Organoil hard burnishing oil and wax, both buffed. It has left a soft, natural feel and look.

Thanks to all for their critiques and input. I took the advice of a few, especially Adam Cherubini, to lower the apron by adding a cockbead. A friend came by and said, “Mmm … that sits well with the bead on the legs (below the pommel)”. So it was meant to be. And to Pam, I think that you are right – this is a formal Shaker table

Before the top was oiled the colour match of the boards appeared better than this. The outer boards are a very attractive fiddleback Jarrah, which is difficult to see here ..

The ends are pinned breadboards ..

Here is a look at the detail around the pommel ..

And the turned legs (which do taper at the top and bottom) ..

I mentioned earlier that the wood was all salvage. From the outside all looks nice and clean, but when you look underneath and inside you will see that the boards are all different thicknesses – I used what I could the best way possible …

Regards from Perth

Derek

May 2010