I've recently cleared the decks in my shop and, for better or worse, don't have any commissions currently. The WoodExpo2011 seemed like a good reason to start something new.

Last week I began by leafing through my old furniture journal that I kept during my furniture coursework under Wendy Cooper at Winterthur back in 1997. I had sketched the Townsend china table pretty well and I thought it was time to put those drawings to good use. I hope it still counts as starting after Sept 2010!

This table is illustrated in the John Townsend book (#36 p 152-3) and Winterthur's NE Furniture book (#125 p244-5).

While waiting for some new files to show up, I was able to get the piercings for the stretchers roughed out. As for the lap joint, I kinda did some guess work. My old notes said the top of the joint was mitered, but that didn't jive with structural requirements as I saw them. I did a modified lap joint with it cutting a miter about 1/3rd of the way through on each side for the top of the joint (bottom is just a simple lap joint). Keep in mind these stretchers are only about 5/16" thick--very fragile. Anyone out there ever done these? How did you do it?

In excitement, Eli turned me on to this post --First off I love the furniture journal and poking back to 1997....that's woodworking...... but the best part is putting a period piece out in the same area where you can grab Allan Breed and say, "what do you think of my work for the WoodExpo." and get a highly respected opinion from a peer in your building style.

This is what the WoodExpo is for!!!

Matt,

It's looking good, I'm impressed with the mitered stretchers so far. Do they fit at the legs? Knowing you I'm sure they do. Will you clean up all the piercings with your new files?

Good to see you on the site. Cal

Yes big bro. As you know I got a nice order in with Boggs Tool last week. Those shiny files will get well used before this job is done.

-Matt

Brotherly love, Sounds like something I would say to my brother.

Matt,
Great table, The Chinese influence with the look of Chippendale on its way out and Fed on its way in. There is not to many Furniture makers that actually showed furniture period progressions like Townsend did.

I have to admit, it was not till I did my Townsend desk did I realize how there family did there own thing so much different then everyone else. I cant wait to see this table in person at the Woodexpo!

Matt,
I have a actual picture of your table in my John Townsend book. I can scan it if you would like.

Justin

Justin--thanks for the offer. I've got the Townsend book and the Wintherthur NE furniture book. Also, I have gotten good photography from Winterthur. Because I got them straight from the source I didn't wanna abuse their generosity by publishing the photos here.

Personally, I think it helps the museum to showcase their collection, but historically many have a protective attitude about their objects and photography. I have not asked to publish the pics, so can't say they would not be open to it.

-Matt

Matt,
I know what you are saying, I have a meeting Tue. morning to see a highboy in the collections. I think it would be easier to get into the White House then this place. I have been talking to a lady over there for 2 mouths now.

Best of luck with the table, I will be keeping my eye on it.

Also can you separate the stretcher and show us a picture of the joint?

Justin

Justin, if you can get the the Chinese parlor, check out that joint for me (even though mine is done!). I'll try to get a shot up tomorrow.

Matt,
I did not have a chance to see it. The lady took me strait to the Port Royal Room to look at a highboy. We took the back elevator and went strait to the floor. What amazing house. I cant stay enough about how nice they are there as well.

Justin

Here's an update after a few days in the shop this week.

After fitting the frame, I had work to do before the assembly:
-mortise for brackets (may have already done at this point?)
-stop-flutes on 2 sides of legs
-carve cross-hatching on sides of rails (could do later, but decided it was much easier now
-cut groove to receive molding (Winterthur book said the molding was "let in and glued")
-file piercings on the stretchers
-scrape & sand show surfaces; plane interior surfaces
-mark locations for cross braces on rails, just because it's easier now

The stop-flutes
First thing is to do the math. Based on my notes, the 5 flutes are 5/32 wide. For the flutes I used a router table with a 1/8 bit which required two passes for each flute. For the stops (anyone know a better vocabulary word for these) I used a shop-made scratch bead. Didn't really wanna use up other bits of tool steel, so used an old putty knife for the stock. My process was to do the scratching first and set the router to match that bead. I did the center one first--it only required one router setting because I just turned the legs. Then I did the outer flutes. That way I was able to make any needed adjustments with the filler flute (and didn't have to go crazy with precision layout).

Cleaning up the flutes required a trip to Woodcraft. None of my chisels quite fit the profile and a good fit makes carving the top profile of the flutes much much easier. I also needed a smaller veiner for the cross-hatching (11 vs 10 that I had). I was hoping for something in a 9-3 or the like, but it wasn't in stock. The 11-5 worked well, so I got that.

For the cross-hatching, I first used a marking gauge to set the horizontal lines, then chased those lines with my 11 veiner. I did have a false start using the 10 and decided against. Luckily my mortises are dead-center of my rails, so I just flipped that rail.

Using the angle and spacing I had traced off the original. I laid out one continuous line the length of the rail. I then eyeballed spacing for 2 lines crossed per line, marking only in one direction. I then came back and connected all the lines. NOTE: Looking back at photos of the original, the lines are not continuous at the bottoms, though close, but the effect is the same.

As for the carving, the originals were (to my notes and memory) clearly carved with a veiner, not a straight chisel or v-tool. My carvings here, matching an all-to-often tendency of mine, seem to be a little deeper than I'd like in order to match the original. The result/effect will be the same, so I am happy enough with the result. Also, by the time I flush up the rails and sand the sides, they will be toned down a bit. Y'all can comment on it if/when you see it in person next spring.

I used the router table to cut a shallow 7/16" groove above the cross-hatching to receive a molding.

I should also share with the group a common tale of shop sorrow. This table has 5 dovetailed cross braces. The three original ones on the table were maple. I don't have too much yankee wood around the shop, but sorted through mounds of cypress, syp and poplar to find just enough scraps of maple to get by (they are only 5/8 x 1-5/8 x 20). After machining and hand planing my stock, I proceeded to cut them the width of the gap between the rails. It was less than $5 of wood, but it sucks when you cut your last board like that. Looks like I will be asking dad for a maple scrap this weekend!

I almost forgot.

Here's the table assembled.

You can also see the mitered lap joint with the molded top of the stretchers. I will come back and mate those profiles together a little better.

Looks great Matt. Keep up the posting, really enjoying this project. Cal

Thanks for the encouragement, Cal.

Headed to dad's for the SAPFM thing this weekend, so I'm going to take my top to machine. Hand tools are great, but there's certainly a place for a wide-belt sander when you've got to level up a slab. The pic below is for a table I made a few years ago. I had a few boards (same material) left over from that project and that's what is going on this table. Good stuff. You can see it's pretty dramatic without finish. Board is 20-3/4" wide--should be just enough to get by on this. I may have to add a whisker.

Matt, that should make for a great looking top.

Fitting the top gave me pause, primarily with regard to the engineering of this table. I am copying what good ol' Mr. Townsend did and using a solid top that extends over the edge of the rails with a thin (5/16+") lip finished off with a rounded edge that overhangs about 5/32". The trouble is that the gallery is attached to the top, constraining movement of the top and the tolerances on the edges are very small. We all know the top will move. The only questions is whether or not it will ultimately crack or push the gallery out of line.

I thought about alternatives, including placing the top in a frame, but ultimately those choices would be departures from the original. I am going with the original design and hoping for the best. The cross bracing of the table will hold the base in in line, square and sturdy.

The original top is highly figured and exceedingly thin. My top was sanded down to about 3/4" and I am cutting rabbets to fit down between the rails. As I understand it, that doesn't really change whether the wood wants to move and by how much.

You can see my test piece what the profile looks like. I cut the rabbet with the table saw. After I scraped the top surface, I marked it the thickness of the edge with a cutting gauge, and snuck up on it with my trusty #93 (the photo shows it before it was cleaned up thusly).

As you can see from the pics, I also extended the carving (I use that term loosely to refer to the light veiner cuts) to the corners along with the rabbet for the future molding.

More to follow. . .

Here it is with the top fit but with the edge not yet molded. After fitting the top, I leveled off the rails with the legs (for some dumb reason I cut the legs a full 1/16 short) and then marked for the depth of the brace dovetails. After several iterations of fitting, I glued those in. Very RI to have these five cross braces.

Some noodling for me and decisions to make regarding the gallery. In the end, I chose to copy the original.

The original gallery pattern is not made to be as even as possible. Quite the contrary, the long sides have very tight patterns on the ends with three very broad patterns. The ends (or short sides) have three repeats, with the outside ones slightly wider. I designed and even drew on a pattern for the long sides where the pattern was a more-or-less regular repeat, much like the end sides, but wasn't sure if that was gonna make for the best product--the broad patterns are airy and nice. All it took was a little positive encouragement from my gal and I went for the repro irregular pattern.

I spent a while making patterns, transferring them, and drilling them out. Now I am ready for some sawing. Unfortunately I don't have a scroll saw, so I will have to invade another shop for what looks like a full day of sawing.

Really enjoying your play by play on this build...there is a lot of good techniques and the actual piece is excellant and well thought out. Thanks for the time and effort your putting in on this thread I know how difficult it is to do these threads while constructing a piece.

Looks like you'll be driving over to Hertford. At least you get some good food and free daycare out of the deal.

Why so many braces? I understand the RI furniture makers did this, but what is the reasoning behind it?

The groove in the apron, is this for banding? Also the cross hatching, will this continue onto the legs?

Thanks for your encouragement, Chuck. I wanted to do this to share, but also as a personal exercise. I am usually so goal-oriented that my documentation is on the shabby side. For me, it has taken a surprisingly large amount of time and effort to document and post the play-by-play and I am glad some of you are enjoying it.

To Barry's comments/questions:
The benefits of cross braces are obvious, but 5 gets into the "overkill" category. On this original it makes sense because the top is super-thin. But it was done on a lot of work of much larger dimension. I am not up to speed and fresh on it, but I think it was almost a signature of John Townsend's shop to have 3-over-2 braces.

Personally, I like to throw in a slightly diagonal brace and that prevents racking in a way any number of perpendicular ones doesn't. . . but not on this one.

I've got a line on a local scrollsaw or two, so should be staying home.

The cross-hatching will continue around the legs, just haven't gotten to it yet.

The groove is to receive a projecting molding. I wasn't sure how deep it should be but this seemed reasonable. I didn't have this in my notes from years ago, but it was indicated in the construction description in the Winterthur New England Furniture catalog entry. I considered leaving it out as I feel confident a glue joint is fine, but figured "why not" given all the other bells and whistles on this project.

-Matt

Matt,
After reading the entire blog, the first pics of your sketch book had the moulding in place. Guess I didn't catch it before.

The number of braces is overkill, that's what i was getting to. believe 2 at the top would be plenty, but then again my name's not Townsend .

That gives me an idea!

Making molding would be a great way to put off all that sawing and filing!