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By Ralph Bagnall Whetheryou areplaying whist, bridge or chutesand ladders,this table brings a stylish twist to your ganxeplaying pleasure.

ard games have long been a source Makingthe Legs of social entertaining, and the cur- To begin prepping the legs, select straight rent popularilyof pokereontinues grained stock and. after preparing it on that trend. There are many plans avail- the and planer, mill them to l%" able for poker tables, but a dedicated . Arrange the pieces to present poker table might not fit your home's their best faces outward, and mark them space or desigr. That is why I wanted to (bottom left photo). This will help ensure build this Edwardian Envelope Table. is the traditional rnaterial of that the faces get mortised in the proper 'When not hosting a card game, it is an choice for this project. I-rxrk for rich color locations. Cut the mortises according to elegant side table of modest sizeojust 22" and consistent grain. The material that is the plan - none for the top stretcher square, But turn the top 45 degreesoopen used for the folding leaves should be across the front, which will be secured up the leaves, and it becomes a 31" selected care,fully to match when folded using a dovetail (see the Drawings). square game table complete with felt closed. The hidden elements such as draw- As you can see in the lead image and playing field and prrcketsfor the chips. er sides and runners can be made of what- the Drawings, there is a small As you may have guessed,creating a ever secondarywood you have available. detail just below the apron. To locate and table that will go through this transition The strips that surround the table mount the molding, a shallow is involves a bit more work than a tradition- leaves should be 3/8" wide for proper milled around the leg to receive it. My al table. There is the fairly standard proportion, and the stringing should be dado blade and miter made short apron, but it houses a captured "sub-top" l/8" wide or less. It is important to have work of this task. that provides the structure and strength to the stringing (and the leaf inlay) on hand The first step in forming the spade foot support the spinnable tabletop as well as prior lo lheir respectivegrooves shape at the bottom of the leg is done by its folding leaves. When they're closed, to be certain of a tight fit. They can be a point-cutting roundover bit. See the the table's leaves resemble an old-style bought pre-made (from Constantine's photo on the following page for details. folded envelope, giving the table both its W

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Setectthe b$-looking faces of tfie stock that The authorchopped mortises using a Forcher Plowing a shallow dado that ertends all the will hecomethe legs.ta* the I'l'squared-ap hit to removethe waste,lollowed up with a way around the leg, the author preparesto legsto help keepthan pmpeily orientated. sharphench to parc the walls and ends miterand alhch a decorativenolditry.

Woodworker'sJournal October2010 39 Jtnngtrtg AI t-ffi ,lIo ll g fhe author useda hand beaderto foiln the long groovx (with the grain) which acceptedtfie stringing (top left photo).A sharp bcnch chisel was usedto cut the "-* stringinggroove aerossthe . I F grain(hottomleltphoto).The sringingmustfitlishttrinto t / t (top ' I thegrcoYes to lookgood right photo).Afterthe \- xringing is glaed in place and the glue had cured, the author useda nndom-orbit sanderto sandthe stringing tlash (botton right photo).

spade foot form. Now you are ready to make the Millingthe Apron Details longer tapers on all four sides of the legs. Mark The three aprons and two stretchers are next on the agenda them from just below the molding dado to the (pieces 3 and 4). The stretchers and the drawer front are all cut top ofthe foot, and carefully cut them on the from one slightly oversized blank (see the note on the next band saw. Then sand or scrape them smooth. pag.).This is done1o ensure a r-onsislentgrain pattern running Yrith the legs properly shaped, you can add through the drawer lront and the stretchers. A nice touch. the stringing. The outside two faces of each leg Start out by ripping the top stretcher from the blank, then get these string details. I used a hand beader, reset the to rip the drawer front, then set the saw one more but a scratch stock or trim with an edge time to rip offthe bottom stretcher. Go ahead and r:ut the guide would be equally effective to make the stretchers and drarr-erfront to their final lengths. The nther three shallow grooves along the length of the tapered aprons can be cut and rippe.d to their proper size. leg section and at the square top segment of the The three apron pieces and bottom front stretcher need to leg. The cross grooves are easy to cut with a have mitered tenons raised on their ends to match the mortises sharp chisel. Obviously, these grooves must be you've chopped. (Th" top front stretcher gets dovetails formed carefully cut to the width and thickness of the later.) Look to the Drawings to find the details regarding the stringing to look good.While this processdoes tenons. Test fit them to their respective mortises as you go. take time, it really lifts this project to the next Ihe sub+op mounts inside the aprons employing a tongue and level. When you are done with this task, sand joint, and the grooves need to be cut at this stage. Set the the legs and the stringing up through the gpits. dado blatle up for a l/4"-wide cut, 3/8" deep, antl set the rip Set the legs aside for now antl move on to the fence to groove the parts l/4" down from the top edge. All three aprons and stretchers. aprons and the top stretcher need to be grooved.

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Ittakingthe spadetoot is a two-stepopomtion. Shape the np d tlrc foot wih a point-ctiltingroundoyet bit (ahow) in themubr bble. Then conple|€iE hffiic stnpe hy usinga taperingjig on the tahle saw.

40 October2010 Woodworker'sJournal Back Leg FrontLeg (Topand frant Views) lTopand lnside Views)

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,,'8ffiDrawer Bunner lEndand Side Views) I z',t!', t > < 'lz" Nlte. fhe frontstretchers (pieces 4) and thedrawer lront lptecc 1B)are Top Stretcher lfop and lnsideViews) farmerlfrom a 3/4" x 4./,"x 19"btank TxlYxI t 1 Legs{4} 1'/i x|'/i x28'/i T4^- 2 Stringing{1) 1/32'x3/32'x 50ft. 3 Aprons{3} 314'x4Vix19' { Stretchers(2} 3/4'x 3/4"x 19' Bottom Stretcherlfop rro ,rt,rt r,t*t) 5 Sub-top(1) 3/4' x18'h"x181/i ",* - I t1"" 6 LegMolding (1) 5/16"x 1/2'x36' , 7 DrawerRunners (2) f 3/4-x 3/4"x 18" 8 DrawerStops {2} 314'x3l4' x2' I

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Woodutorker'sJournal October 2010 4l "The hinged top af thisproject realLy prouidesa 'u,oufactor,' and notjust becauseit rotatesand opens."

Usinga very tradi- tional bit of Alter the aprcnsand strctchershaw table joinery been cut to lmgth, the autltor raised |p'nonsto Emtchthe modisesthat had I chose to ptcviotsly heenchopped into the iegs. dovetail the top stretcher into the legs rather than using a mortise The suh-topis madefron good quality ptywood. and tenon. Since there are only two small The authorforms a tongueamund lhe edgeot joints, they can be easily marked out rvith the suh-topusing a dado headin his ta,blesaw. a knife and hand cut to fit. See the Drawings for details. The table frame can now be dry-fitted, and the sub-top dimensions confirmed. the assemblytogether. ensure it is square, and measure the inside dimen- sions. Ideally, the sutr-top should be l8%" square including the tongues,but adjust as needed to fit snugly inside the dry fit you've made. My sub-top was cut from 3/4" mahogany veneered I Using his tahle saw with a l/tf dado head,the had left over, but any good quality ply author plows grooyesthat will capturc and can be used since the sub-top is only secarethe suh-top. glimpsedwhen openingthe leaves. As you can see in the Drawings. cul a l/4"+hick x 3/8"-long tongue around the edge of the sub+op. The corners of the sut-top will need to be notched to fit around the legs. Flip the dry-clamped Wrth the dry-clanped leg and apmn sub- subassembly over, center it on the sub- assemblycentered upsidedown on lhe sub-frtp, top. and mark out the notches as shown the authorma*s out fsr the notchesthat he will in the photo at right, center. cd atthe comen$ The tabletop pivots on the sub-top around a 5/16" carriage bolt, so the sub+op requires a 5/16" pivot hole and counterbore marked out in the exact center of the sub-top. The hole and counterbore should be sized to contain a 5/16" fender washer and nylon lock nut. Be very sure to lest the fit of the The top stetchor k joinedto the leg usinga frarne and sub-top, doyetail nfier than a nmrtise.The autfior ensuring that they are formedthe tail on the stetuher frrst, theo snug and square. Once Atinal dty-fit of thejoinery is esential heforeglue-up and asanbly. transtenedflrc shapen the top of tlrc leg. everything is set, glue Youcanl rcversethe glue-and-clanp pmces oneeit's carad.

42 October2010 ,worlrcr'sJournal Smalldetails can make a bigdifference in your proiects... but sometimes small can be dangerous.

T the frame and sub-top together. I hesmall molding details on With the base assembled,the trim molding can be wrapped around the thelegs of thegame table are _p legs. The trim molding was milled on the madefrom stock - so router table from a wide piece ofclear maple fnr safety. See the Dranings for youmay ask why they look the molding profile and dimensions. The likeebony. The answer is sim- profile for your molding just needs to be ple:India ink. lt a jet close to the one illustrated * it does not creates need to match perfectly. Key to the blackcolor. process is a ker{ that is cut top and bot- Tomake the molding, tom on the maple board which will form a boss (a small raised section almost like a pieceof approximately3-- a ienon or a tongue), fitting the dado in widemaple to 1/2" Hachining these moldingson the table legs you made earlier. See the nanow strips istoo dangerous. sidebar at right for more information. thickness.Next, set up your ln$ead, usea wide pieceof stock and shapettte edges.Nso, tls,ea Once the moldings were cut from the routertable with a profilecut- blank, I dyed them black. Then I rcliablepush block ta mote the mitered the pieces and applied them to tingbit; our author used a wood acmssthe router hit and keep your handsclear, all four of the legs with glue, clamping Provincialedge bit forthe them securely. task.Test your setup on scrap Makingthe Fold-open Top lumberbefore you make the The hinged top ofthis project really actualcuts, and then form the provides a "wow factor," and not just because it rotates and opens. W'hen moldedshape on both edges opened up for play, the top shows a of theprepared maple lumber. mitered mahogany frame with quarter- round corner blocks surrounding a felt With that done,move to your playing As mentioned earlier, surface. tablesaw and form a small select the stock for these parts with an eye to matching grain and attractive fig- sawkerf on bothfaces of the ure. Starl by milling the frame parts to stock,just behind the molded thickness and width, but go ahead and crosscut them a little over-long. Miter edge,as shown in theinset the four frame parts to size, testing their photoabove. This will create fit. Next, glue and clamp them together. While the glue is drying, make the cor- a boss- a smallraised sec- ner blocks. Their grain runs diagonally tion- onthe back o{ the into the comers. To achieve this, I made molding,which will fit into an MDF template with a trued-up curve. The corner blocks are cut square, and thedado on the leg. Now rip then the curve was rough-cut on the themolding off of thelumber trand saw' To make them identical, I pattem-routed the comer blocks using andapply the India ink as a the MDF template. The problem was, dye.Allow it to drycomplete- these parts are too small to safely flush- trim on the router table. My solution ly beforeyou miter the was to do the task with a handheld moldingto fit. router instead. I mounted the template

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TxWxL 9 Fi'amePreces {4) 3i4 x ?-.' x77 '10Cor-ner-Blocks i4l 3i4 x 3 x 3' l1 Leaves{4) 3i:1"x11x22' 12 Basei1) 117'x11i, x18t 13 FeliSrbstrate {1j i i4 x ',1,' x 17, 14 l'lrnges(B) 1t7'x3 15 BecessedPull i1) So d Brass 16 lrlav li8 x 3i8 x 252' 17 Felt{T ) I scluarevard

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Creatingthe Triangular Leaves After building and assembling all of those parts, you'd think that fhe key to peilectly frtting the leavesis creating an accarateleat you should be done about now. Well, not quite ... templatc.lestyourtemplale to be certainit is symmetrical. The four leaves that form the top of the table need to be quite accurately made, so once again I decided to use a template rout- ing technique to ensure the required uniformity. Because it is inexpensive and exceptionally stable, I used plywtnd as the template material. To create the leaf shape, first cut a perfectly straight edge onto an appropriately sized piece of plywood and mark a 22" line on the prepared edge. Then, find the exact cen- ter of that line and extend a vertical center line at 90' that is 11" long. Connect the ends ofthe lines to form the triangle as shown in the photo above, right. This layout must be exceeding- ly accurate. If the template is not symmetrical, the leaves will not fit well when the table is folded. Take care when cutting out the template and, when you have finished, lay out antl cut a cir- llsing your template,ma* oat lour leavestor cular hole where indicated for the chip pocket (see the Drawings the table. Theauthor recommends that all for details). low pieces comefom the sane piace of slock. With template in hand, use it to lay out the leaves. Ideally, all four should be cut from the same board, but if not, take care to keep the color and grain consistent. Rough-cut the parts slightly oversized with a band saw orjigsaw. Then, once again taking advantage ofdouble-sided carpet tape, secure the pieces to the template you just made and flush trim them to final size on the router table. Before you take the template offthe leaf, set up a handheld router with a dish-carving bit or core box bit to mill out the shallow depression in the underside of the leaf for the chip prrcket. As you can see in the photo at right, I mounted a small piece of plywood to the base of my router, to add stability and control during this cut. When you are done with that step, it is time to flip the leaves over and start to add some classic deco- rative touches. After rough-cuttingthe piecesto size(cut t/lF fron the linel, aftach Hingesand Decorative Touches yrmr temptatewid, double-sidedbpe and cut the leal to exact size. 'fhe outer edge of the closed table has a 5/16"-ratlius stepped profile that I cut on the router table. To achieve that, each of the leaves gets milled along the base leg (the long edge) of the triangle. Before plowing the grooves and adding the inlan you need to take some time to mill the hinge mortises. Fitting the hinges and leaves at this stage makes it possible to refine the fit of the leaves, trimming a little from the edges if needed, without damaging the inlay. Mark out the hinge locations 3" in fmm the comers as shown in the Drauings. Set the leaf l/16" off of the top frame and screw the hinge in place, but upside down. Now, carefully trace the mortise location with a sharp knife, then remove the hinge and, using those marks, clean out the mortise with a router or as you prefer. Note that it is a stepped mortise, and a small clearance section is needed for lhe connecting bar of the lhe chip depessionis routedusing a dish-caning or a hearing- hinge. Mortise all eight hinges in the leaves and frame, and then guidedcore box hit insidea circalat cubat in dre template.The rcutel temporarily mount the hinges to the table, Fold the leaves in and hasan auxiliary base attachcdto it to itwmye stahility.

Wooduorker'sJournal Ocnber 2010 45 $ ,- wRi .i-

Theauthor used maple runners to guide the drawer in the drawer opening.Note the scrap mountedto align the closed drawer.

t'rtsule thcv nreet in tlre tenler uillrrLrt lrinrliug. -\s vou nill notit,e. (.hetk thelt'is irrst a irit ol lrlar irr these hingls. the fit arrrl. il ncerlt,rl"lhis is tlre tirrre to slrare a Iittle oli ar erlse {irl a lrrrrper {it. Onlt'lh<'hingt-s are Iittcrl lrropcrlr urrtl tlre leares trljustt'tl. r{'nll)\e tlre lringt's arrrl bcgin nrillirrg the lt'inr's 1o ircr.r'plthe irilirr. \ iJlli"-uirlt' r'alrlretis ruillt'rl arorrrrrltht' erlges ol lhe top ri{'tlrt' It'art's lo t.r'eire tlre cross-glnint'rl inlar stlip. Alruru tlre outt'r erlgc oftlre leaf. lhe lalrlrt't starts irI t]re erlee ol tlrc lountlorcl rrrillerlirr eallir:r'.lrut orr lhe ollrer luo sirles the rablrets ale liglrt orrt al llu' 'l'lu' erlges. rlepth o{'the ralrlret slrorrlrllrt'the sarne as tlre tlrit.kness of lhe inlav. oljust a hair le.s so Ihal rou r.arrsarul it Irrsh. (lanrfullv t'ut the inlar stlilr to nrt'et al []re t onrers. .'\ rrir.r'tlick to Laying out and mounting the lrt'l1rt'rrt thc cornos etr.ilr is to rrsc thr' lc'trfteurplirte: f ilst as u hinges is done belore any st'tup piet e frrl the rllrlx'ts (lesling tlrt' r'uts). llrcn its rr t trttirrlr additional machining on the guirle lirl strips leaves. This allows tor a hit thc {see tlre pholo lx'lou ). \liel rou hart. Plolrt'r'lr ol fitting with the leaves. llt tht' inlav strilrs. glrre the trirnnrcrl inlar strilrs in lrlat t'. lrcing t'areful altottt the alignrncnt ol tlte t olnels. I us,'tl lrltr. lririrrlrris -'t tttaskirrglrtJre as larrrlrs"irr this l)r'o{ess. ,{nother tletail to altentl to is the lrrirss pull. \\ ith tlre trlr firLlcrl. rrne rl.the lear es rteerlsa pull lirl operrirrutlre talrle rr1r.llanr antirltte t'xanrples itart'sorlt'1vpt,ol sgllirrg-loatlerlrrreclrarrisrrr" llrt otlrcr-sha\t'a visilrL'1rull. I i.oulrlrr'l {inrl arrv rL'tail n'galrlirrg hon 1l1g-spring nrcr.hanisnr uorkt'rl. so I optetl lirr ir single lrrass 1rull.The pull rtrluirts rllilling a shallt,l I7" rturrter- lrote atrtl a l " tlinrnett'r' lrolc lrl8" rlet'1rfor llre lrotlr,.This is lolaterl =il neal llrc tip of the tli- artgle. so rlorr"lIirlt'e Begin machining the leaves by foming a roundover and bead on the thc fit. S' irlen the lrolc l\,11t, ouEide edge using your router tahle. if nt'e

. &' ffi, No sarre talrle rroLrltllre rr t'ornplete rillront a w& rlrittier ltrr sloring r:anls antl t hips. Thc tlmrer' li-orrt.llrich r-ou set asitle e:rriiet. ( all no\\ Forma rahbetfor the inlay stripson the lace of the leaf. Thereare two lre <'rrlto {'irralsizt:. setups:one for the headededge and one lor the others. N'leasurethe l inislretl

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MATERIALLIST TxWxI f 8 DrawerFront* (11 314'x75/i x 173/i' t9 OrawerSides {2} 1/2'x2%' x 18' ZflDrawer Back {1 } 112"x 2/i x 16'/i' 2f DrawerBottom (1) 1/4'x16t/{x17'/i 22 DrawerPulls (2) 1'/i'Dia. *Fromsane blank as stretchers(pieces 4| opening and allow space on all sides for a When the finish completely cured, the . I chose to dovetail the fmnt to the sub-top antl top were w'axedto allow the drawer sides. The front antl sides are top to smoothlypivot on the frame. A 1" grooved to eccept a bottorn, and the back long carriageliolt was set into the hole in fixed betweenthe sides using simple the center of the top, and clown through grcove and tongue joint. Poplar was my the matchinghole in the sub+op. A fend- 0peration secondary wootl for the drawers, but rvhat- er washer and nut attached the top to When not hostinga card game, ever is on hand in your shop will be fine. frame. the table is a mild-manneredend Runners that guide the drawer should Next, reattach the leaves kr the frame table, quietly gracinga rlen or family be rabbeted to fit closely between the with the hingesand install the pull on the rrxrm. But when friends arrive, the top is apron sides and the tlrawer, alxrut 3/8", leaf. I mounted brass pulls to the drawer rotated 45

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