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Dec/Jan’12 £3.75 BRITISH Issue No.27

WooThe UK’s No.1 www.britishwoodworking.comDworking Table Bends, tapers & moulds for a unique Italian top

FRUGAL Make Your Own Gerwyn Lewis Makes a Travisher Learn Free SketchUp

TECHNIQUES a? 10 Top Turning Tips PLEASE DISPLAY TILL 26th JAN. 2012 Routing Domed Panels Tool Trug for Beginners Pro Project Pietra Dura Table

Fig.1 Perspective view of table Pietra dura

The Pietra Dura Table 135 Asked to design and make a table to display in 432 stone, Steve Prescott mimics 580 According to Thomas Greenaway, the with bent ‘fingers’ 315 and semi-precious stones used for pietra dura are sliced into 2-5mm thicknesses. Thomas uses templates ommissions can come from the The legs are tapered on their inside faces and are 40mm from the original drawing to mark up the most obscure directions. Last year, square in section at the top, and 20mm at the foot pieces and the holes to be cut out. He uses someone, and he still doesn’t know a bow saw to cut the pieces out by hand, who, recommended Steve Prescott’s with a moistened abrasive applied to the workC to a lady who imports furniture. She Pic.2 The only guidance Steve was given, was Bryony had a photo of a table she liked, wire held in the saw to cut through the a photo of an older table the client liked. His then mentioned him to a friend, Bryony steam-bent and laminated ‘fingers’ are with a small fretwork bracket bracing the stone. You then have to file the pieces to Cohen, who was looking to have a table designed to mimic the fretwork brackets legs and top (Pic.2). Steve tried to build in fit, making sure there is no daylight made as a birthday present for her husband. cabriole legs (Fig.2), which Thomas showing. A leaf, for instance, might take 40 It wasn’t just any old table. Bryony, who Britain practising pietra dura, is himself a favoured, but in the end they agreed on minutes to position. When the pieces are inserted they have to be as close to level as works at Barts Hospital in London, was furniture maker, having trained at the tapering for a more contemporary look. you can imagine, so there is the least planning to have a piece of stone Chippendale International of Bryony also wanted the table to be dark, so possible finishing needed later, which is marquetry, known as pietra dura, as the Furniture in Scotland. So committed is he to Steve chose American black walnut, which done largely by hand with a series of table top. “It was designed by Nelly stonework that he was very happy to share doesn’t have a strong grain patterning that abrasive powders. Pecheva,” Bryony explains, “who is our the commission with Steve, which brought might otherwise distract the eye from the Thomas learnt pietra dura in , senior graphic designer. She’s Bulgarian and three heads and hearts together to come up stonework. studying there for four years. The ‘craft’ a talented artist as well as designer. It was with a design. To reproduce fretwork in a more modern originates from that part of , where it actually quite a difficult project as we didn’t style, Steve devised an apron of thin curved has been practised since the 16th Century, want anything too female (ie. flowers), as it Working together fingers. These touch at the centre, where though it was influenced by Roman Opus was a present for a man, or too three That was more than a year ago, which they are dowelled and glued, and are Sectile . Even earlier, mosaics dimensional, which would have entailed a fortunately gave Steve and Thomas time to dowelled into the legs. One of the most comprising shell, lapiz lazuli and limestone were being made by Sumerians in Southern lot more work for Thomas [Greenaway, who work on other projects together while the challenging issues was how to decide on the (now Iraq), with an example made the ] in the shading. So we table commission was finalised. Steve made differing radii of the four fingers. “Does of that being the Standard of Ur, dating fixed on leaves and a few animals. It also the first of five boxes earlier this year for anyone know how to work out the radius of from 2600-2400BC, can be found in the had to be a pattern that could be seen from Thomas, on which is mounted a small pietra each finger so that they are spaced out British Museum. Francisco de Medici helped any angle as, of course, it was no use dura panels a pair of tui birds. Steve had consistently where they meet the legs, but establish pietra dura in Florence, where the producing something which could be viewed the delicate task of designing the table to touch at the centre?” Steve asks. “It had me court workshops were known as the from one side only. meet Bryony Cohen’s vision, whilst foxed, and in the end I had to resort to trial Opificio delle Pietre Dure. Ironically, Thomas Greenaway, who is incorporating some of Thomas’s own ideas. and error to produce four templates for probably the only full-time craftsman in The only guidance he’d been given was that bending and laminating the fingers.” Details Visit greenawaymosaics.co.uk.

Pic.3 The Fig.2 Alternative curved designs fingers are glued together to create panels for the apron, and are dowelled into the Pic.1 The key techniques are Curved legs are more Pic.3 Thomas Greenaway has learnt how Cabriole legs give the legs bending, tapering and making the table a traditional look contemporary, and give a to use different shades of stone to create moulding for the top frame lighter feel to the table a three-dimensional effects

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Bending & Gluing How to make curved fingers for the apron

To produce the curved fingers, Steve produced four formers (one for each radii). He steamed the Pic.6 Steve made a 3mm-thick black walnut laminates jig to hold the leg for 20 minutes in a steam box to blanks for tapering. make them more pliable, and Initially he removed Pic.4 The fingers are about Tapering Legs inserted them in the former. “They the bulk of the waste 12mm in section, but each is on the bandsaw (top quite brittle,” Steve explains. a different radius, so Steve Using a bandsaw and spindle moulder for speed left), with the jig There are two of each curve, so he had to make four different running against the bent and then laminated them formers. He created the ith the apron panels shallow fillet against the rip rip fence. The end formers for the front and double width (Pic.4), and ripped glued up, Steve fence so that the block doesn’t stops ensure the leg them on the bandsaw once the back (above) and for the doesn’t move. The ends. By laminating the moved on to the legs, foul the bandsaw fence. glue had set, then put them across W same jig is then used fingers double width (above) which are tapered on their inner on the spindle the planer and through the Steve saved gluing time, and faces. The leg components are Spindle moulding moulder against a thicknesser. To create the apron ripped them on a bandsaw 40mm square at the top, Once the waste has been ring fence below the the curved fingers are then later, followed by planing and cutter (left and Dominoed together, with three on thicknessing tapering down to 20mm square removed Steve moves to his right). The same Fig.4 End elevation at the floor. Steve made a jig Rojek spindle moulder (which he technique could be the long ones and one Domino 395 per end curve. for tapering the legs, first bought from eBay recently). This used with a router removing the waste on the has a Spiral Planer Block from table & bottom bearing bandsaw and then smoothing Wealden, with a guide bearing the faces with a spiral cutter on against the leading edge of the the spindle moulder. baseboard (Pic.6). This works Fig.3 Front elevation of table As you can see the jig just like a trimming cutter on a 660 comprises a baseboard, on router table, with a bearing on

which is fixed two end stops, the shank of the cutter, rather 275 two back stops and a block to than on the end of the cutter. take a toggle clamp. The leg The only difference is that the overhangs the baseboard at an cutterblock on the spindle angle for tapering on the moulder is much larger and 540 bandsaw. To rough within 1mm produces a much finer finish. of the line, Steve ran the back Because the legs are only edge of the baseboard against tapered on two faces, it’s an the rip fence on the bandsaw. easy job to spin the leg through He had to confess to having 90° to machine the other taper made a mistake with the toggle once the first one is done. The 315

clamp block, which overhangs tapered face will be pointing 355 Pic.5 The long and short fingers being glued up in formers the back edge of the baseboard skywards, so there’s no problem 620 (Pic.6). So he had to insert a with the leg wobbling in the jig.

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Pic.10 Steve mitred FOUNDATIONS the mouldings on a Mitred Festool Kapex mitresaw we’ve been testing. “It was absolutely spot on,” frame Steve explains. The rebated moulding Creating you own (below) is formed with a Trend ogee moulding to hold the cutter first, to create stone mosaic in place the main curve on the table

The final job for the table is to fix the pietra dura top Joints for the table to the underframe. This isn’t as simple as it might seem because the moulding has to hold the stonework done The important thing with the with a rounded ‘nose’. So Steve rebated the moulding curved fingers is to consider them on the lower and inside faces (Pic.9), but did not shape a single panel once they are glued together. Steve produced a holding the moulding before cutting the mitres. This makes it jig from the templates he used to easier to hold the rebated moulding against the fence make the formers, so that the of a mitresaw and assemble with frame cramps. aprons can be held for jointing The rebate on the inside face is to hold the and drilling. The jig can be used stonework. The rebate on the bottom face of the with the sliding fence on a moulding (B in Fig.5) is for a 5mm-thick, 50mm-wide tablesaw to cut the ends of the mitred frame (C in Fig.5) that is screwed down into the aprons square. Steve then screwed apron, and up into the moulding. Though you can’t see with West’s epoxy. Once the glue was set Steve used a a dowel drilling jig to the end of it in the drawings and photos, the legs are actually Trend 1/2in cove cutter to produce them main part of the holding jig to ‘drill’ holes for 2.5mm proud of the top edge of the apron. Steve the profile (Pic.11). He then rounded over the lower part the dowels that fix the apron to routed and pared out a 2.5mm deep recess from the of the moulding with a rounding over cutter in his the legs (Pic.7) with a router. The 6mm fluted dowels had to be cut corners of the supporting frame (C in Fig.5) to locate router table. The shaped ‘nose’ was more difficult down to fit into the ends of the over the tops of the legs (A). This isn’t absolutely because it is stopped, up against internal corners of the curved fingers. He used a tip he necessary but provides a tidier finish to the joint. mitres. Having done almost everything else with Pic.7 Steve routed out jigs for holding Also, before shaping the profile, Steve added a machines and power tools, Steve picked up his Record learnt at Savage’s to the fingers so that the ends could be cut compress the beech dowels to off square on the tablesaw (top). The Domino to each mitre to strengthen that joint (Pic.11). 66 beading tool, though this won’t reach right into the make dry assemblies easier (Pic8). same jig was used to line up the dowel It was a close thing getting the Domino to fit into the corners because the fence runs against the inside of the holes for the legs with a dowel plate mitre without breaking through, and Steve had to cut a frame. He had to pare the bullnose moulding by hand Pic.11 Steve meets Thomas Greenaway (top left) to fix the stone mosaic into the frame on the table. The rounded nose on the moulding that holds down the stone notch out of each Domino for it to fit. He then cut the right into the mitred corners. Then he sanded it all and top was formed with a Record No.66 beading tool after assembly. The mitres are TIP mitres and assembled the moulded part of the frame finished with Liberon Danish oil. reinforced with 4x20mm Festool Dominos

Fig.5 Moulding (B) cut away to Pic.12 The completed table reveal supporting frame (C)

C B

Pic.8 Dry assembling dowel joints can be risky because the dowels can get stuck in the holes, and you can damage the joint trying to extract them. “I learnt this tip from Darren at David Savage’s,” Steve explains. “By rolling the Pic.9 The frame for the stone top comprises two parts. A dowel with a file you squash the fibres and it goes in and out of the drilled The rebated moulding holds the stone down, while the holes more easily. You have to press down quite hard.” flat plate screws down into the table’s underframe and up into the moulding

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