Quartersawn Sycamore Hall Table
This table was made for my entry foyer, should it ever get to the point of being furnished. The table shares some of the extreme design features that mark the earlier poplar and cherry side table. Both have thin tops, rather extreme end overhangs, and thinly tapered legs. I chose to enhance the joints by pegging them with walnut. This was more a matter of style than strength. The entire table is made of a single large quartersawn sycamore board with some poplar and walnut in secondary roles.
The most difficult part of this project was the front
apron and drawers. To obtain the effect of continuous grain across the entire front I divided a single piece of wood into seven
pieces with minimal loss by using an extremely thin high-tension bandsaw blade and then reassembled them into the apron and two
drawer fronts. The grain does appear to be continuous except under the closest inspection. The finish is boiled linseed oil and
padded-on garnet shellac. Size in inches: 44 X 12 X 28
I produced a detailed picture of a small portion of this table to illustrate an article about quartersawn American sycamore wood in the January 2003 issue of American Woodworker magazine. But wouldn't you know it — they got my name wrong and stuck an "r" in it that doesn't exist. Oh well, at least I can say that I'm a published photographer now...
My furniture design is strictly an ad-lib activity. I think about it and then I build it with no intervening drawings. I am proud to say that some of my furniture has been admired enough for someone else to go through the labor of making drawings so that others might build it. You can find drawings for this table (and many others) at the excellent site operated by Loren Hutchinson.
This website does not use cookies or javascript and collects no user information.