Woodworker's Journal Chinese-Tea-Table, страница 4

Chinese Tea Table Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Start with the four legs (Part A), made from the 3 x 3 stock.

2. Select 3" x 3" stock from which to make the leg pieces (A).

3. Cut the four leg pieces to length.

4. Use a disk sander to immediately joint the ends of the legs, as they will be more difficult to smooth later.

5. Use a router or drill press in conjunction with a dovetail bit to cut the dovetail grooves. NOTE: It is important to do this before the band sawing, because afterwards the legs will not have easily available flat surfaces to rest the work upon.

6. Cut 1/2" deep grooves centered 1-3/8" from the common corner on two adjoining sides of each leg, extending the cut from the end of the leg down exactly 1", measured at the center of the bit.

7. Mark one side of a leg that has a dovetail in it.

8. NOTE carefully the relation of the pattern to the dovetail groove: The long flat side at the top should be placed towards the adjoining side with the dovetail cut, leaving the short flat side that must be cut out on a blank side.

9. Use a circle gauge with a 2-1/2" diameter cutout to draw the curves.

10. Use the bandsaw and, leaving a small margin for sanding later, cut the drawn pattern.

11. Draw a reversed pattern on the remaining dovetailed face. NOTE: This second pattern will need to be drawn on a curved cut surface but, by using the curvature endpoints, this can be done surprisingly easily.

12. Use the bandsaw again to cut out the reversed pattern.

13. Sand the legs thoroughly, using a drum sander to sand the inside curves.

14. Lay out and mark the location of mortises for the stretcher (G).

15. Use a sharp 1/4" chisel to cut each mortise.

16. Repeat the process for all the legs.

17. Cut four 16" lengths of 1" x 2" stock to make the aprons (Part B).

18. Rip them to a 1-1/4" width.

19. Cut 1/2" into the ends, at a width that produces a tight joint with the table legs, to form the dovetails on the ends. NOTE: The aprons do not yet fit flush with the top of the legs, making the 1/2" extension of the dovetails critical. Whether or not they fit on the top frame depends upon the aprons being the correct length.