Once I first of all designed our out of doors kitchen and patio house, I incorporated a farm desk that might fit the sink island. On this video, I’ll quilt the bottom development and display a joinery means that doesn’t require clamps; sliding dovetails. The sink island and farm desk may have an identical base and an identical most sensible. All the base for this desk might be constituted of 8/4 poplar.
The shortest items are the legs, and to lead them to, I’m beginning with the forums that experience essentially the most bow and twist. Have in mind, the extra warped the board, the extra subject matter might be got rid of when knocking down. That is extra exaggerated the longer the board is. You’ll be able to cheat this a bit bit by way of making the forums shorter sooner than milling them.
With that during thoughts, I can cut up essentially the most warped forums for the legs. First up, crosscutting to fairly outsized leg blanks.
Jointing two faces flat and sq. on the jointer.
And planing to most thickness on the planer. The thicker those finally end up, the simpler.
Right here’s a perfect tip I will cross alongside to you. I discovered this concept whilst staring at MTM Wooden on YouTube after which made my very own video at the matter. Take two 3” PVC pipes and safe some flat inventory to the ground to stop them from rolling round. Now you’ve gotten an affordable and GREAT glue-up platform. This permits you to get clamps on most sensible and backside with out flipping. Then again, I nonetheless turn the glue up if I will.
Each and every leg clean might be a lamination of 2 forums. So 8 forums general on this four-leg glue up.
Since the vast faces of the forums are already flat and parallel, I added a work of plywood to every facet of the glue up. Those plywood items gets dented from the clamps fairly than my already surfaced leg portions.
Whilst the leg blanks sit down in clamps, I will get started the milling procedure as soon as once more for the rail items. Step one is sort of at all times crosscutting at my miter noticed station. I’m drawing near the tip of 12 months seven with this miter noticed station and couldn’t consider my store with out it. It’s basically a garage wall that occurs to have a miter noticed in it.
I desire to make use of the bandsaw when conceivable for ripping tough lumber. If the board has any cup or twist, I don’t suggest the use of the desk noticed as the fabric can shift simply when it’s reduce.
Jointing the lengthy inventory on the jointer isn’t as tough as it’s going to appear. Some other people have requested concerning the “brief” beds in this jointer, and I will’t bitch, to be truthful. Those tables do the activity simply high-quality for longer inventory, and I will at all times use a curler stand if wanted. This board is 85” lengthy.
After the jointer and planer, I will rip to the general duration on the desk noticed. Those JessEm curler guides had been tremendous useful at holding the inventory down and in opposition to the fence. No longer a demand in anyway, however certainly useful.
Once more, curler stands are your buddy with longer inventory. You’ll be able to see one at the back of me right here. It was once arrange to be used on the bandsaw.
The following morning I used to be slightly productive off-camera. I took the leg blanks out of the clamps and were given them sq. on 4 facets to their ultimate width and thickness. My unique design known as for a 3-1/4” sq. leg, however I finished up going with a 3-1/4” x 4” rectangle. I simply couldn’t deliver myself to bring to a halt 3/4” for no reason why rather than holding the legs sq.. Having a look again, I’m happy I made this resolution as a result of I feel the oblong legs supplement the oblong desk.
For the joinery, I’m the use of the Pantorouter. It’s a surprisingly flexible joinery device. Principally, it’s a pantograph with a router connected. It strains templates at a 2:1 aid from the template to the picket. So you probably have a ten” template, you’re going to get a 5” joint. Mortise and tenon, sliding dovetails, rabbets, dados, field joints, dowel joints, common dovetails, you title it, and this factor can do it (for essentially the most section).
For a sliding dovetail, I’ve a stopped slot template put in. That is in reality a segmented template with 3 portions. The nearest to me is a rounded template finish section adopted by way of two longer immediately template segments. This permits me to seize the bearing follower throughout the template for the feminine facet of the joint and now not possibility by chance losing the router onto the desk floor. The template lets in me to plunge into the highest of the leg and prevent at a specified distance.
The feminine facet of the joint takes about 24 seconds to chop, in line with my video clips. The dovetail bit I’m the use of has a 13/16” backside width, and I set the device for a 1” deep reduce. That’s a tight quantity of subject matter to take away in a single cross, particularly taking into account I’m plunging into finish grain. The bit and device treated it with out a downside.
This was once a fun-looking shot, so I incorporated it within the video. The 4 legs with the 8 dovetail slots.
Subsequent up, the male facet of the joint is reduce with the Pantorouter follower at the outdoor of the template.
That is the place the Pantorouter shines. I’ve a vertical desk on my CNC device, so I may technically reduce those joints. However NOT at the lengthy rails. The peak of my CNC spindle is the restricting issue for finish grain paintings. On this case, you’ll be able to arrange subject matter fortify at the reverse finish of the board and reduce a nearly limitless duration.
This desk might be a sexy fundamental design. A easy, daring glance is what I’m after, so stopped chamfers on the entire edges are all that I’m including. With a get started and prevent line marked on my router desk, the chamfers may also be reduce simply on the router desk.
Whilst the legs gained’t technically contact the concrete, I’m including a chamfer to the ground of the legs anyway. ALWAYS chamfer or roundover the ground edges of your chairs and desk legs. Principally, any piece of furnishings that has legs wishes some more or less reduction reduce at the perimeter of the leg to stop splintering when drug around the ground.
It’s additionally a good suggestion to make use of a backer board to stop tearout.
Right here’s the place I bumped into slightly of a snag. I’ve a pleasant set of picket faucets that I love to make use of every time conceivable. Then again, the faucets working throughout the poplar finish grain led to torn fibers. Poplar is simply too cushy to be tapped at the finish grain. All of my threads had been ripping out with a 1/2” bolt. I deliberate to make use of those 1/2” bolts as leg levelers.
Plan B was once to make use of my outdated trusty. A 5/16-18 T-nutt with a 5/16-18 galvanized carriage bolt is what I in most cases use. On this case, I’ll have to make use of it right here. That is the least dear possibility I do know of for foot leveling.
Time for meeting of the desk. I set the Pantorouter to provide cosy joints proper off the device, so PVA glue was once now not an possibility. PVA glue (Tightbond and identical) is water primarily based, so it is going to swell the joint all the way through meeting. On an already tight joint, this isn’t what you need. As a substitute, I went with epoxy. It lubricates because it is going in combination, so there’s no use for over the top pressure to seat the joint.
The primary motivating issue for me to make use of sliding dovetails for the joinery was once the truth that no clamps had been vital. I didn’t have clamps lengthy sufficient to connect the lengthy rails, so I might have needed to attach a couple of in combination to get the whole lot put in. Sliding dovetails had been a lot more uncomplicated. “Glance, Ma. No clamps!”
And no fussing with a BFH to get the whole lot seated correctly.
The overall piece of the bottom is a middle fortify rail. This now not simplest is helping fortify the highest however, extra importantly, helps to keep the lengthy rails parallel. With out this board, the lengthy rails may both bow in or out through the years. This rail locks the lengthy rails in position.
Right here’s a tip for you. If in case you have the choice to take action, place the lengthy rails in order that they bow inward all the way through meeting. That approach, the middle rail is sandwiched between the lengthy rails, and the pocket hollow screws that preserve it in position are simply locking the location. If in case you have the lengthy rails situated bowing out, then you’ll have to set up the fortify rail with clamps and screws. When the clamp is got rid of, the screw threads do all of the paintings to stay the lengthy rails parallel.
A biscuit joiner is an ideal software for tabletop hold-down clips. I used those clips for each desk that must be connected to a base the place enlargement and contraction are vital. See the video for a greater visible rationalization.
And that’s it for the desk base. I sought after to shift gears from the sink island to this desk base as a result of they’ll be completed with the similar Tuscan Purple milk paint from Common Finishes.
I’ll go away you with the SketchUp photographs of those two items of furnishings. As you’ll be able to see, the bases are the similar, and the highest panels are the similar. The island gets door and drawer pulls that fit the highest, and the desk gets an extra trim piece under the rails that fits the highest. Keep tuned, as those items are already just about whole. The colour grew to become out GREAT!
