On many occasions I have been asked how I make my Golden Iris Coffee Table. Do you steam the wood? How do you create these curves? How do you assemble such a combination of curves?
Well then, here is how I do it. I hope you will enjoy reading this post. Please note that this a copyrighted design. You can get this table only from MapleArt.
I developed this table about 5 years ago. The leg structure is based on a curve I came up with a few years earlier and I have been using for a lot of my furniture, even lamps.
It is one of my best sellers, available in walnut, figured maple or cherry and sells for C$2200 in maple. The size of the glass is 44″ (112cm) by 27″ (69cm) with a height of 18 ½” (47cm).
Larger sizes are available. The last table I made accommodated a 19mm elliptical glass of 72″ by 36″ (182 x 91cm).
I start by sawing four or five 72″ (182cm) long 2 ½” by 3″ (6.4 x 7.5cm) thick figured maple planks or other hardwoods chosen by my customers into 3/32″ (2.2mm) thick strips, 3″ (7.5cm) high. This is a very delicate operation, not so much at the beginning but towards the end when the wood stock gets thinner and thinner. A zero clearance table saw insert and very sharp thin-kerf ripping blade are essential as is a complete command of a very accurate and powerful table saw and a good push stick. I equipped my table saw with a 5Hp motor. As the strips are very thin, it is imperative that the cuts are done in one continues motion – with the entire 3″ height and full length cut without stopping. Even with a thin-kerf blade more than half the original wood ends up as sawdust!
My table legs are book matched, therefore all cuts are kept in sequential order so that they can be rearranged appropriately later.
I assemble my strips so that the table looks book matched (i.e. symmetrically arranged legs) from every angle, top and bottom, yet the colour of grain on the side of the legs remains intact.
After a lot of experimentation with different glues and epoxies, I came to the conclusion that the Lee Valley GF 2002 water based glue offers the best results. It has the least amount of creep, is not too liquid or too thick, and is easiest to clean up on wood and my vacuum press bag. However, gluing has to proceed very fast. Each leg consists of 10 strips. I glue two legs at once so that is 20 strips which have to be spread with glue on both sides, or 36 surfaces, in only 20min before the glue starts to set on the first strips! I tried many gadgets to spread the glue and rub it into the wood and determined that bare hands and fingers, although messy, work best! I built a special jig to give the glue-up its unique shape which I insert into my 2-ton vacuum press.
The reason I glue two legs in one setting is to guarantee that the two legs remain equal at all times and both are affected by the same amount of creep (wood trying to flex back into its original shape). Due to the tremendous forces in the bent wood, I leave the glue-up for 5 hours in the press.
Interested in understanding the math behind the curves?
These are straightforward processes of cleaning up glue, jointing the sides, sawing them parallel, scraping and sanding until nice and smooth.
Without a jig the assembly would be impossible. The jig holds the legs in place so that the ends can be cut in the appropriate composite angles and lengths to hold the glass top parallel to the bottom surface.
The legs are glued together using dowel joinery. The two sides are held together with stainless steel rods bend to the appropriate angles so that they penetrate the wood squarely but also hold the pieces together in the aesthetically pleasing correct angles. As the wood itself is curved, each steel bar needs to be bent to a different angle, as are the holes drilled into the wood. The four steel bars are press-fit into the wood and looked into place by using a few drops of “Hot Stuff” glue.
I sand the wood with 400 grit sand paper, polish with a scraper and then apply a coat of varnish oil finish with 1000 grit sandpaper. Finally, several coats of a bees wax emulsion are buffed into the surface. As with all my other creations, my table is dated, numbered and signed.
Voila, there is your table, ready to hold the 12mm glass plate and adorn your living room.
Best regards
Andres Schneiter
Acknowledgements:
As always, I greatly appreciate the help of my friends Ake Severinson for shooting close to 1000 pictures to make this post, and Jiri Vrba for helping me with the mathematical intricacies of my curve.
