sometimes you start out headed for one place and end up in another. this is one of those times. this table with the self storing pull out leaves on the ends grew from a design we created with another client, in another place, a table with round ends, and without the leaves ... you can see it in the photo below, and loyal readers may remember it from this blog post from may of last year. my current client liked that design but wanted a rectangular table ... no problem i thought ... or
almost no problem in the end ... click the photos to enlarge them ...
basically, i thought i would just cut off the ends and add the pull out leaves, which i did in the drawing below, and we agreed it was great ... off we went ...
until we arrived here, where i noticed that sitting at the end of the table would not work, as you can see below, unless the leaves were pulled out.
so we discussed this situation ... 3 chairs per side for six, pull out the leaves for 8 or more ...
not so good we decided in the end ...
fortunately, since the table was made from reclaimed lumber and already had a few patches, after considering some reconfiguration options, we decided to remove the lower, mostly decorative understructure entirely, giving our client the seating flexibility she desired ... our previous design for pull out leaves was fussy to fabricate and sometimes confusing for the clients to operate, so using another table as a model as well as a nicely written fine woodworking article by tage frid from the 70s, we decided we would improve upon our design. will made a 1/4 size mockup using the math in the article, and we decided this was the choice to go ... it works slicker than our old design and by applying the large areas of felt you can see on the bottom of the top below, it works really smoothly and the leaves are protected from scrathcing. you can see a
very short you tube video of the opening and closing process at this link.
the top is not actually attached to the base but rather floats up and down via a pair of steel pins in holes in the center of the center frame. you can see that in the video. in the picture above, the leaves are in the closed position but you can see the little guides that will made that are attached to that center frame and keep the leaves square as they open and close. a little shellac and wax on the runners and guides and they slide like a dream.
we routed a half inch wide channel, an 1/8th inch deep, around the felt area so we could staple the felt and not just glue it ...
ta dah .. 88" closed to 132" open ... thank you again fine woodworking website ... the online access is the best $15.00 you can spend ...
OK, Ive done this enough without documenting it ... We first figured this out in 1998 by more or less copying a clients table that had a mechanism that worked pretty well ... Weve built tables with it probably 4 or 5 times since then, but never carefully documented the process with notes and drawings ... Im going to give it a whirl here ... Click the pictures to enlarge them and I hope you can figure it out .... Be sure to make a small mockup in ply or mdf to try it all out before you attempt it on your real table ... Works OK with four legs or a trestle ... We alchoices put some felt on the bottom of the table top where the leaf closes ... strips or larger pieces .. I put a very short video of the mechanism in operation on you tube here
concept sketch
cad drawing
cad drawing of the pull out supports .. Itll all make sense once you mock it up ... 
The finished table
Parts
Close up of the steel apron detail
One of the four legged versions in recycled chestnut
On site
My original coffee table drawing from 1998
Well, the house is finally finished and the desk will be on its choice to its new home tomorrow. We finished it up a few weeks ago but we were waiting for the carpenters to finish, the hardware to arrive and the ok for delivery. All set now and ready to go except for a small adjustment that I see I need to make to the bottom file drawer face ... Its amazing what you 
Close up of the very nice handmade hardware by Richard Spreda, The Stowe Smith/
Drawers like this on both sides, 3/16ths by 1/2" brass hanging file supports in the bottom drawers. There is also a removable butterfly grommet (not shown in the file) for cord passage to the surge protector in the center below the kneehole ... The cord from that travels between the drawers and plugs into the wall that the desk will be placed up against ... More drawings, comments and construction photos from the original post here ...
we finished this unusual coffee table last week. i 
its vaguely nakashima influenced with its simple, square legs, but the box originated with the project that involved the other half of the original claro walnut slab.
that project involved one of the 3 original claro walnut slabs that i purchased from goodhope, oh, back in about 2006. in 2010, one of my clients purchased the last of those slabs to use for an interesting console that had to be notched around a carving from bali that hung over a wall hung heater. the design was driven by many factors, and i cant find a photo of the finished piece, but when we were finished, we were left with the half slab you see below with a piece missing on each end. click the photos to enlarge them. more photos of claro walnut can be seen by clicking on the claro walnut slab tables category below the archive
the cut for the console table marked out in tape ...
the leftover has been standing in my office closet since and the project has been on again, off again for a couple of years ... i am glad its finally finished.
above is the cad drawing from the console project and you can see the shape of the coffee table slab in the negative space of the plan view ...
no date on the sketch, but im betting its from 2009 sometime ..
and heres what i did with the left over, though i now see i somehow got the notch for the box in the wrong place from the sketch ... we somehow got past that though, and the table will be delivered soon ... it will be a cool story if it ends up in the same room as the console ...
not much to detail on the process ... the box is mitered play with a ply top with 1/8" thick veneer, rabbeted and dropped into the open end so only the veneer was left and then flushed off and beveled. looks like solid wood, though you know it cant be ... fun project ...
When last we left you a couple of weeks ago, Will was heading down the homestretch on banjo #3, thinking he was making a Christmas present .... In the end, he got an extra couple of weeks that he really didnt need. It turns out its to be a birthday present, the 20th of January to be exact .... It took the pressure off and allowed him some extra time to do a really super job ... Looks cool; sounds even cooler .... one of the happiest instruments I have ever heard ... Heres a one minute concert clip ... Take a bow Will ...
12/14
12/31
He finished it Wednesday, we photographed it today ...
For Mackintosh H.M.Swan .... 1/20/2011 is his birthday
Gold abalone in pearl inlays ...
Back view ... Keep in mind that this is actually a mini banjo with an 8" head and a shortened scale and fretboard ....
from the video ... check it out
And the coup de grace is the nameplate ,,,, made by Will on the CNC with a 60 degree bit .. the brass plate is about a 1/2 " tall ...
I did a talk last evening with Marc Spagnolo, aka "The Wood Whisperer". Mark has created an amazing social networking site for woodworkers, designers and craftsmen of all skill levels ... Check it out here if you arent familiar with his site .... Anychoice, I thought I might talk about what was happening in the shop this week, but mainly, we covered more of the history and general background of the business. Tools, design processes, shop size, relationships with clients ... Most challenging project ... It was fun and when I get a link, Ill post it here.
Sam has completed four tuteurs. Tomato cages for those of you unfamiliar with the French .,.. 
Were doing some design work with a potential client who is interested in an Arts and Crafts" style screen, sort of like the one below that he saw on my website. We made that for a client who was a world traveler and had a large collection of Oceanic objects ....
We also got underchoice on an 18 wall of bookshelves and fireplace mantle ... Its a paint project, but it will have a great refined look when it gets to its home ... 
Were really just getting started ... more on that project later
Were also getting underchoice on an English elm oval shaped table which will also deserve a post of its own before long.
And Will is finishing up a vanity and mirror for a longtime client
The sink is actually routed from a 6" thick slab of onyx and the top edge thats left is 2" ... more on that later too ...
The mirror has some brass details
