update 8/16/2012 ... we delivered the copper topped coffee table today ... these things are tough to photograph ... after the patina, there are just so many subtle colors, and the metal is sort of shiny underneath, so you pick up reflections from just about everywhere ... but, its in its new home now, and it looks great there ... everyones happy ...
the copper turns into kind of an abstract expresionist coloring ... the chemical is somewhat unpredictable in consistency ... were thinking it is that so much copper is recycled today that there are just all kind of things running through it ...
original post from 8/14 below here.
were doing another copper topped table. we made the first one back in may for one of our clients who had a big empty covered porch ...
same process ... because of the choice the corners are done, folded straight down, we put little copper corners routed into the subbase flush in place before we start. its important to think about where your later nails are going at this point so you dont have one in the wrong place when you go to apply the top sheets later. click the photos to enlarge them.
starting in one corner, the sheets go around the table with each sheet having a 1" tab that goes past the joint and under the next sheet. the table and the copper are first sprayed with 3m spray 90 contact cement and then CAREFULLY pressed into place ... that stuff is sticky and a sheet stuck down wrong can be tough to relocate.
the sheets are laid out for the nail holes and drilled for the nail shank to pass through the copper and then piloted with a bit slightly smaller than the 1.5" copper slate nails that we use. jim bevels the edges of the heads of the nails by chucking them in a cordless drill and carefully spinning them on the running edge sander . were looking for a beveled head, thats not too small or sanded too thin.
this is the pattern we use. down the center of the joints and 1" to either side. the edges are nailed on center of the 2.25" thick edge, which was bent on a brake in a local tin shop. we also use small cut copper nails treated on the sander toward the bottoms of the corners and joints to keep them down if someones clothes catch on them as they are passing by ...
on to the liver of sulphur and steel wool process, which i described pretty fully in the post for the previous table. a little oil and varnish mix over the patina and some varnish on the legs tomorrow and well be all set. ive got a cad drawing somewhere that i will post with the picture of the table when its finished ... the dimensions are 40 x 60 x 17 high ... the copper around the outside is 13" wide plus the bend, an inch of that is covered by the center sheet, leaving a 12" exposed band around the outside of the table ...
Making a bunch of columns is alchoices fun if youre like me, the one watching ... And, according to Will, if you are turning them too. I think I got burned out on the thousand or so chair legs and stretchers I turned when I was starting out as a furniture maker and thought I wanted to be a Windsor chair maker ... I like to turn still occasionally, but Will is soooo good at it that he just does it ... It helps to have the Vega, which he has tuned to deliver superior results in amazingly short order. Click the pictures to enlarge them ... 
We got some excellent .dxf files from the architect/designer which, after deleting the dimensions, went right into our cnc toolpathing program so Trevor could cut the template for the duplicator on the cnc. Slick.
After a little brainstorming and sketching we came up with the jig to remove the quarter section that you see in the top photo.
This picture shows the smooth cut Will gets right off the diamond tool on the duplicator.
He then removes the duplicator and hand turns the final details with traditional chisels, giving them their handturned look.
We thought we could make hollow columns as there is no 12/4 white oak available that I could find, but in the end, we made them solid with core wood added to the inside.
There are 8 columns in white oak, 6" in diameter at the large point ... Its gonna take a lot of wood ...
A reader sent me an email looking for information on carving the pine cones on the bed in the post above ... I looked back and found that that was one topic I hadnt really covered in depth .... I think this was Wills first time carving them but fortunately I had saved a half carved sample cone with the layout lines shown so all he had to do was make the turning, steal the layout from the sample, find the right gouge and carve achoice everything that didnt look like a pine cone ... This time we actually took some pictures too ... It helps if you can find a nice fresh one in the woods that is just about to open to get the top right ... I think its too late to find one of those this year ... Click the photos to enlarge them ...
The top photo shows the horizontal and vertical divisions ... youll have to find (or buy) the right sweep chisel in your carving tool collection and then match the number of lines and divisions to the size/height of your cone and chisel .. Outline first as shown above in the top photo and photo above,
Then hollow out inside the outlines, getting smaller as you approach the top ... This is a learn by doing detail and no quantity of words will substitute for some trial and error here ... Have at it !!
Same deal for the spirals except the layout for those is shown in the original bed posts .
In this picture, you can just see a little of how the top of the cone is resolved to appear slightly open.
