Starting the Tea Tables

 I started the tea tables with the legs. I made a drawing of the legs and transferred that to some  3/4 particle board. With a good pattern I rough cut the curve on the band saw then pattern routed the legs to shape.

The legs were a little long so I set up a stop block and support on my miter saw to get a consistent cut. With one side done I could flip the pieces reset the stop block and finish cut all the legs to the exact size

Now that all the legs were cut to the same size I grouped them all together and sanded them smooth. Even though they were shaped with a router and pattern I thought it was a good idea to make sure they were all sanded to the exact same shape.

 The legs taper in two directions so I made a pattern for the taper. I just laid the pattern on one leg and drew the taper. I placed the top just passed the cutting knives on my jointer and joint opposite sides counting the passes untill I reached the layout lines. It was just a matter of repeating the process on the other legs to get them all the same. I sanded them all to 220  careful I didn't sand the top of the leg and change the thickness. The legs all need to be the same size to fit into the supports that hold them.

As with everything else I had to make a pattern for the leg supports. I Made a few cutouts then realized I could just spin the pattern to get the other marks. This pattern was just used to mark the parts properly so they could be cut on the band saw. The supports needed to be filed and shaved with a chisel to get a good fit with the legs. It was a bit finicky to get the fit but that was the method I used. I'm sure there must have been an easier way to to this but oh well!

Below is a dry fit before I put the second taper on the legs. I used a plum bob to get the leg support centered then I realized the legs were not in complete alignment at the floor, so to keep everything symmetrical I made layout lines on the disk and clamped the legs to it as a guide. It worked great and now the legs are a perfect distance apart at the floor.

I Glued up three tops at about 23" square  and picked out the veneer( lacewood) to use as an accent on the top and as a background for the marquetry I will be using on one of the tables.

I have to get one of these tables done soon for an upcomming show so I will concentrate on one and get back to the rest whene I get cought up.