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Shaker side table, birdseye maple

comments (4) April 3rd, 2009 in The Gallery     
Chuck_Griffith Charles Griffith, member
thumbs up 10 users recommend

Photo: Self

A few years ago, a generous man included me in a group of eight for a two-week golfing trip to Scotland. Before the trip he and I had never met. We played at all the best places, and he paid for everything except airfare and a few dinners. Needless to say, an ordinary thank you note wasn't enough, so I made him this table. It was dyed with water-based aniline dye and hand rubbed with gel varnish. Poplar and unfigured maple are the secondary woods. I used small antiqued metal knobs because I didn't want unfigured, end-grain wooden knobs to interrupt the dramatic figure of the drawer fronts. My wife, who's a caligrapher, penned a thank you inscription on the bottom of the middle drawer. It was then signed by everyone on the trip and varnished before the drawer was assembled. It was much appreciated, and, yes, I got invited for more golf trips. To Ireland, Oregon, Portugal, Spain and the Dominican Republic. It pays to say thank you.


Design or Plan used: My own design
posted in: The Gallery, table, shaker, maple

Comments (4)

Chuck_Griffith Chuck_Griffith writes: Hi twistjawa, God bless hard drives. I actually found my plans for this table. Here are the dimensions. Hope they make sense.

Top: 38.25 x 14.75 x .75
Legs: 27.25 x 1.25 x 1.25, taper to .75 starts 22.5 up
Sides: 10 x 4.625 (visible)
Back: 30 x 4.625 (visible)
Front cross: 30 x .625 x 1.25 plus 1/2" tails at each end
Front verts: 3 7/16 x .625 x 1.25 plus 1/4" tails at each end
Drawer fronts: 9.5 x 3.375
Posted: 7:09 pm on April 21st

twistjawa twistjawa writes: Hi Chuck, Im a big fan of this piece. Could you give me some rough dimensions?
Posted: 12:29 pm on April 19th

Chuck_Griffith Chuck_Griffith writes: Dear missingWA, Thanks very much, but I'm not sure how comfortable I am with that much praise. I do try to be polite, but I must confess that this table was made and given with a certain amount of self-interest. I definitely wanted to keep myself included in this golf group. The best part, though, is that after several trips together (including bonefishing in the Yucatan last October, fully paid for by him) this man and I have become very good friends. And that would be true whether he took me on trips on not.
Posted: 2:37 pm on April 3rd

missingWa missingWa writes: That's the proper way to do things. You, Sir, are a true gentleman.

Gorgeous table and wise choice of hardware, by the way.
Posted: 1:13 pm on April 3rd

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