Replies

1. 
   9619 | Jul 13, 2006 06:14pm | #1

   Cecil,
   I don't have the drawings that you want. I hope someone else can get them to you. But I do have an off-the-wall suggestion. FWW is different from the rest of the wood-mags in that it doesn't provide cut lists and shop drawings. I believe that the motivation is to get you to try to do it yourself. From your message, it seems that you have not yet mustered the courage to give that a try. I recommend that you give it a try. If someone else sends you the drawings, don't look at them until you have tried to generate them yourself. I believe that you will amaze yourself with what you come up with. There are lots of little tricks to use to get measurements. Look at the photo and see if it contains common household items that you could measure at home (eg light sockets). Your library has books on how high table should be, etc. You can also find that stuff on the web. The next thing is to try to figure out what a good way to do the joinery is. Give that a try. Taunton has some good books on how to build tables and how to do casework, etc. From books like these, you can probably come up with a good set of joints.

   Then if you actually get a set of drawings from someone else, you can check to see how well yours agree. Take your drawings down to the local woodworking club or the local Woodcraft or Rockler and ask the cashier to look at your drawings. If you go when they are crowded, you will soon be surrounded with people giving you advice. Obviously, the hard part is figuring out which is the good advice. If you have a good woodworker around ask him/her. Another thing you could do is to post your drawing on Knots and ask for feedback. Then stand back and make sure that you dont have thin skin.

   If you always use other people's drawings, you will never get the skill and confidence to try your own. FWW does its readers a service by causing them to have to think for themselves.

   In any case, the more you try to make your own drawings, the better you will get at it. Why not get started now? What have you got to lose? I wouldn't make a recommendation like this if you were referring to skydiving or performing plastic surgery. It's only a drawing. Give it a shot!

   Enjoy,
   Mel

1. 
   cecil | Jul 14, 2006 01:34pm | #4

   I agree with you in that FWW is different to other woodworking mags but not including the specs is not a FWW standard procedure open issue 182 page 67 there is an excellent article written by Mario Rodriguez in a curved legs coffe table where all the measurements to clone the furniture is provided, open issue # 166 another excellent article written by Garrett Hack on a Chair Making Simplified project measurements and scaled drawing for the back post of the chair are provided, there are many many other projects in the back issues that provide all you need to clone the furniture featured, but sometimes you stumble with a black sheep like this Master Class article and there I am stuck.

   I totally agree with you that we week-end woodworkers need to sharpen skills to translate a picture into a set of measured parts, but in my case I am far from being a furniture designer/maker and I always depended in the cutting list provided with the project and this introduce a difficult to get rid dependency which makes you a victim.

   It crossed my mind before I entered this question in this forum what you have suggested me but I sensed defeat since I have not embarqued ever in trying to do what you suggest me and I set that out of my mind. But I will give it a try and if I am not successful, well I will forget about making this beautiful table.,

   I want to thank you very much for your comments and wish you have happy days

   Cecil

1. 
   9619 | Jul 14, 2006 04:06pm | #7

   Cecil,
   You won't get an argument from me. I am not a woodworking expert. I am merely a weekend warrior who also makes sawdust on weekday evenings when possible. The table that you were referring to is no ordinary piece. It sure would be nice to have more "how to" info on it, even though much of it is "hand carved". I recently faced the same question that you asked, and I did the same thing you did. I asked for help with the design. It was prompted by the discussion of the joinery of a Japanese woodworker named Kintaro Yazawa in the Editors Blog of FWW. They gave the following website for his work:http://www.eurus.dti.ne.jp/~k-yazawa/workshop.htmlIf you haven't seen his work, please visit that site. There is nothing like it anywhere else. I went to the website and was absolutely blown over. I can't figure out how he makes some of those joints. I wrote to the editors of FWW and asked if they could provide more info on the work of Mr Yazawa, especially some diagrams of the joints, and some "How to" info. I hope they come through. This lifetime is not a practice session. It is the real thing. As the Budwiser people used to say, "Grab for the Gusto!" So if you are fascinated by that table, and you cant get "how to" info on it, just design and build it anyway. Probably the worst that will happen is that if may fail in three or four generations. Enjoy,
   Mel

1. 
   cecil | Jul 14, 2006 08:54pm | #8

   Mel,

   This website is fascinating I have to inspect one by one of his work to see if I can learn at least something from this guy, How can it be that someone be so specialized in the art of furniture making.

   I think I am going to start drawing the table in August FWW article Master class .I am conditioning my brain to accept 3 or 4 failures I think on the fifth I will step aside and forget about it. I am buying the book written by Jeffrey P. Greene American Furniture of the 18th Century recommended by jazzdogg and wet my brain with the instructions to reproduce from a picture.

    

   Thanks for the tip

    

   Cecil

2. 
   wrudiger | Jul 14, 2006 11:25pm | #9

   Aw, come on now, don't do that to us!  Guess I'll just have to stick to gardening - LOL!

   View Image

2. 
   jazzdogg | Jul 13, 2006 06:16pm | #2

   Hi Cecil,

   If you want to try to compile measured drawings from photographs, there are excellent instructions provided in chapter 13 of Jeffrey P. Greene's book "American Furniture of the 18th Century" (Pub. Taunton Press, ISBN 1-56158-104-6), pages 197-207.

   Good luck,

   -Jazzdogg-

   "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie

1. 
   cecil | Jul 14, 2006 01:38pm | #5

   Thank you very much, I will get the book because I have to start my first steps in dislodging the dependency I have on the cutting list and measured drawings.

   Thanks again

   Cecil

3. 
   MBerger | Jul 13, 2006 09:06pm | #3

   Hi Cecil,

   The Master Class article covered techniques for making sculpted joinery, so the table you're referring to was included mainly for reference to the technique. The image below is from our online Gallery.

   View Image

   As for scaled patterns, that would be difficult in this case because the process the author, Jere Williams, uses to shape the parts is done when the table is fully assembled. So even he doesn't have any patterns. It's really just an excercise of the sculpture's eye.

   Jere Williams has several similar pieces in our online Gallery, and you can browse them all on his profile page here. He is also featured in an audio slide show on our site where he discusses his sculpting techniques, which you can watch here.

   I hope it inspires you to design and build something unique of your own!

   Regards,
   Matt Berger
   Fine Woodworking

1. 
   cecil | Jul 14, 2006 01:47pm | #6

   UHHHHH, I was absolute mislead by I don't know why, but now that you pointed it I get the picture and I should not have entered the question in the first place . Yes it is somehow obvious that it was a complete reference to the joinery and the table was the guinea pig to show how the joinery looks like but I did not see it until now.

   It is amazing how good is to belong to a forum in where you have different opinions about a subject issued by smart people they give pulling ears answer like in my case.

   Thank you sooo much I am happy now, I had Mel (9619) suggested to try to come up with measurements myself and a book to read by Mberger.

   I don't have any other choice but to take it for a ride.

    

   Thanks again

   Cecil