Mesquite Table and Bench 2

After completing the upper mortises I spent some time and carefully milled the tenons to fit the mortises. The basic tenons are roughed out on a table saw fixture. I finish each joint by hand using traditional hand tools to ensure the ideal fit. Below you will see the roughed out tenons for the upper rails.

After the tenons are milled I can assemble the base in sections, allowing me to mark the tenons to determine to location for the draw bore joinery on the tenons. Simply fitting each tenon to its mortise can take a good deal of time to perfect. there is a lot of chiseling and planing involved but the end result will be worth every hour of obsession.

After marking all of the tenons, I can move forward with the next phase of construction, calculating the dimensions for the stretcher. The first step is to assemble the bases.

I strive for perfection in every joint and every cut. No two pieces are ever exactly the same, In this case, I must ensure the assembly is absolutely square before measuring for the stretcher. I clamp up each piece to ensure everything is square and tightly assembled.

After making very precise measurements, I have enough information to begin incorporating the through tenon stretcher. In the next post, I will create the through tenon joinery, taper the legs, shaping arches to the rails and certainly  filling more voids.

Thanks for looking.

-Sam

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Mesquite Table and Bench

This week I began making a mesquite hall table and bench. The lumber selected for these pieces came from some very large and exclusive mesquite trees. I have been drying these slabs for the better part of a year to get them stable and ready for joinery.

After two days of milling and 70 gallons of wood shavings the stock is flat straight and square.

The native mesquite wood has a very beautiful grain and makes for beautiful furniture when treated correctly.

One of the largest challenges with mesquite and incorporating high end joinery is stabilizing the cracks. I will face at least 10 separate sessions filling the cracks in the mesquite. As you work the components and shape them closer to their final size you tend to re-open cracks which require more filling.

After carefully laying out for the bore holes, mortises and leg tapers I take time to arrange the various components for grain flow.

the bore holes in the legs are drilled using a five star 3/8″ brad point bit.

After the bore holes are complete, I move to the hollow chisel mortiser to bore out the mortises.

With the main leg mortises complete the next step is to move on to the rails and stretcher.

-Sam