This table is part two of the Tchotchke Shelf I finished in January. In the box of wood I was sent for that project there were four table legs. One thought ran through my mind: “what the hell am I going to do with those?” The Tchotchke Shelf used up most of the usable material so my choices were limited.
My solution for this table was to make the largest box available from the material I had, then attach the legs.
In keeping with the historic tradition of the century-old materials, I minimized the use of any power tools in the construction. I cut the half-blind dovetails by hand and surfaced the boards only with hand planes and scrapers (as a side note, not a scrap of sand paper ever touched this piece, just a good sharp scraper). Similarly, I didn’t make any attempts to fill holes, cracks, flaws, or damage by others. You can see nail holes in the dovetails, mortises in the legs, etc.
I left the original finish on the legs and added just a light coat of oil to blend in the areas that had been worn of finish over its life as a dining table.
The box was planed and scraped smooth then finished with multiple coats of oil-wax.
Although not the most practical table I have ever designed, it was a fun and whimsical way to reuse some sentimental materials and come up with more of an art piece.
