Roy Underhill is responsible for this turned coffee table getting made for my mom last Christmas. He said it was a simple way to make a really nice piece of furniture. He was right. It's all sycamore with a nice figure on the quartersawn legs and top. The base is plainsawn with some bonus spalting. My conclusions: I need to get better with the sliding dovetails. I got a new oldtool to help me with this. There is a lot of grain reversal so tearout was a bear. I got a new oldtool to help me with this. Sycamore turns well as long as the details aren't too fine. It can be a bit crumbly. People comment on how much they like the turning. I think they're crazy. It doesn't look a thing like I intended, but every time my gouge slipped and I chewed a spiral in my work, my design changed by necessity as I fixed the error. I wonder how many masterpieces started that way? Michelangelo saying, "Oops. Dammit. Well I guess THIS feature of my sculpture of David is gonna be a little bit smaller NOW."
I also need to custom make my own spokeshave. The legs were tough, especially on the inside radii. I should have spent more time with them.
I finished this puppy with linseed oil and wipe on polyurethane.
Mom wants a larger top so I'll find out if I can tackle that tearout problem.
