Crotch-Grained Chess Table: Walnut, Poplar

3
CROTCH-GRAINED
CHESS TABLE
Walnut, Poplar
Copyright 2004 Martian Auctions 11

MAKING THE CHESS TABLE
This piece is designed around a set of angles taken from
the playing pieces, angles echoed in the fat dovetails holding
the stretchers to the legs and to each other, in the big
triangles cut from the apron parts, and in the compound
angles used to bring the legs into the tabletop. The repeti-
tion of these angles—in addition to the consistent color
of the walnut—unifies this piece.
Construction begins with the two sides (the faces of the
table showing the wide sides of the legs). Fasten the apron
parts to the legs with wide tenons glued only halfway across
their widths in order to minimize the potential for cracking
as these cross-grained constructions expand and contract
in response to seasonal changes in humidity.
The creation of these joints is complicated by the com-
pound angles at which the legs meet the tabletop. The
tenon shoulders on the apron parts, for example, are cut
at angles which are 83° from the top edges of these apron
parts. The dovetailed ends of the stretcher are simpler to
lay out, as these can be marked once the apron tenons have
been dry-fit into their leg mortises.
Once dry-fit, glue and clamp these sub-assemblies—
each of which consists of two legs, apron part, and stretcher.
On the table saw, give the center stretcher a dovetailed
bottom that extends from end to end. Then fit this into
dovetail mortises cut into the side stretchers. Surplus length
is necessary on this stretcher so that the end grain can be
pared back to the 83° angle at which the sides are canted.
Then fasten the apron part opposite the drawer front to
the legs on the back end of the table with a pair of
1/2"-long tenons. Again, in order to avoid cracking as a
result of this cross-grained construction, glue the tenon
only across half its width. Screw glue blocks into place
behind this joint to reinforce these stubby tenons.
Resaw the drawer guide stock so that one face is canted
at an 83° angle. Then, using a set of dado cutters on the
table saw, plough a 1/2" X 5/8" groove down the center of
the uncanted face of this stock. Cut the two drawer-guide
pieces to length and install them on the inside faces of the
apron sides. and he selected four of these for the top of this table because
The top is the next concern. the swirling grain in the walnut echoed the swirling figure
If woodworkers stay in the discipline long enough, they in the onyx frame of the chessboard.
inevitably become wood collectors. My dad is no exception. Once you have chosen the stock for the chessboard
Over the years he's put together a hoard of native hard- frame, give it a shaped outside edge, and rabbet the bottom
woods with an emphasis on black walnut, his personal inside edge to receive the base on which the chessboard
favorite among American species. At the time this table will set. Cut the slots for the splines. You can cut these by
was built, he had in his collection a number of short lengths hand with a tenon saw, but I find it much easier to perform
of crotch-grained walnut he'd harvested several years before, this operation on the table saw with a Universal Jig. (See

chapter six for a photo of this jig in operation. Please note, both the apron and the moulding appear to run continu-
however, that in order to cut the slots for the splines on ously around the table. Place a wedge of wood the full
the frame of the chess table, the work would be aligned length of the drawer front, tapered from a bottom thickness
so that the mitered end of the frame stock sets flat on the of 5/16" to a top thickness of 0 between the drawer front
saw table). Thickness and cut splines, and assemble the and the apron that covers the drawer front. This shim
frame. causes the apron to be canted at the same 83° angle as the
Next, install the 1/4" chessboard base in its 1/4" X 1/2" other sections of the apron. Slide the runners screwed to
rabbet with a number of small wood screws. the outside faces of the drawer sides into the grooves
The moulding under the tabletop is not merely decora- ploughed in the drawer guides. Construct a drawer stop
tive—it's also functional, serving to fasten the top to the by screwing a strip of wood across the bottom of the drawer
base via a number of wood screws passing up through the guides. When the drawer is opened to its greatest extension,
moulding into the top and passing through the apron into a pair of screws turned slightly into the bottom edge of
the moulding. the drawer sides strike this strip, preventing the drawer
The drawer is a simple open-topped, butt-jointed box, from coming out too far and spilling its contents.
to the front end of which a section of the apron and the After finishing the table, set the chessboard into place
moulding are affixed so that when the drawer is closed, on a felt pad.
1 Fasten the
stretcher to the leg
with a hand-cut
dovetail
2passing
Screws passing up through this moulding into the top and
through the apron into the moulding hold the top
to the base.
3 Fasten the drawer runner, which slides in the groove

ploughed in the drawer guides, to the drawer via several wood
screws passing through the drawer side into the slide. Note the
shim between the drawer front and the apron. This causes the
apron to be canted at the same angle as the table's legs. Note
also the spline set into the end grain of the apron. This prevents
the corners of the apron from breaking off because of the grain
4 The drawer can be seen sliding in the groove ploughed in
the drawer guide. When the screw turned into the bottom
of the drawer side strikes the stop strip, the drawer is prevented
runout on the apron's triangular tips. from being pulled completely from the table.

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Copyright 2004 Martian Auctions 11

Copyright 2004 Martian Auctions 12

3 Fasten the drawer runner, which slides in the groove

Copyright 2004 Martian Auctions 15

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