Plan here

Ive managed to make a lot of progress on this coffee table project over the last weekend. Once I got through the design and shaping of the legs, I was pretty straight forward. What I had to do next was mill and cut the rails to their rough size. Once that was done, I used the router table to cut the tenons to match the mortises in the legs. I just used a 3/4" bit set to a 1/4" height; I only cut one side of the tenon, the front, since the back will be be visible and this allows me to use a larger tenon than normal. At this point, the tenon is really just a rabbet along the front side, I simply take each tenon and lay it next to the mortise to mark the points that I need to cut off.

From Coffee Table

Once I had all the tenons cut and fit, I put the whole thing together for a dry fit.

From Coffee Table

I still have some finish sanding to do, as well as round all the edges on rails, but that should not take long. I am still trying to decide if I want to add a bead detail to the rails and legs or not; I cannot decide.

I wanted to answer a few questions about the snowflakes. The most common question was is how to slice them up if you dont have a band saw. In this mere Minutes video I suggest using a handsaw which I think would work pretty well. If you have a scroll way, I think that is another option, assuming its wide enough. If you have any other idea, post them in the comments section.

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Arts and Craft was a movement that grew in reaction to industrialization of manufacturing over craft and quality of the product and the machine over the worker. They promote skilled handwork as the ideal and the majority of designs put on display the hand of the crafts person. Joinery and handwork became the centerpiece and signature of the design and style. This was expressed from exposed joinery typically associated with American A&C to the European A&C that usually high the workmanship though still used mortise and tenon construction. To give some detail ideas for our tables I have included some examples here that show the range of expression of the prominent furniture designers that came out of this movement.

The founders believed in style that supported the local community and their traditions. That meant most designers worked with local woods and custom made hardware. In Europe and the US that often meant oak or ash as the preferred choice.

Image information:
The illustration at the top is a Corbel (or bracket used as decoration often by Stickley and Mission style designer) acting as a tusk for a through tenon.
The black cabinet could work as a table style without its top. This an example of the Glasgow Style designed by Mackintosh.
The big table is an example of the work done by Liberty and Company in London.
The side table is designed by Limbert Company which used machinery and mass production more heavily than the ideal but the owner Charles Limbert was well known for his designs. I thought this table might work as a knock down design like someone wanted to make in class.
The first image is done in the Mackintosh style Greene and Greene images: 2008from Popular Wood Working Online Extra October 2008 - They also have free access to Google’s Sketchup CAD online program and numerous designs
The main resource here and the rest of the images came from "Arts and Crafts Furniture, from Classic to Contemporary" by Rodel and Binzen

Tys vent covers

I recently had to replace my 30-year-old furnace and decided to update the floor vent covers too. (Theres really no connection between the two though, since the furnace itself is hidden away.)

And it just so happened that a few weeks ago Ty Lam sent over some pictures of a set of register vents he made. I think they really look nice and they make for some nice household details.

There are a lot of different ways you can approach this project. Ty used a plunge router and a special jig to make the slots.

Ive had a few people ask be for my design for the guitar pick holder. I should have thought to post that along with the video. At any rate, heres a PDF to download.

Im pretty sure most guitar picks are the same size. Give it a shot!

Hey, heres a neat, non-woodworking idea: