Pippy Oak Coffee Table

A recent commission I worked on over Christmas was this Pippy/burr Oak coffee table. The spec was for something rustic but also bespoke and sleek. A hard combination sometimes as I often think most 'rustic' furniture can look pretty lazy.

I used some stopped, dovetailed half lap joints to tie the rails together. 

For the legs I decided to go with a X shape and used strengthened Lap joints which are incredibly strong but also pretty time consuming to get perfect!

I Have to admit I feel like bowtie/butterfly keys are becoming a bit overused in furniture at the moment. I do appreciate the need to stop cracks from opening up though so put a couple in the top

All assembled and oiled with Osmo Polyx oil

Log to Table

I milled this oak log in Gatwick in the summer on a beautiful sunny day. It was absolutely riddled with nails, screws and fencing so the bottom metre had to be cut off completely and the rest carefully examined before each cut. Despite the large amount of blue staining I was lucky enough not to hit anything at all. 

I cut two slabs for the top of the table then some 5x5 and 4x4 for the frame underneath.

On this table it was decided that I could spend an extra day on the table and plane and size all the timber. This really makes a big difference to the finish of the table and allows the grain to show through. As it dries out and ages the grey of the oak will be enlightened with the silvery medullary rays and will look really smart. 

The frames I build for these tables are all made with pegged mortise and tenons. The pegs are made out of seasoned oak so when the rest of the table dries out the joints only get tighter

As I had planed the timber I also added more finishing touches such as chamfered edges. 

I built the two ends in the work shop and then completed the rest of it on site. This included cleaning up and hand planing the top smooth.

The finished product. One very heavy table!