Shopsmith Forums

Back in the 1990's when I was the Academy Instructor in the factory showroom in Dayton I was trying to figure out a way to turn the three day long "Fundamentals of Woodworking" class into a two day class. We had been building a Shaker candle stand in that class for several years, and it was almost ideal because it required the use of all of the basic five functions of the Mark V in addition to the planer, bandsaw and jointer. In the class we always joined the legs to the post with dowels, which was a departure from the method used by the Shakers, and the biggest challenge was how to create the three flat surfaces where the legs meet the post, or how to create a matching concave on the legs. We had settled on using the Wagner Safe-T-Planer to create the flats on the post, but that was always a scary operation for the Academy Instructors because it could get out of hand in a split second and cause an injury or damage the student's hard work. At some point I discovered that a hex-shaped post gave us three flat surfaces we needed, and by incorporating the traditional sliding dovetails used by the Shakers (technically "housed", because they are glued) it just felt "right".

Anyway, I planned on entering a contest that was held on Youtube in May 2015 where you were challenged to build something from a single 8 foot long 2X4 and as I thought about what I wanted to build that table came to mind and I wondered if it would be possible to squeeze one out of a 2X4. In the end it turns out that indeed, there is a Shaker table hidden within every stud at the lumber yard!

My project didn't even place, and as I look back at it I realize that I didn't remove enough from the top of my post on the lathe, so the post looks a bit out of balance, but frankly, there were several projects entered that I would have chosen to be in the top five ahead of mine.

Did you make one of these tables in a Fundamentals of Woodworking class? If so, how about posting a picture?

Scott
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6Q8xi0RF7E[/youtube]

Great video, Scott. It shows the quality of woodworking all of us aspire to.

Didn't see the competition, but would really like to see a call to competition from some organization like machine manufacturers or even Google.

Your table should have at least won an honorable mention!!

That's awfully nice of you. Even though originality wasn't an official judging criteria you have to give points to the winners in that area. Scott

Thanks Bob!

That is pretty amazing. I can't believe that didn't even place!

Just shows what is lurking in a 2x4 when the 2x4 is in the hands of a craftsman

Very cool!!!

I did a quick count of these tables at our house and noticed that we have three of them in service: one in each of our spare bedrooms and one in the living room. All of them were from some stage of experimentation for the FOW class while I was at shopsmith. Here's one made of poplar and as you may be able to make out, it has the dreaded "Wagner Safe-T-Planer" flats were the legs are cowled to the post. My best guess is that this one dates back to 1989 or so. You may also note that this was made during a period of time where I had the students face plate turning the top as well as a round support beneath. This turned out to be a bad idea as many firs time turners struggled with the large top and more than once turned so deeply their tops had decorative wood dowels protruding through the top. This was also prior to an adjustment to my leg template where for some reason these legs are a bit to "squatty". Scott

Here's another version of the table that I had students in the FOW class building around 1995. This one is very similar to the one I made from the 2X4 except the top is a tad larger and the support beneath the too is round. By this time we had stopped turning the top, so we could go larger than the 16" capacity of the Mark V, and we were using the Shopsmith Router System in the class so the underside edge of the top was shaped using a raised-panel bit. This table also has dovetailed legs that I believe we produced using the Shopsmith Joint-Matic and was made from poplar with a lovely quarter-sawn sycamore top.

Nice work and excellent video, IMHO. I like shaker furniture so I like this project. If you get a chance, can you post a link to the place where we can see other projects from this contest? Thanks.