Variation on an Antique
Clients came to us with an antique table that they enjoyed, but its dimensions did not quite suit the function they were wanting as an end table between two Alexander chairs. They needed the table a bit taller to be a comfortable height for resting a drink or coffee cup and a bit longer to maximize the usable space between the chairs. They basically wanted a replica of the existing table, but they did not want all the distressing and wear marks of the antique.
Mark mortised the leg blanks before turning them on the lathe. He then hand carved the rails of the table to match the carvings on the original. The legs were then glued to the short rails and then these were glued to the long rails. The joints were dowel-pinned and the top was attached with square wood pins.
The original table had been refinished by Smithers Furniture Repair and Refinishing in Austin, TX, so we were able to obtain the exact stain mix to stain the new table. The stain will make the dowel pins and the carvings visually pop more when the piece is finished.