# cypress coffee table



## Dimitri M (Oct 4, 2011)

I ve' got a new client, my son !!!

He lives in England, and I promised to make a coffee table for him. The saga has been going on since last December, but was delayed for various reasons.

Coffee tables are most symbolic pieces of furniture in western houses. They can be tragically big (if your living room is like a warehouse), or outrageously eccentric (a huge brass propeller about 1.50 meters accross with a crystal on top has been my record), superlatively heavy (a whole tree trunk - try moving it to hoover the carpet), or with extremely sharp edges (so you deduce that all users have bruised legs) or intricately delicate (so if you pour the soup bowl on it, you can't clean it). I think, in old Eastern Europe decoration, there were no coffee tables; a central dinner table occupied the middle of the living room, instead. This used to be the case for Greece as well, especially in traditional village decoration.

Nowadays, you want to be able to rest your legs on it, to see the tv across the room over it, to have some food to nibble, even to be able to sit on it. So I deicded the height would 45cm, the same used for chairs and benches. Scandinavian coffee tables are more "tables" than that; they are 53 - 55 cm tall.

The living room is rather small, so my son ordered it 50cm wide x 125 cm long. I would go for Fibonacci numbers, and make it e.g. 55 x 144, but he will be using it, so let him decide about the size.

My usual cypress planks are the material, and the thin legs will have to be replaced by wide plank-like sides, in the manner of medieval furniture.

It took me a long time to draw, plan, cut and assemble it, and now it is ready for final sanding and varnishing. I decided this time to present it at the end of its construction and not to keep you awake for months until I finish the thing. (ambition, eh?)

Pictures to be uploaded tonight.

Ay comments and criticism welcome, exchange of opinions helps me understand different points of view.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Looking forward to your pics Dimitri.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Hi Dimitri, Love to see some photos.


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## rwbaker (Feb 25, 2010)

As long as you and your son are happy it no one else's concern what the end result is, they may disagree with the implementation technique but the design is sacred to the builder, a piece of art in wood. Ditto on looking forward to the seeing the pictures.

Good luck, Baker


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## Dimitri M (Oct 4, 2011)

*first pictures*

As promised, and sorry for the delay:

DESIGN: based on the leg design of the middle ages, where it was not possible to cut furniture legs of square shape and oblong, these here are made by joining 3 - 4 planks and then cutting the middle off to make two legs at the bottom ofeach board, and then cutting off a design to make the legs aesthetically (and actually) lighter.Two pillars, partially joined as wedges through a loop in the base, secured with dowels to the tabletop and to the leg along its length, to protect from "matchbox" instability. One through-and-through drawer, sliding of wooden side rails.

MATERIAL: Cypress planks 25mm to 30mm thick, and 2200mm long x 320mm wide, directly from the sawmill. No planing, no thicknessing.

METHOD: dowel joints all over, no metal parts at all. 8 mm dowels for precision joining boards or planks, 10 mm dowels for strenthening and securing the cypress so it will not split and it will warp less. No planing, no thicknessing. The only power tools used are: radial arm saw used for ripping, router for precision dowel joints and rounding the edges, electric drill for long 10 mm dowelling , belt sander and orbital sander. A LOT OF ELBOW GREASE to soften all edges, natural or not; I believe it is the smooth curves that make it beautiful.

All questions will be answered (so please no questions on the scope of life etc, show some mercy !!!). Please tell me what you think of it ascarpentry from the hands of a doctor.

With thanks


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

You can operate on me, anytime, Dimitri.....

Excellent work.


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## Dimitri M (Oct 4, 2011)

James, thank you, your comment is really superlative...

[I just added my pic, but I must have mixed up something, instead of my pic showing on the left, it shows under all comments - I must withdraw it, I can't stand seeing myself so often on the screen...]


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

read your post Dimitri.....looked at the pics..

but darn ole James stole my line *LOL*...

sometimes ya just gotta laugh... very nice work!!!


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## Dimitri M (Oct 4, 2011)

Dear Bill, James and Richard, please tell me what you think of it as a style, technique and result. It is a pity I can only put here a few pics; I would like to talk extensively about its weak points, about the lack of accuracy in its angles and surfaces, about my religious devotion to perhaps unnecessary processes, and I am curious to see how others perceive such a result. If you can, I would deeply appreciate it if you showed the pics to your ladies and see what they say; do they enjoy the not-so-perfect look? Would it bind with more stylish furniture? Would they mind if the grooves and asymmetries on its surfaces collect dust or dirt when by mistake something is spilled on and has to be cleaned?

With thanks to all


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

I like that. A lot. Not only the style, but the fact you used all dowels. :yes4:


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

It is good to see you back on the forum Doctor D. Once again, your design work is exceptional. You say you didn't use Fibonacci proportions in the design but it still looks very well proportioned and has some nice architectural touches.

It would easily blend in a rustic setting and should probably go well with traditional styling.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Hey Dimitri.. round here the style or design of your table might easily be considered to be “country” or “rustic”. Being very utilitarian in design as well as function. Personally I look at coffee tables to be a focal point of a room and at the very least, a major contributing factor in a rooms overall style. I think it would be safe to say that the vast majority of folks really don’t put that much stock into it. Folks like a coffee table, they like it and off they go. 
Being a hobbyist woodworker, I tend to build things with a purpose in mind. Be it a commissioned piece or something given as a gift built hoping it will fit nicely into whatever décor surrounds it. The table you’ve built here demonstrates my point. Built for someone to their specs and taste. You worked with your son to give him what he asked for. A very cool thing in my book. These are the projects I most enjoy. As Baker said earlier, as long as you and your son are happy with it, that’s all that matters 
So, in hopes of answering a few of your questions, here goes. First, style.. I like the style of the table. Unique design (something I really enjoy in woodworking). Given the reasoning behind your choice of design, who can argue with it. Considering it was purpose made to your sons liking, you nailed it IMHO. Incorporating a specific ‘period’ into the piece was pretty cool. I’ve personally never done a piece with a period theme such as your “middle ages”. Actually kinda cool. I’m gonna have to play with that concept sometime. Your choice of material and deciding to not do any further mill work only compliments the concept. Staying true to the period. Again, well thought out! The soft edges and natural contours compliment the piece as well. Giving an aged look to a new construction. You asked about the lack of accuracy to the angles and surface. Were you attempting to “copy” a piece, then perhaps this might be a bigger issue. Since this is your interpretation of a period piece..its all good. You’ve already demonstrated skills that were you of the mind to have created sharp, crisp angles, you could have done so. Leaving the surface factory milled is cool. Nick, scrapes, dings, rings or whatever will only add to the patina of the piece.  One of the problems with fine furniture is that as soon as you get one decent scratch… holy crap, it stands out like a sore thumb. You spend more time looking at the scratch than you do at the piece itself. You stand there and say oh my…its ruined. Whereas with your table, you could just as easily stand there as ask “who done dat”?..
You asked for the Mrs. Thoughts.. so here they are..
She like it…a lot.. but she’s a good ole country gal who’s tastes in furniture lean towards the more contemporary. I’ve built some beautiful pieces of what I’d consider high end furniture and she’d just say, “oh, that’s very nice”. I've built straight forward, nothing special oak boxes and she absolutely loves em.. go figure  You’d almost certainly need to put this into the right kind of surroundings for it to fit. But, you pretty much have to do that with anything. Unless you’re going for an eclectic look. A little bit of everything, not to much of anything… :nono::nono::nono:And finally… never, NEVER ask about having to dust or clean something. You’re gonna lose. *L* Unless its self cleaning, self maintained, that much of it, nobody likes..
Hope ya didn’t mind my being a bit long winded here… but ya asked  Nice work Dimitri!!!


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## john880 (Aug 18, 2010)

SIR,
You did just fine, yes sir that is OK !!!!!
Like said above, I believe that not only the coffee table size has to be taken into consideration but what type of surroundings it to be place in,,,furniture, flooring,,taste has to do when asking, "What type of styling does the customer like". Then you get into the design,,,,in this Dimitri the wood you picked, the overall design,,,,,well it goes together,,,,"just fine". As the Bridish have this saying to echo, when everyone agrees,, "Here, Here"...........!!!!


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## rwbaker (Feb 25, 2010)

I like it a lot, the box on shelf design makes it reminiscent of very early colonial furniture and European working man's furniture from the 1400~1650's. I have also seen sketches of similar pieces (taken from mosaics) dating to the Roman and Early Greek periods. Truly a work of love, art and beauty.

Thank you for sharing this with me,
Baker


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## Dimitri M (Oct 4, 2011)

Charles, thank you for your remarks; I want to ask, the name "Chuck" is what somenoe calls you or is it some sort of professional nickname, related to Jacob's Chuck? I am asking because I call my son "Chuck", I think after a character in some comics, can't really remamber now where I caught it from. Fibonacci numbers, are another long story, I have posted my point of view (and got some extremely interesting comments in another thread I started here (please see "stools and Fibonacci numbers"). Thank you for your comments.

Bill, many thanks for the time and sweat to analyse so much on the subject, perhaps it is not worth so much, but you really showed me a lot. On its style, I need to explain that a lot of my "medievalism" comes from the lack of proper and accurate woodworking machines: no band saw, no planer, no thicknesser; I have a very good friend who is a capable carpenter with a fully equipped workshop, but I hate going to him to say "please do these 10 things for me, so I can glue up a Lous XIV chair", and then take the glue brush, put the bits together and boast I made a Louis XIV chair myself. So, eventually, I ended up working with what I have. On the other hand, I lack professional knowledge, I do not have much time to spend in the workshop, and never made a penny out of it. Yet, I worked and worked things over and over in my mind and came up with these answers my furniture shows. (Saw marks, rounded edges, dowel joints, all you see here). It did not start as an eccentricity, it came out as the only available technique. You mention very cleverly the significance of a single scratch on an otherwise immaculate tabletop; yes, I am very happy I can use the table in peace; it is certain that pizza, sauce, coffee and others will be spilled on it at times. And I will never ask if it is easy to clean, but I am sure I will hear long comments ! And don't worry about not hearing good comments for what you do; a lot of people are stringy on their praises and eloquent on their criticism, although this does not reflect their true feelings.

(I will continue later)


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Dimitri M said:


> I want to ask, the name "Chuck" is what somenoe calls you
> 
> I need to explain that a lot of my "medievalism" comes from the lack of proper and accurate woodworking machines: no band saw, no planer, no thicknesser;
> So, eventually, I ended up working with what I have.
> ...


Over here Chuck is a standard nickname for Charles. 
I happen to like that medieval style, keep it up.
You understand it perfectly, you work with what you have.
I happen to like the dowel joints too.
I would say put a few coats of a good varnish, or something similar on it, and you should be able to wipe clean easily.


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## Dimitri M (Oct 4, 2011)

(continuing what I left half-done above)

John, thank you for your comments. I must add that in Greece we don't stick to styles very much usually, just try to make things comfortable (at least the friends I have). A hand-made, medieval-looking centerpiece I have not seen before, so the ability to make such pieces seems interesting to me, and I am sorry my house is already full mostly with furniture purchased. So, the idea of making something for my son, gives me hope, and I spent a long time day-dreaming that many years after I am gone, he will be caressing the edges thinking that I smoothened them with my hands, and it gave me a very warm feeling (realistically, it is quite possible that his lady will talk him out of it and into a "proper" coffee table that will match couch*LOL*) ... And as for the British "HERE HERE..." I heard it several times when I was there, but I never saw it written, so I don't know if it is "HERE - HERE" or "HEAR - HEAR", since they say it cheering for someone.
And thanks for your comments and approval.

Richard Baker, I am honored indeed if its appearance springs into your mind so many historic things, I am sorry to say I have nothing about ancient greek furniture. If you could suggest a book i am happy to chase it and have a look at it.

Theo, thank you for your comments. As I have done with other pieces I have made, it is important to enhance the contrast of the grain; cypress has the dull color of pine and it has the tendency to present "stains" as the time passes. Only after a number of years, the color becomes nice and sweet. So I use walnut-colored stain in polyurethane varnish, and usually get acceptable results.

With thanks to all


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Dimitri M said:


> (continuing what I left half-done above)
> 
> So, the idea of making something for my son, gives me hope, and I spent a long time day-dreaming that many years after I am gone, he will be caressing the edges thinking that I smoothened them with my hands, and it gave me a very warm feeling l


Dimitri...

For this reason, this is why we do, what we do..with what we got  It does not take a shop full of high end equipment to produce memories and warm feelings that have the potential to last several lifetimes....:yes4:


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

As Theo said, Chuck is a common nickname as is Charlie and Chas. I answer to all of those and one or two that my wife has for me that I can't print.

Dr. you seem to have a talent for being able to take a number of elements and blend them together into something very pleasing to look at.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Dimitri, how can I apologize for having missed this thread. Without my many power tools there is no way that I could have achieved results like you have. I think that you know me well enough to know that I tell the truth, sometimes at the risk of offending the odd person, so bearing this in mind, believe me when I tell you that you have excelled yourself, if you lived in a more financially stable country you could probably give up surgery and concentrate on custom furniture selling for thousands of dollars for a small masterpiece.
One thing that I keep forgetting to ask you, aren't you scared of injuring your fingers/hands, do you take any special precautions?


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## Dimitri M (Oct 4, 2011)

Harry, dear friend,first friend in RF, please do not apologize - my presentation here is just a small addition in a long list of contributors. And many many thanks for your most kind remarks, you make me feel happy and help me consider my pieces of furniture important.
Let me add a few things about the conditions and purpose of my work with wood. Between friends, a few sentences starting with "I" will not be considered boasting, hopefully.

My mother was a Red Cross nurse during WWII, and after the War she realized that doctors were the best paid professionals, and that their social status went together with their heroism. Since my birth in 1951 she brainwashed me to become a doctor. There is a statue bust of Hippocrates in the garden of the medical school in Athens,and there is a photo of us, me 8 months old, sitting up in the pram, she smiling behind me, and Hippocrates in the back. She took me there "to get to know the air", she said. On the other hand, by the age of 16, I designed table lamps using cans and suspension springs etc, and used to read books about Danish style furniture that were the mode in the 60s. In 1968, 2 years before my high school graduation, an American test I took about what I was good to become, showed that I was not good for a doctor, I should become an engineer or a draftsman. Nevertheless ,I took the entrance exams and entered the medical school in Athens. The american test gave me the momentum I needed to prove them wrong. In the meantime, I grew up enjoying a free pleasure: observing other people work.Carpenters,shoemakers, cobblers, farmers, builders, bookbinders, I used to spend hours watching them, all of them, and getting the deepest pleasure observing their techniques, their errors and their anxiety, enthusiasm, relief and fatigue. I enjoyed greatly passing my fingertip over the french-polish tabletops, the smoothest cabinet door panels, all the details that make the crafted things around us. In Medical school I fought fiercely to understand and memorize pharmacokinetics and excelled in anything that needed sharp observation and extreme correlation of bits of knowledge from here and there. One day, during the third year, I saw an x-ray of a fracture fixed with a plate and screws, and it clicked: I decided to become an orthopaedic surgeon. With long hours of work, days and nights on call, I left hobbies aside. Many years later, in 2002, we moved to our new house, purpose-built to our taste and needs. A woodworking area became available, and cypress is the local wood, almost all of it unsuitable for furniture as it splits and warps. Many friends (old patients mainly, as I treated their injured or amputated fingers) are very good carpenters and they have all the technology in their shops, and are willing to help me with anything I ask for. Yet, I take as a challenge all questions I need to answer, and you can see the answers here. Stools with Fibonacci numbers, rotating shelves, even drawers behind bookshelves that I have not shown here, give me immense pleasure. The unique coat hanger you saw last year was just another original idea. Would I be making all this with hi-tech machines? Would I give up helping people with broken bones and bad joints just to sell expensive bits of wooden luxury? A coffee table with precision machined oak would perhaps seem boring-there are hundreds better than what I can make.
To put it in a small sentence, I am happy with things as they are, and I make what I like, according to my taste knowledge and experience, as these go together after every piece is finished.

You all made me very happy with your comments, I wanted very much to know how other people perceive my creations, so I do not indulge in narcissistic self-adoration.

Many many many, sincere thanks to all.


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

I read the mention of the coat hanger, and just had to track it down. That is really neat. 
http://www.routerforums.com/project-plans-how/32153-coat-stand-my-own-design.html


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Hi Dimitri, are you in Sydney any time soon.

LOML has to go into hospital to get a rod inserted into a stress fracture of the left femur.....


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

What a wonderful insight into your background Dimitri, thank you so much for sharing it and of course your command of the English language makes me want to enroll in a night school course!


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## Dimitri M (Oct 4, 2011)

Theo, James, Harry, all of you here in RF, you embraced me with your kindness and warmth, and taught me so many things with your projects, pictures, videos, and comments. I would have not been able to make many of the things I managed without you all.

And... I don't know how to "make a friend" here in RF. I tried here and there the buttons and the surfing, yet I didn't manage to find the "click". But I don't complain, I have actually made all of you my friends, and here I include Gerard form France - who showed me a superb technique of a french fellow for sandwiching different woods in harmonic arbitrary curves, I include Mike who proposed to send me some strong magnet buttons from the USA, I did not grab the opportunity and now I need them but can't find the time to fish his username out, then the Croatian fellow I don't remember his name anymore, then Ralph, who became a friend of mine very early in my RF days, and many others.

I have to get some education about "likes" and about how to make friends; alas, I already know a lot about how to ignore and how to make enemies I am afraid...

Best wishes !!!

PS Hopefully this week I will start a thread about how to make a nice table-top kitchen paper base, good enough for giant (diam. 22 cm) kitchen paper rolls. I mentioned it to Harrysin in an email and we had a laugh.. (how big the roll.. maybe a meter or two across, buy it once in a lifetime etc...). Just give me some time, I earn my bread operating on broken bones and not much courage is left for sanding or routing after a long day's (or night's) work.

Best wishes to all


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I use these magnets Dimitri. Lee Valley Tools - Item Search and they will ship to you in Greece. I use them for door catches, to hold my chuck key to my drill press, to hold hold curtain holders to a steel clad door with a window in it, and many other things. I used them once to hold the "kick board" onto the bottom of my neighbor's bathroom vanity and he could then pop it off and hide valuables behind it.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

These are the magnets that I'm currently using and they really are powerful.

LOT 10pcs Round 20mm X 3mm 4 5" X 1 8" Hole 5mm Magnets Rare Earth Neodymium N38 | eBay


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## Dimitri M (Oct 4, 2011)

Dear Chuck and Harry, I saw the links and I am currently checking other sources as well. I need storng and small (<20 mm diam "button" magnets) to support an array of knives on the wall. I am slowly working on it, as the most difficult aspect in furniture design (IMHO) is to convince the wife (!). Once her mind is set, knives should not be visible on the surface because their look is violent and unpleasant and reminds of a butchery. Hence, all knives rumble in a drawer, together with all other kitchen paraphernalia, and become blunt without even using them... Perhaps I will be able to tackle this at some stage. I also think of small embedded magnets as safety locks in hidden places, where there is no obvious handle or lock to pull what seems to be the back of a sideboard - another field for thought.

Best wishes - today is the beginning of October


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Have you checked that the knives aren't non magnetic stainless steel Dimitri?


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## Dimitri M (Oct 4, 2011)

What a nice remark ! I never throught of it Harry, tomorrow I will go and check: I have the magnet from an old woofer (you know, I am sure, better than anybody else about woofer magnets)and I tied it to a string for "fishing" screw bits that fall on the floor of the workshop. It is used about once or twice every year, but now its moment has come. thank you Harry!


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