Creating the Legs
If you have ever wondered what goes into the design and creation of the breathtaking wood slab tables that can be displayed with great pride in anyone’s dining room, look no further than this article to give you the inside scoop on the process. On this particular day in the wood shop the team was
working on the basic milling and gluing of a set of legs that will be used in the design of the next table. The figure shown in the center of the page is the first slab table completed by the WEI team and will be used as a template for the next units to come.
Today we will focus on the process of assembling the leg pieces and more specifically what machines are used for each step.
1. The Radial Arm Saw: this machine helps to cut the wood to a roughlength.
2. The Jointer: this machine will allow you to create a flat edge and face for reference.
3. The Table Saw: this machine uses the flat edge and face to cut a flat edge on the other side of the piece as well as gain a rough width.
4. The Planer: this final machine shaves wood from the top, or non-flat face, resulting a completely parallel board.Once these steps are completed it is time to glue three of the best milled boards together, and then start all over again the next day.
When using machines such as the four discussed previously, it is essential to make sure that all
safety measures are taken care of before the work starts. The first and arguably the most important area of protection is the eyes, you only have two of them so safety glasses are always required. And the second is hearing protection that can come in the form of full noise cancelling earmuffs or even just foam ear plugs. This is because of the loud environment when the machines are running making them very beneficial in the long run. To the right are images of the main safety equipment that the wood enterprise institute members must use whenever work is being done. One image that is not displayed but is also part of the protocol is no loose clothes, such as long sleeves or sweatshirt strings, due to the rotating machines used in this type of Justin Sidebottom project.
