I quite purposely delayed any decisions on the table top until we knew how these boards of timber were going to plane up. I knew the table was going to be elliptical because the figuring in the boards was longitudinal rather than horizontal, but I didn't know what kind of ellipse the table would require, and I thought it sensible to leave that decision until we could see exactly what the figuring was like, and exactly how these boards were going to react to being planed up. Timber holds as many disappointments as it does rewards. It is often very difficult to read the markings of a sawn board, it's only when it's planed up for the first time that it's true character is exposed. Firstly Chris and I examined the boards we had available for the table top; we tried to work out just how badly twisted they were, and where that twist occurred along the length of the board. Luckily the length of the table could be as little as 2 metres and the boards were a good deal longer than this, so we could choose what sections of the boards we were going to use for the table top. My aim was to get as much of the table top as I could from two adjacent or very similar boards.

The first two boards we picked were very beautifully figured, but so much like a propellor that the only thing that they could be used for would be short bits and bobs, occasional tables, cabinet sides and things like that. We did however find two more promising boards. The figuring on these boards looked less spectacular, but they were less twisted so we chose which end to use for the table and Chris made the first incision which is the cross cut, at a length of 2.2 metres. This gave us a little bit of leeway on the length. This initial incision is a critical decision. It is always a good idea to buy boards longer than you need so you can make some choice as to where you are getting your component from the board. I know it seems a heresy in this age of ecological conservation, but I really think it is wise to waste a bit of wood. By shortening the length he was planing up, Chris now had less of a twist to plane out of the board.

I told him I wanted a minimum thickness of 20mm. We are lucky enough tohave a nice long bed planer upon which to surface our table top boards, but if you are using a conventional short bed planer or planer thicknesser, set up rollers at the same height as the machine beds to help guide the board on and off the machine. It is not necessry to have expensive equipment to do fine work, but you just have to be that little bit more inventive and take that bit more time.

As it turned out, Chris could only get 20mm by leaving one or two areas of the boards unplaned. These were dips and hollows that would have taken the overall thickness to an unacceptably thin level. I decided that these could be put on the underside of the table, and surfaced with the pad sander. This is a big belt sander which nopbody likes very much because it tends to give very unpredictable results, but in this case would give us a smooth polished hollow on the underside of the table which I think is acceptable.

The two boards that we had chosen were approximately 2ft 6in wide and slightly cupped across the width. I wanted to use as much of the width of these boards as I could, but firstly they were too wide to go through any of our machines, and secondly the cupping was a problem. The answer to this was a single very careful cut down the centre of each board. Chris marked a line with a blue chalk line; he then cut very carefully with a band saw down that line, this would give him two narrow boards which could be handled and safely machined to dimension which could be reassembled into one large wide board at a later date. It was essential that he took as little timber off these surfaces and providing he did this carefully, an invisible joint is usually the result.

The figuring that was exposed by Chris's work was absolutely magnificent. This enabled me to arrange the boards in a way that showed off the change between dark and light wood to best advantage. I arranged a river of pale creamy sap wood down the centre of El~-elliptical table top with two dark areas of Dark Ash on either side. Once this was clear in my mind, the shape of the table top was decided. An elliptical pattern was made and the shape cut with a router on a beam tramell. Once we got the shape, it was then possible to apply an edge moulding and this was a simple undercut, as I wanted to keep the look of the table very light and delicate. When you have a fine piece of wood like this, the best thing a designer can do is keep out of the bloody way! Once assembled, the entire job was given an oil polish. I like using oil on Ash, it brings out the richness and colour of the timber. This worked particularly well on the "Staunton Table" where the contrast between light and dark Ash was so great. I hope you can see the table; at the 6. time of writing this, John Blunt has not seen it, but I'm sure he will be very proud.

The Staunton table is on display at the "Drawn from the Wood" Exhibition of furniture by David Savage at the Ferrers Gallery, Staunton Harold, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, between 30th September and 8th November 1992. Admission is free. Telephone number 0332 863337.

first published in The Woodworker Magazine by David Savage in the series CRAFT OF CABINETMAKING 16

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