making an octagonal column

[John McCoy]

Decided to make a little table sitting on an octagonal pedestel instead of the normal 4 legs. After cutting 8 slats and beveling them at 22.5 degrees, the challenge was glueing them up. Advice on the web says tape them, then roll them up, just like doing a small mitered box.

No way in hell that's going to work! No tape I have has enough stick to hold a 30" long 2.5" wide slat while I'm rolling it up.

Then I remembered watching a cooper build a barrel - he set the staves in a groove in a fixture, which controlled one end while he worked the hoops into place. So I tacked 8 pieces of scrap onto a bit of plywood to form an octagon of the right size, set my slats in it, and viola, I could hold the column together with one hand, while getting a strap-clamp over it with the other.

Think I'll save that little fixture in case I ever want to make another column...

John

[dadiOH]

And I'll save your idea in case I do :)

[Electric Comet]

the table has a hollow octagon instead of legs

or are you making 4 of these to each act as a leg

if it is a single pedestal does it have a base

how does the top attach to the pedestal

just trying to create a picture in my mind

[John McCoy]

Electric Comet wrote in news:mls2e9$bp6$1 @dont-email.me:

One pedestal. At the top there's two cross pieces which support the table top. At the bottom there's two cross pieces which have feet on their ends (so the pedestal and cross pieces are an inch or so off the floor).

John

[Electric Comet]

i can see it now

are the two cross pieces attached at the centers

[John McCoy]

Electric Comet wrote in news:mlthef$ua6$1 @dont-email.me:

The cross pieces attach to each other in the center. The pedestal is notched where they pass thru, and they'll be attached there - probably I'll just glue them, altho I have thought of using screws.

John

[Electric Comet]

it is all clear to me now

tempered glass top or wood top

if you used glass you could flowers or something in the pedestal

someone sent me a photo of a table that also stored wine bottles you could make a few holes around your octagon to hold wine bottles

[BenignBodger]

I always just use my Lee Valley Bird's-mouth router bits. They eliminate the problems of getting a perfect angle _and_ glue-up clamping at the same time. BTW, surgical rubber tubing is great for clamping up this sort of glue-up since it can be wrapped in a spiral from one to the other and exerts even pressure all along the structure.

[John McCoy]

Electric Comet wrote in news:mlutv2$vdr$1 @dont-email.me:

I did one a long time ago with an octagonal glass top. It came out very nice. This one will have a square top with tiles - I'll use a piece of plywood for a substrate and glue the tiles on, then edge the whole thing with 1x mitered at the corners. The actual impetus to build the table was having the tiles laying around.

John

[Electric Comet]

i do this kind of thing as well recently made a set of one-handed salad tongs because i wanted to try to use some thin stainless scrap i had the tongs are wood but i made a springy clip from the stainless actually two clips and then overlapped them i guess i take inspiration wherever it comes from

i have seen tables like this they can get top heavy

i have a few small 4-leg tables with tile tops they are like portable side table or end table taller than they are wide

they are quite old and they are really top heavy they don't take much to fall over

[Greg Guarino]

I've recently discovered how handy jigs can be, and I've been making a number of them for different tasks. A while back someone on the wrec said "watch how quickly your space fills up with them". I'll pass along that tidbit to you. :)

[John McCoy]

Greg Guarino wrote in news:mm17gs$jmb$1@dont- email.me:

You didn't have to tell me that :-) The only thing that accumulates faster is scrap pieces of wood that "look like they'll be useful for something someday".

John

[John McCoy]

Electric Comet wrote in news:mlvoq4$48u$5 @dont-email.me:

Yeah, I did worry about that, which is the main reason I went with the cross-member and feet at the bottom, rather than just a base. The top is a couple of inches wider than the spread of the feet, and height & width are almost the same, so I think it should be pretty stable.

If it looks like an issue when it's done (if, for instance, loading just one corner is a problem) I can re-size the top (or make it an octagon) to correct.

John