A client asked us to custom build a set of matching walnut hairpin-leg tables. The walnut was sourced from downtown Kansas City just south of the Missouri River and has been used on several of our projects. It’s great that these majestic trees were able to find new life in a variety of ways.
The first step was taking the rough lumber that was milled in 2014 and cutting it to the rough dimensions we would need for the tables using a chop saw and a bandsaw.
The next step is to take the rough-cut boards and make them flat, square and of uniform thickness. To accomplish this requires the use of both a jointer and a planer (pictured).
Now assembly can begin by aligning the pieces and joining them together using some glue and floating tenons.
Once the glue is dry, the clamps are removed, and the boards are trimmed to their final dimensions and any knots are filled with black epoxy.
Once the epoxy is hardened, the pieces are rough sanded and final assembly can be completed.
After a bunch of sanding, the first coat of finish is applied and you can finally see the grain you worked hard to select and develop start to emerge.
The final step is to fabricate the hairpin legs. The metal is first bent to shape using a template and then welded to the base. Finally the legs are coated with a sealer to preserve the natural patina of the metal.
Here are a few pictures of the final result in their new space
