A Shapely Top for that Leggy Console

With the shapely base for the console table completed, the next step in this project was to make the equally shapely top to go with it. Because of the shape and detailing of the top, I decided to make it using shop-cut veneers. This way I could achieve the most consistent color and grain match. It was more work that way, but made for a more stable platform in the end. The first step was to cut and fair the marine plywood substrate. Next, the leaves of veneer had to be jointed and glued together. At just over 7' long and only 3/32" thick, the veneer leaves were much too flexible to joint on a machine. So, I turned to an age old hand tool technique. Adjacent veneer pairs were sandwiched between two pieces of plywood to make a shooting board, of sorts, so they could be planed for a perfectly matched joint.

The jointed leaves were then taped together and their edges glued before being pressed to the substrate in a vacuum bag.

After the bottom face was pressed, a chamfer was cut in the front edge. The chamfer was then veneered and faired. Before the top face was pressed, T-nuts for mounting the drawer pivots and stiffener were mortised into the top surface of the substrate. The mortises were then filled and leveled before the top face was pressed.

Once the top face was pressed, the front edge could then be faired to final shape and the drawer pivot post and leg attachment mortises could then be cut.

Finally, the top face was mortised and stringing inlaid. To make the string inlay fit easily into the tight curve at the ends of the top, it was pre-bent before insertion using a simple clothes iron for steaming, and the edge of the original top template as a form.