Henry Brigstocke, Walnut Dining Table (STUDENT 2022)

Student:

Secondary

Name of school or tertiary institution, and name of woodworking teacher (if you have one):

The King's School (Teacher: Brian 'Brother' Davey)

Video tour:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sDXrCmaa8H-3cFu4S1XBtPUkKYVdFSKG/view

I made a dining room table predominantly using Black Walnut with accents in Huon Pine. I also used Hoop Pine for the drawer sides. The project was a massive developmental experience, and I was challenged with many complications along the way. The legs are substantial, made from 15 parts at each end. The drawer was created with hand cut half blind dovetails, which were a challenge. The hand cut, through mortise and tusk tenons were challenging and getting the tusk tenons to line up was difficult. The footings and headers of the legs required a lot of hand shaping as we did not have a router bit to suit. The drawer handles have a carved tactile finish where your fingers expect a smooth finish, however, it demonstrates a hand carved finish. A set of carvings are added to the tusks, a Sun (Summer), Flower (Spring), Snowflake (Winter) and a Leaf (Autumn). Furthermore, the table was made to be easily knocked down and rebuilt for transportation and being able to be installed in an upstairs unit. To add another personal touch to the piece, I constructed a 'secret' drawer component which included a locking mechanism. This was embedded into the tabletop and prevents the drawer from being opened. It can be unlocked by positioning the turned timber handle, which contains a magnet, in the right position and a click announces the mechanism has been activated, and only then can the drawer be opened. The drawer can be opened from both sides of the table as it slides along rebated rails. Overall, creating this timeless dining room table was a challenging task which was well worth it in the end. I look forward to using it at home and passing it down to my children in the future.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.