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Fulfilling a long time dream

I finally fulfilled a long standing desire to design and make a Greene and Greene inspired coffee table using only traditional joinery. I’ve always admired the ebony splines and “ cloud lift” features of Greene and Greene furniture. The reverse tapered legs really show off the quarter sawn white oak and the oil finish gives the whole piece a stunningly warm luster.

The project took several months to complete as I figured out how to accomplish the joinery and not ruin over $600 worth of quarter sawn white oak. There were lots of sketchbook sketches and head scratching!

Cultist plan and profile sketch

Focusing on form

For the first time in a while I resisted the temptation to use color to highlight the wood grain. Instead, I relied on the natural contrasts between walnut and maple to differentiate between linear geometry and organic curves.

Refining finishes

I have been refining my color embellishment techniques combining water based aniline dyes and finishing with multiple coats of tung oil finish. The later layers (4th or later) are wet sanded. Once the oil is dry I polish with Renaissance Wax