When every detail is perfect: choosing wooden table legs
It's just that a table with standard legs does not represent a particular aesthetic value and is suitable only for some modern styles. If you want creativity, admiring looks, originality, then attention should be paid not only to the countertop itself, but to what it stands on the floor on. What can be table legs (wooden), we will understand together with the editors of homemaster.techinfolux.com/en/, which will greatly expand the understanding of this important detail.
The content of the article
- 1 Highlights at a glance: the table leg manufacturing process
- 2 Such a different tree: which material is better
- 3 Design features: how many supports are there
- 4 How to decorate table legs
- 5 What style can you make table legs
- 6 Design developments
- 7 Do-it-yourself table legs
- 8 Video: how to make complex leg options
Highlights at a glance: the table leg manufacturing process
There are several approaches to making this part of the table. You can divide the creation methods into mechanical and manual ones.
On a lathe and milling machine
There are several approaches to making this part of the table. They can be divided into mechanical and manual.
The main method is to work on lathe... Ready bar - the workpiece is attached to the support.
The production is simple, and therefore the price is not particularly high. Craftsmen work with flat and semicircular chisels. Finished products have smooth outlines, and the shape can be cylindrical, and conical, and drop-shaped and spherical.
If you need to make an original and beautiful product, then the method is used milling... For this, a milling machine has been created, in the program of which the pattern parameter is set. Often this method is used when working with expensive wood species, which eliminates the possibility of scrap from chips.
Handmade carved legs
The carved legs are made on a multi-axis milling machine.Working with it can be computerized, but the unique work of the master is most appreciated. This is the most expensive option that will allow you to put a table in the house with beautiful legs, the analogue of which will not be found anywhere else in the world.
Such a different tree: which material is better
They have been working with wood literally since the beginning of time, since the material is available and relatively easy to work with. In the modern world, the environmental safety of wood for human health and the surrounding world plays an important role.
The most popular varieties for making legs are oak, mahogany, beech, wenge, walnut.
Oak is the most resistant to a humid environment, it is not afraid of temperature changes, rotting is also not characteristic of this material. But the product will cost high due to the complexity of wood processing.
Walnut is also not particularly inferior to oak in its resistance to moisture. The walnut is easy to polish and has high strength. But in order for the product to be resistant to decay, it is treated with special compounds.
Beech furniture has beautiful shades, but such a table is not recommended for the kitchen due to its instability to moisture.
Wenge is a damage-resistant wood that will allow the table to remain intact for a very long time.
Mahogany has long been out of competition, but the price remains very high.
Design features: how many supports are there
And depending on which table we are talking about - kitchen, dining, work, decorative, and the choice will be made in favor of the number of legs.
There may be one support, but then it must be very massive, otherwise the tabletop will not be stable. A round or oval table top is selected for one support.
Two supports are often matched to the oval shape of the tabletop. To increase the area of the support, an expansion is made downward, and the legs themselves are connected with a jumper. The lintel can be at the top or bottom, carved or simple.
Four pillars are familiar to everyone: there is already a wide field for choosing the style, the shape of products from rough bars to amazingly decorative legs.
How to decorate table legs
Woodworking talent doesn't come out of nowhere. This is a full-fledged transfer of the experience of previous generations of masters, even through books and the Internet. We just have to learn ready-made decoration methods and improve them.
Carving and inlay
Carving is the process of forming patterns on a surface using a chisel and some other sharp tools. This is how various patterns, ornaments are obtained that can symbolize a particular era.
Cutters are inlaid with wood: expensive ivory, mother-of-pearl, precious and semi-precious stones become decoration.
Coating with varnish, copper or bronze
Furniture can be gilded with gold leaf, as well as bronze or copper.
Varnishing can be applied in an oriental way: it is not without reason that antique furniture of the Victorian era has up to 200 coats of varnish!
What style can you make table legs
The style of the interior is based on the fact that each element of the furnishings must be made in a suitable decor and design. The legs are no exception.
Cabriole, Empire and Victorian style
Who has not heard about the cabriole style, it's time to find out about it. The shape of the product is a wave with a couple of bends.The arcs seem to flow into each other. The style is characterized by rounded and graceful lines.
The Empire style and its relief have been improved from century to century, acquiring their own characteristic features.
Chips on furniture are unacceptable, therefore the wood species must be of high density.
Victorian products are beautiful. Craftsmen applied floral ornament to furniture, created elongated shapes, symmetry, and gilded furniture.
Geometric style
The geometric style is characterized by simple and regular shapes. The legs can be tapered, with the addition of balls or triangles. There can be no unnecessary complication in the decor, therefore it will not be difficult to fit such a table into a modern style.
Design developments
To create exclusive furniture requires a certain skill, perseverance and the ability to use both modern technologies and familiar ones.
Transparent countertops are becoming more and more popular.
The inclusion of bright colors allows you to choose a table for Art Deco, kitsch, or simply make suitable furniture to match the interior.
Do-it-yourself table legs
Hand-made furniture is always exclusive and unique. This is a field for experimentation and skill honing. If you are a beginner, don't make Napoleonic plans, it's better to just make a simple stylish model.
General instruction
We will describe the process of creating tabletop legs in several stages.
- The first step is to create a sketch. Someone can easily draw by hand what he saw in his head, someone can be helped by someone's development, which is the basis of their own.
- The legs should be in harmony with the table top, in the same style. Therefore, you should draw all the decorative elements of the table top and supports.
- At this stage, the calculation of the dimensions of the furniture is done: you know better what the ratio of all elements should be in your model.
- It's time to buy material, prepare the necessary tools. Wood is always taken more than shown in the calculations.
- Legs are made by any available method. The simplest thing is to use ready-made bars. In any case, polishing is required for smoothness.
Crafting tips
Now let's take a closer look at the process. You don't have to start with traditional forms. You can fold the legs from the bars, carefully fastening them with wood glue and self-tapping screws... It can be a chaotic bath.
For a country table, you can take a tree trunk or a ready-made stump as one support.
If a stump is taken for support, then it must be dry, with no signs of rotting or dampness. The bark needs to be peeled off as well as soft tissue.
It is necessary to level the cut trunk or stump using a building level, all surfaces should be well sanded and varnished. The table top is attached with wood screws and furniture corners. I wonder which chair fits this table?
Video: how to make complex leg options
Would you like to have a table with original carved legs, or do you prefer practical modern options?