Delta End Table
A solid cherry end table with mitered bridle joints and hand shaping.
Design Intent
I had a wide piece of cherry with dramatic grain sitting in my shop for a few months. Something about the cathedrals made me think of this classic mid-century modern rounded triangle shape.
I love pairing high-tech fabrication methods (CNC for the top shape) with hand shaping for characther (the under bevel on the top).
CAD
I went through a ton of variations in CAD to settle on the right shape for the top. This level of iteration lets me get a ton of ideas out of my brain and onto paper quickly. It’s also nice to be able to preview the differences that subtle changes in tapers and edge profiles can make huge differences, and it’s nice to get a preview before any sawdust gets made.
Hand Shaping
I love using traditional hand tools when it makes sense. Using a router with the right bit would get the job done quickly, but is too perfect to look hand-crafted. Doing it with hand tools takes much longer but was my favorite part of this whole build. I think the slight variations in the profile really make the overall piece sing.
The Joinery
I’ve never done bridle joints before, so why not make it more complicated by making them mitered at an arbitrary angle? Having a solid CAD model was a great foundation here, but there was a lot of standing and staring at the joint to have it click in my head as I was fabricating.
Getting a precise fit was a great excuse to break out the chisels too, sneaking up on the perfect fit here.
Finishing
Sanded to 320 grit, and finished with two coats of Odie’s Oil. I love how cherry darkens with Odie’s and exposure to UV light.
Next Time
The top turned out exactly as I expected, and I’d love to do something similar again. The mitered bridle joints were definitely a challenge to learn, but I think I’d do them much faster the second time around. I would definitely build a fixture in CAD to make this process go easier. I also wish I had hand shaped the thumbnail profile on the legs. Doing this with a roundover bit on the router was fast, but I think there would be a lot more visible charachter on the the table if I had hand shaped this profile.
