Lyre-legged Table

Inspired by a striking statement piece.

The inspiration for this project originated during a recent trip I took to visit my brother in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The activity list for such occasion typically includes a stop at the Milwaukee Art Museum, catching a show at the Oriental Theatre, and some social imbibing down by the lakefront. It wasn’t until recently (after partaking in the latter of the activities listed above) that I discovered and old palatial estate on a bluff that overlooked Lake Michigan. To my surprise, it turned out to be a place called “Villa Terrace,” a decorative-arts museum that was once a private residence belonging to a couple named Lloyd and Agnes Smith at the beginning of the 20th century. Known as Sopra Mare

(“above the sea” in Italian) to the Smiths, this resplendent piece of architecture is extraordinary beyond description.

Before entering the house, you are led through a stone-walk courtyard surrounded by a vaulted loggia with two-stories of Tuscan columns. Once you finally arrive at the main entry, to the left, you are greeted by a black-painted bench with scrolling curved legs and stretchers. It was later I came to discover that the design element that initially caught my attention is known as a lyre arm. Although originally a classical Greek form, this element was incorporated into several different types of furniture throughout the 18th and early parts of the 19th century.

Other than the sensory experience involved in discovering something new, what originally stood out about this bench was its juxtaposition of style against the backdrop of stucco walls, tile roofs, and arched openings. Although baroque in design, it had an appearance of modernity within the contrast of its current setting. The body was painted, the top was modest in form, and the legs had style; to me, this was a combination that warranted further exploration.

Scroll-style Stile

Before we get started, take this time to create a template for the “scrolling” legs out of 1/2" plywood. Take your time as this will be the model in which your final piece(s) will follow. Once this has been completed, create the blanks for the legs using 8/4 cherry. Trace the pattern of the leg onto the individual blanks using a template. Continue this process by laying out the tenons as well as the mortises.

With the leg blanks still square, it’s time to head over to the drill press and begin mortising. Tilt the table to 5°, set your depth stop and begin to drill a series of holes using a 5/8" Forstner bit using your layout lines as a guide. When performing this task, it’s common to use a bit the same diameter as the width of your mortise. However, I prefer to use a smaller bit and cleanup the mortise walls with a sharp chisel—this not only provides accuracy, but a much-needed peace-of-mind. Proceed to do this for all four leg blanks. With a bulk of the material removed, finish up the mortises by pairing up the walls with the help of a mortise and bench chisel.

The next step is to cut our blanks to their final lengths. Since the legs are splayed at 5°, proceed to cut the blank (on both the bottom as well as the top) at the same angle. Once this is complete, using the traced reference line, rough cut the profile of the leg out over at the band saw

NOTE: Since routing end grain can be tricky, it’s best to cut as close to the reference line to prevent any potential tear out. Now attach the plywood template using double-sided tape to the blank, and

flush trim the leg using a pattern bit. Since we are trimming an 8/4 piece of stock, scorching may occur due to the bit overheating—this can be remedied over at the spindle sander. Normally, the next step would be to cut the tenons; however, let’s hold off until we are back at the bench.

Creating Battens & Rails

Laminate a couple of pieces of 5/4 stock together and cut your two rails as well as battens to size. Start by drilling out the mortises on the rails with a 7/8" Forstner bit using the same methodology as before. Swap out the bit for a 1/2" Brad-point bit, flip the piece 180° and drill the three dowel holes on the top side. Once this is complete, cut the Ogee profile on both ends of the rail(s) using a band saw. Use a cabinet rasp to clean up any tooth marks left by the saw blade.

With the rails put aside, and the drill press still set up with the 1/2" bit, drill the three dowel holes on the bottom of the battens that will correspond with the ones created on the rails. Then, flip the batten

180° (top side) and counter bore a 3/4" hole approximately 1/8"- 3/16" deep. Once again, substitute your current bit for a 5/16" Brad-point bit (using the same center point) drill about 1/2" down. This counter bore is created to house a series of T-nuts used to attach the top.

Using the band saw, cut the V-notch detail along with the mitered ends and cleanup any tooling marks using the rasp. There is one more detail you may notice, and that is the dovetail created on the top side of the batten. This process is cut to fit and will later discover why.

Stretchers, Short & Long

Using the leftover 8/4 stock from the legs, cut your stretchers (both short and long) to their final dimensions. Begin by laying out the tenons on both short stretchers followed by the location of the half-lap joints. With the assistance of a sled and stop block, create the “mouth” of the joint using a Dado blade. If you don’t have access to one, don’t sweat it, a sharp rip blade will suffice. Remember to sneak up on your cut and check the fit, as it’s much easier to remove material than to replace it. With that said, if any ridges remain from the saw blade, make sure to clean these up using a router plane or a sanding block.

To play off the “scrolling” shape of the legs, I chose to incorporate a few motifs on both stretchers to help unify the underbelly of the table. A few subtle curves and a little bit of symmetry go a long way. Once again, take advantage of the band saw to make all necessary relief cuts to successfully complete this process. To further accentuate the existing motif(s), I added an 1/8" chamfer to all of the outside edges of the legs and stretchers.

Accurate Hand-cut Joinery

With a bulk of our parts cut out, it’s time to revisit the tenons on the legs and short stretchers. For this step I chose to cut most of my joinery by

hand with the assistance of a couple shop-made cutting guides. This made for not only quicker, but also more accurately cut shoulders. Start by creating a slight “channel” using a standard bench chisel. This groove will help aid in guiding the saw blade and further ensuring accuracy of your shoulder cuts. Repeat this step on all four faces of each leg/stretcher. This is probably as good of time as any to address the woodworking faux pas on full display in the image(s). You will notice the saw being used to cut the tenon shoulders is in fact a dovetail saw and not a proper carcass saw with crosscut teeth. Admittedly, it had been many years since this saw had seen any use and was more an act of desperation than ineptitude— for this, my sincerest apologies.

Moving on. Since our legs are already cut to their final profile(s), there is no straight edge to reference. Proceed by making the cuts using the assistance of your ripsaw or utilize a sled in tandem with the table saw. To expedite the process, I went ahead and cut the cheeks of the stretchers over at the band saw. If the intersection between the shoulder and the cheek do not meet at a 90°, use your bench chisel to cleanup any remaining material.

Big Sliding Dovetails

Take this time to glue up a top for your table. Once dry, go ahead and cut it down to its final dimensions. As you can see, there are a couple different applications involved in preparing the top to accept its base. Using a 7° dovetail bit in conjunction with a guide bushing and a jig, begin by making a series of passes with the router until you have reached your 1/2" depth. Proceed to do this on both ends until you have created

One of the unique features of this table is it's ability to be disassembled and tucked away. It's also very scalable. If the surface area (or lack thereof) is an issue, create a larger top and increase the length of the stretcher.

2 Using the template, trace out the profile of the leg onto the blank. Notice that the joinery is established during this process.

4 With sliding-bevel set to 5°, lay out the mortise shoulders on the short stretchers.

1 This is the original lyre-legged bench in The Mercury Courtyard at Villa Terrace, that inspired the project.

5 With the marking gauge set, lay out the joinery on all "like" pieces.

3 A wheel marking gauge for layout creates a groove for the chisel to ride.

6-7 I used a 1" bench chisel to cleanup the mortise faces followed by a 1/2" mortise chisel to pare the edges.

8 Use a Forstner bit about an 1/8" smaller in diameter than the width of your mortises. Leave the fine-tuning to the fine tools.

9 A stop-block attached to the drill press fence aids in repeatable and accurate holes.

13 Cut as close to your layout lines as possible to decrease the amount of finishing work.

10-11 To expedite the wasteremoval process, I cut the cheeks of my tenons using the bandsaw.

14 Cutting out the leg is done in several steps. Make relief cuts where there are tight radii, and work on a section at a time.

12 Cut the Ogee shoulder first. This allows for a "relief" when cutting the curve.

15 End grain is notorious for blowing out when coming in contact with a router bit. To remedy this, cut as close to your layout line ass possible, thus leaving a minimal amount of material to be removed. Still unconvinced? Use a spindle sander instead of the router.

16 Creating a "channel" on the shoulder layout line allows the saw to move with accuracy and ease.

19 Dry fit the leg assemblies before you commit to glue and clamps.

17 Restore confidence in your cut by using an angled guide block made of scrap wood.

18 The same method is applied to the structural shoulder to ensure continuity and to prevent any gaps between the joint(s).