This project was inspired by a thread posted on a woodworking forum about a 3-legged pedestal table. It was missing a top and had been discarded. It was found and restored with a new top by the woodworker.
The detailed center post of the table had considerable aesthetic appeal. The 3 legs that dovetailed into it showed a classic way to connect pedestal legs.
I've had a 3" x 3" block of oak wood mounted on the rotary axis of my CNC for the last 3 months or so. It was waiting to discover what it wanted to be. Becoming the center post of a new table seemed to agree with the wood block, so this is where this project started. The 4th axis toolpaths I cut using my CNC would result in this shape from that block:
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| Render from Aspire |
Actual cut time took a few hours. The square block had to be reduce to a cylinder.
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| First reduce square into a cylinder. |
There is a gadget in Aspire that creates a toolpath specifically to remove the corners of square blocks to leave a cylinder.  |
| From a cylinder, then roughly shaped. |
A roughing pass was done to remove most of the waste area from the cylinder.  |
| Rough cut contours |
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| 3/4 done |
A final pass with a 1/8" diameter ball nosed bit works its way slowly down the cylinder to produce the final smooth shape.  |
| Final Shape |
Flat areas on the bottom section will be where the feet join into the post. These areas of the bottom section are where dovetail slots were cut.
I flipped the post over end to end so the area where dovetail cuts were needed was at the top (right in the photo) and approachable by the spinning dovetail bit.
First came pocket clearance cuts done with a 1/4" end mill to remove all the area except where the dovetail undercut would be. Less work for the dovetail bit to do.
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| 1/4" end mill set for clearance cuts. |
The pocket cut was repeated around the post every 120 degrees.
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| Clearance pockets done. |
Next came a bit change to a dovetail bit. This one is 9/16" diameter and has 8 degree sloped sides.
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| Setup for a dovetail pass. |
The dovetail pass was repeated every 120 degrees around the post. Once done the post was removed from the rotary axis mount.
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| Dovetail cuts done. |
With the post done it was time for the legs. A few sketches of the table with legs were productive. Sketches pointed out that the wood needed to make the legs from needed to be found before the final shape of the legs could be determined. I had in my scrap bin a couple of oak stretchers left from an abandoned chair design I never finished. They were 3" wide, 1" thick, and 25 inches long. Unfortunately their edges had been rounded over. I planed them down to 7/8" thick, taking the same amount of wood off of each side. This left about 2.5" of width that was flat in the center of each stretcher. The leg design I came up with is a simple curve with a hooked foot. Three were cut from that 2.5" width of wood.
A challenge with the legs was to cut the male dovetail end that would fit into the center post.
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| Jigged up for the dovetail cut. |
I took care to clamp the first leg so the area for the dovetail was horizontal and sticking up where the router bit could reach it. I then added supports and stops around it so repeating the cut on the next two legs could use the same setup.
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| Dovetail bit zeroed out on the leg top. |
To start the cut I needed to zero the dovetail bit against the left and front edges and the top of the leg.
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| Dovetail cut. |
First dovetail looked centered and correct. It was time to check if it fit in the post slots.
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| Fit is good. |
The dovetail slot is tapered to match the tapered shape of this leg end. The leg slips in easily and snugs up tight. With a good fit all I needed to do was repeat the cut on two more legs. With all three cut I could stand up the table base for aesthetic evaluation and detail contemplation.  |
| Three legs fit. |
The top was yet to come. I spent a few days contemplating the top. Final shape. Edge detail? Inlays maybe? How the top ends up influences the final details I add to the legs.
Often it takes building an initial design idea to reveal the reality of it compared to renderings on a PC. That is true for this table. It is a prototype. A design in progress. The center post was the inspiration for making a table. Initially the "fancy" post seemed to beg for a fancy top to hold up. Eventually I realize I was wrong.
It needed a simple top. Just a nice circle with some subtle detail and curve. My goal was to bring focus to the post.
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| Simple round top. |
I made this round top to enforce detail continuity. The legs now stand out as the last parts with minimized relationship to the post. Below is some iterative playtime with the leg design.
First idea was to taper the leg from top to bottom. Remove some of the visual mass.
The round top has a subtle elliptical curve on the bottom, and to relate the leg an elliptical taper could be applied. Perhaps too subtle.
A completely new leg profile was tried. A section of an ellipse.
Redirecting the groove to better define the foot. I may have to make at least one to evaluate how well it adds to the aesthetic composition of the pedestal table. The groove on the side of the legs could continue from leg to leg around the section of the post where the legs attach. Linking the legs specifically to the post.  |
| Perimeter groove to continue grooves on legs around the post. |
Actual making of that last leg design would present a challenge. It has to be cut from both sides, and the only area around the shape that isn't cut is the back of the dovetail section. I would need to divide the toolpaths into two sessions, to allow at least two clamps to hold it down. Cut one side of the edges, then move the clamp to that side before cutting the other side. Flip the board over and repeat. Extra effort for a leg that may not be the right leg for this table.
I used a 3/16" radius round-over bit to soften the round top edge and also the edges of the original legs. My initial instincts to focus on the post and de-focus on the legs and top did the job. I've concluded it is time to wrap this project up. The initial legs will do.
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| Final less finish. |
Some cherry stain on the red oak, followed with a clear finish will match the color of this table to other furniture projects I have in my house.
Feel free to comment, criticize, or post any questions you may have.
