Brian Benham's profile

Nakashima Coffee Table

As the title may give away, this piece was inspired by George Nakashima, one of my personal, most influential woodworking heros.  I of course did add a few of my own design twists to it.  The bottom stretcher I added a graceful bezier curve to add some movement to the base.  The curve makes if feel like it is moving, much like a humpback whale surfacing for air.
To be sure the piece was not heavy feeling, instead of a solid piece of wood as the back cross leg, I used two mirrored angled pieces of wood flaring off the center arch.
The main structure is made from walnut and is joined together using bridle joints.  The live edge walnut top is joined to the base using through mortise and tenon joints wedged with African Mahogany.  This adds some contrast and visual interest to the joinery. I always love it when I can use exposed joinery to show how a piece was assemble.
Sizes are approximate:
42″ Long, 20″ wide, 16″ tall

Project Location, Colorado Springs
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Nakashima Coffee Table
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Nakashima Coffee Table

As the title may give away, this piece was inspired by George Nakashima, one of my personal, most influential woodworking heros. I of course did Read More

Published: