Unsteamed black walnut, Osmo finish
The Jug End Table is reminiscent of the Appalachian Trail winding through the rolling Berkshire hills, the rocky Green Mountains, and beyond – from Georgia to Maine.
This piece embodies the elegance of the sweeping views and the curves of the rivers along the way. The hike up Jug End to its overlook and summit – which gives this table its name and is where this piece was photographed – is one of my favorites and near to my other “home” in southwestern Massachusetts.
This table was designed and built as a prototype with the expectation that more would be made in the future. Because of this and because all components except for the top and horizontal stretchers were steam bent, multiple identical bending jigs were constructed. Unsteamed walnut was selected instead of the more commonly found steamed walnut because previously-steamed wood is more susceptible to cracking if steamed again and bent. The bending jigs required special designing in order to successfully bend the square leg and top support components on their diagonals with a minimum of cracking. Due to slight inconsistencies in each steam-bent curve, all joinery had to be hand cut to achieve tight joints on the compound angles and curved surfaces. Scaffolding was constructed to facilitate precise alignment and marking of the pieces being joined. This build required a lot of teeny tiny tenons cut at awkward angles!
Jug and mug courtesy of Harry Levenstein Pottery.
