TABL ES & C HAIRSTABLES & CHAIRS^110707
of the breadboard to receive the splines. The last slot to cut was
in the top for the other end of the splines. This was made with a
slot-cutting bit in my hand-held router.
I made the first spline, and I used it as a pattern for the remain-
ing three. I cut the splines a little oversized on the band saw and
then fixed them to the pattern with double-sided tape. I used the
flush-trim bit in the router to make exact copies of the splines.
With a little sanding on the edges, and a few strokes of my block
plane to adjust the thickness, the splines were ready to be ebon-
ized.
The breadboard ends are held to the ends of the tabletop with
#8 x 3^1 ⁄ 2 " screws. I drilled oversized holes through the ends, and
moved the bit side to side in the two outer holes to elongate
them. With glue applied only to the middle 6" of the tongue, I
put the ends in place, temporarily inserted the splines to align the
breadboard ends and tightened the screws.
Authentic Color Uncovered
One of the most interesting discoveries I made on the Greene
and Greene Virtual Archives was a recipe for the fi nish for the
furniture from another house. I have always admired the rich,
vibrant color of the mahog-
any in original Greene and
Greene furniture, something
rarely seen in most reproduc-
tions of their work.
The formula called for
a treatment of potassium
dichromate applied "as work proceeds" followed by a "filler"
composed of four colors mixed in linseed oil. Potassium dichro-
mate is a powerful oxidizer and must be handled carefully. I wore
a respirator while mixing it and gloves while applying it. After
experimenting, I used a solution of^3 ⁄ 8 ounce of powder to a
quart of distilled water.
For the colors, I used artist’s oil colors. Chrome Yellow (3^1 ⁄ 2
parts of the formula) and Raw Umber (3 parts) were easy selec-
tions. White Lead (2^5 ⁄ 8 parts) is no longer made, so I used Tita-
nium White. The last color listed was Sylvan Green (^1 ⁄ 8 part), and
I couldn’t find an oil color with this name. Because it was a small
part of the original mixture, I took a guess and used Hooker’s
Green.
I squeezed out the colors in the proportions given on a scrap of
plywood and mixed them together with a pint of Danish oil. Fol-
lowing a recipe, I hadn’t thought about what color would be the
result. I was expecting a rich, reddish brown and was surprised to
see a shade of green I haven’t seen since my son has been out of
diapers.
I was ready to abandon the experiment because of the hor-
rendous color I had mixed, but curiosity won and I tried it on my
sample board. After wiping off the excess, I was pleased to find
a truly wonderful color and sheen on the mahogany, as shown
above. What first appeared as a mistake makes sense technically.
On a color wheel, the red from the chemical treatment and the
green from the stain are opposite each other, producing a perfect
color.
Finish Now, Assemble Later
Before I did any assembly work, I brushed on the potassium
dichromate solution and wiped each part dry. Letting the parts
dry overnight, I applied the stain I had mixed, waited about fi ve
minutes and wiped off the excess. Doing all of the color work
before assembly let me get an even coat on all the surfaces of all
the parts. This saved me from reaching in and around the legs
and rails on the assembled table base.
After letting the color coat of oil dry overnight, I assembled the
table base in stages. I first glued and clamped the four pairs of
outer and inner legs. After these had been in the clamps for an
hour, I glued the longer center rails in between each subassem-
bly, as shown at left. Finally I glued the four end rails between
the front and back assemblies to complete the base of the table.
With the table base together, I drilled^1 ⁄ 4 "-diameter holes
(^7) / 8 "
31 / 2 "
(^1) / 4 "
(^3) / 8 "
3"
(^3) / 8 " 1"
(^5) / 16 "
#8 x 3^1 / 2 "
BREADBOARD-TO-TOP CONNECTION
The breadboard end is attached to the tabletop with screws and the ebon-
ized walnut spline is glued in the slot in the table only.
Supplies
866-548-1677 | fi nishsupply.com
X Potassium dichromate
$11.60 per 1/2 pound
SCREWS
9 98-109_Greene&GreeneSideboard.indd 107 8 - 109 _Greene&GreeneSideboard.indd 107 3 3/25/13 9:57 AM/ 25 / 13 9 : 57 AM