Shaker, rattle, I'm on a roll

Got to spend quite a bit of time the shop this weekend and made a bit a progress on both of the pending projects.

The Woodworkers Fighting Cancer Shaker Table Build

 

 

 
 
 
Over the weekend I managed to get the aprons for the table cut, and the tennons made.  Following the advise of The Wood Whisperer I custome fit each tennon to its respective mortise.  Did a dry assembly, and finally got the carcass of the table glued up (in two stages).
 

I will have to do a little "evening" where one of the aprons meets one of the legs (I've got a 1/16th ridge where the apron ended up proud of the leg), but otherwise I'm pretty happy with how this is coming together.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I think the next thing on this table is going to be the top.

Life's a Birch... with Cherry on top.

Monday my beautiful wife and I went to Goose Bay Lumber to pick out lumber for the top of the built in. I wanted something a little thicker than you find at a big box store, so we were looking for 6/4 material (that's 1 1/2" thick to you lay folk).

We ended up with 3 nice pieces of Cherry all 10 feet long, 2 pieces about 7 inches wide and one 4" (25 board feet).  Here is it stacked up on the work bench:

Here's a nice shot of some the grain showing on one of the pieces:

While were there I also wanted to find some wood for a shaker table project I am doing for the Woodworkers Fighting Cancer march build-along.  For everyone who signs up and completes the project, money will be raised for the American Cancer Society.

Here is a sketch-up of the table:

I had originally thought to make this out of white birch (the New Hampshire state tree), but found white birch to unsuitable for such a thing (or so the guy at goose bay told me), and ended up buying 13 Board Feet of Yellow Birch instead.

The large piece is going to make up the top, back and sides of the table and it has a "flame" pattern in it (costing me another 1.05 per board foot of that particular piece):

Now in my minds eye I see an inlay in the top of the table.  Nothing too fancy, really just a square frame of darker wood to give the piece a little extra pop.  To that end I did buy a nice piece of Ebony, 2 1/4" wide and 24" long (another $10):

Hopefully I have the guts and talent to pull the inlay off.  I know HOW to do it, but the chances of screwing up my nice "Flame" top are not insignificant!