My Mom & Dad were married May 16th and this side table, actually designed this past May, is made in honor of their anniversary.
The top of the table has rounded edges and an angle undercutting the roundover. I usually do the tops of the benches and side tables this way. It creates a thinner profile and softens the edges, making them smoother to the touch. I’ve always admired that look.
I recently discovered that this profile actually has a name. It’s called an ovolo echinus. It’s an architectural term that describes the part of the capital of a Doric column that fits beneath the abacus which supports the architrave. You can see the echinus (meaning “cushion” in greek) in this photo.
Because there’s not a straight line in the profile of the ovolo echinus (so far as I can tell), it’s not precisely the same profile as the edge of this side table, but it’s close. And it’s classic, and I like it. (Ok, too much information so I’ll move on.)
Each leg is laminated (i.e. two pieces of wood are glued together) and tapered on the two outer faces. The top is made of 3 slats glued to battens which are screwed to the lower rails which are then glued and screwed to the legs. It’s a small table — not a step stool — so it’s plenty sturdy for use as a bonsai stand, garden stand, stool for a child, etc. or a just a little shrine for your laptop. It’s about 21″L x 11″W x 11″H and ships fully assembled, ready for service right out of the box.
Since I like the look, I want to do a larger version to be used as a garden bench. I’ll post a picture of the completed prototype soon.
Go to this page for more details and ordering info.
Your Correspondent: thinking that familiarity with echinus and abacus is not enough.
