Concertina Hinge Game Table Update

We have recently added a quick amateur video of the opening and closing of the table, showing the action of the concertina hinge .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWhu2KOcNXg
Close up of the inlaid leather checkerboard

12/20/08 ... Long process, but the top finally arrived yesterday and we're all done. It has been a challenging and mentally rewarding project on a lot of different levels ... Click the photos to enlarge them ... Happy Holidays ...

Open .... I plan to make a short video of the opening and closing process for my clients and will eventually post a link here. It's simple, but there is a certain order to the smooth open/close process. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWhu2KOcNXg


Closed, awaiting players

Showing the bottom view with the sliding stiffener and the little spring loaded clip that keeps the table base shut when the top is folded ..

Update 11 30 08 ... Just waiting for the folding top with the leather checkerboard inside to return ... We should be all finished by the end of the week. Looking good ...

Finish is on ... brass is in .. waiting for polish

Waiting for the top
10/23/08 We're moving along on the game table posted below on 10/17, This week, Will turned the legs and is working on the inlays and the joinery, Trevor made a jig for the shaper and fluted the legs and tomorrow, Jim will be fitting up the brass moldings . Next, we'll turn the brass feet, sand and hinge the top, rout the top for the leather, apply the stain and finish to it and then send it off to Connecticut for Russ to inlay the chess board. In the meantime, Will will complete the hinging mechanisms and the brass feet. Progress .... Click photos to enarge ...

Sample board of finishes, leather and brass samples .. the client has selected the burl and the darker red for the checkerboard

The cad drawing of the table, dimensioned and not

Fluting the legs on the shaper

The legs, plus another view of the fluting jig

Fitting the top brass break molding. The brass will be antiqued later and the stain and finish will be complete before the brass is installed for final. There will be burl and quarter inch, quarter round brass in the pockets at the top of the legs ...

Second Concertina Hinge Game Table Update

11/12/2008 I knew this was going to be a long one. We're in the home stretch now. We have fabricated all the brass details, gotten the final finish sample approved, completed the joinery and are underway on the finishing. We decided to delay the leather work until all the construction work was completed and we could finish all the wood at the same time, even though it meant that the leather work would delay the delivery of the table. It just seemed safer and my clients were not in town to approve the finish sample ...soooo ... we're close ... The details on the brass feet are posted below ... the brass moldings will be installed and lightly shined after the finishing and assembly are completed ... click the photos to enlarge

open position

closed position with finished foot detail

gluing the burl to the aprons

see posts below for brass foot details

Concertina Hinge Game Table

OK ... this is going to be a long one ..... It started when one of my favorite clients asked me to make a game table. Closed it wanted to be 18 x 36, open 36" square. She wanted people to be able to sit in largish, overstuffed chairs, opposite each other, to play chess or cards or whatever. That kind of ruled out gate leg designs, the classic card table form. A long time age I had on my bulletin board some pictures of an antique card table that opened with a scissors mechanism like an accordion. Of course by the time I needed to design the table, I couldn't find the pictures ..... so, I hit the books. Checked out a bunch of them, no luck; checked my Fine Woodworking search feature and while there stumbled on a tab called "Ask The Experts". So I did. On September 6th I posted a question on Gary Rogowski's tab and within 48 hours he was back to me with a book title and page. Lo and behold, I had the book and had been oh so close to finding the entry a couple days previous. In fact, the index title was "Concertina Hinge' and the book had detailed drawings and helpful descriptions. And, we were off. Sort of. The proportions of the various folding parts and their relationships to the various pivoting, open and closed points were kind of fussy as we discovered while we were making the mdf mockup. We're set to go now, the design work is virtually complete, the leather for the checker boaard has been selected and the wood is acclimating in the shop. We'll make the top, rout a recess for the leather work, do the finishing and send it off to Heath's Restoration in Pomfret Center, CT, for Russ to inlay while we build the rest of the table. It will take a while, but I'll keep you posted ... haha ... Click the photos to enlarge them ...

The original sketch I posted with my question to Gary

My original sketch for the client ... a bit heavier than the final version which I'llpost later

The Book ... A classic, and one of my 4 or 5 main resources ... I think I should list my reference books some day . I checked Amazon and I didn't find it listed there. Check your library...

The entry, page 382

Closed ... you can't see it in this picture, but there is a little spring clip in the center of the back rail to keep side aprons tight to the legs when the table is closed.

The sliding board stiffens the folding parts when the table is open ...