Art Deco Inspired Occasional Table

The first step, after the drawing, was to cut the pieces for the "grills".  These were cut from Wenge.

I cut strips of Wenge and inlaid them into the legs of the Maple.

After making the grills and the legs I dry fit the side assemblies to make sure everything fits properly.  I will wind up tapering "feet" into the legs before the final glue up.

After the side assemblies are glued up, I dry fit the longer back side to make sure everything lines up.

Once I know that all of the assemblies go together, I will glue the entire piece together.  I used a Festool Domino to create the tenons for the assembly.

I glued up the top trying to match the grain as best I can to keep it "flowing".  Two of the 3 boards matched up pretty well.  The block is to hold down some grain that popped up during the jointing process.  The cathedrals on Wenge can actually lift themselves off the wood.

I needed to allow for wood movement (expansion and contraction), so I made some cleats that I attached to the aprons.  Then, I drilled some oversized holes to allow the top to move seasonally without cracking or warping.

After I rounded over the edges on the top, I finished it with a few coats of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal and then put on some Renaissance Wax.

I have a brand that I use to "sign" my pieces.  It is a branding iron with my signature on it and the word HANDCRAFTED.  I normally put it in an inconspicuous place on the piece, but the customer wanted it displayed somewhere prominent, so I burned it onto a piece of Walnut and mounted it to the apron along the back of the table.