Tonight’s sketch is another boring meeting inspired sketch (maybe I should create a tag for that), an A-frame hall table:
I had originally drawn this where the cabinet top was even with the top of the A-fram legs, but this made the piece feel too bulky, in my opinion. As drawn, the ends of the cabinet base are essentially giany through-tenons, even if I doubt it would be constructed that way. I’ve given some thought to making that “tenon” shorter, so there is a small reveal inside the A. I’m afraid that would require the legs to be too thick for what is already a heavy design. I’ve called it a hall table, but given the depth of the legs, this may fair better as a console behind a sofa or a love seat.
I came up with a couple of possible designs for the drawers pulls:
Well to be fair, it is the same basic design, just rotated 90 degrees in the lower photo. I think I like the lower orientation in general, whereas the upper design is almost a mini-echo of the table as a whole – which is appealing.
Thoughts on the table? Which do you prefer?
Addendum
Here are a couple of new ideas for the pulls, as suggested by Ken and Adam:
An interesting set of ideas, Steve.
If it were me I’d make the legs more vertical, however, widening the top of the A and adjusting the table top width accordingly. This would keep the legs from sticking so far out from the table top area.
I’d also build the drawer-face side of the piece vertical, with it hitting the top of the legs near their outside edge and the bottom of the leg near its inside. I don’t see how you can have drawers that angle downward into a piece if they are intended to hold anything at all.
Cheers — Larry “aka Woodnbits”
Thanks, Larry. I first had the legs vertical (from the front perspective), but that seemed too likely to be unstable across the length of the table – so I flaired the bottoms. The inner face of the leg is supposed to still be vertical.
I have thought about the drawer fronts and agree that the angle would be a bit practically difficult. I like the face being angle, so maybe the drawer front would be tapered so it matches the front angle on the outside, but stays vertical on the inner face of the drawer box itself.
I think in order to have them proportional you’d need to go with the lower one. The problem with the upper one is that you’d have to make it bigger in order to have finger room – right?
I hadn’t thought os that, Ken. The upper pull would have to be substantially thicker in order to be useful.
But that gave me another idea. What if instead of a round dowel spanning the top pulls, it was “square-ish,” mimicking the table in full. Then you grab beneath the “table-top” and pull, like and upside-down U, instead of behind the dowel
I’ll draw that up tomorrow and post an addendum. Thanks!
A-Frame…I really like it. Clever with a capital…”A?” Eh nevermind.
I could honestly see this piece lending itself to mixed media. The ‘A’ portions could easily be constructed from aluminum or even a veneered hollow triple thick cardboard. Yes cardboard. Don’t freak out. The challenge with the A I think is to maximize the form while still keeping it light and moveable, without sacrificing integrity. It’s totally possible.
The drawers actually need to maintain the shape of the carcase. Otherwise you loose the whole effect. IF space is an issue, just make the carcass a bit wider. Since you placed the drawers already near the bottom of the case, you’re indeed maximizing storage space.
Out of all the pieces I’ve seen you design, I want to see this one take shape the most. Why? Cause it’s just that freakin’ cool and clever.
Great work.
Oh, and why not just make the pulls miniature versions of the table? Little “A’s”
with the shaped cross piece between them? Just a fun thought.
I like the bottom of the two new ones. Not sure why, just like the look.
I like the top design because it’s so different; I don’t mind that the legs splay out so much more than the body of the table/cabinet. It’s a striking piece when you first see it because it just looks like a sawhorse. But then you realize there’s more to it – it makes it a little bit mysterious.