Nakashima Made Easy.....

OK. Yesterday I promised you a tutorial or two. I looked into some of the sites and found the simplest table that Nakashima made. At least it was the simplest one that I could find. It is a triangular end table that is shield shaped.

The nice thing about this table is, it is almost foolproof. I think that it does need a piece of wood for the top with an interesting grain and maybe a few flaws.

The height was 17"....I cheated and made it 18" so that it would be easier to measure.(1 1/2")

The shield shape was 24" by 19". I drew it approximately that size and had enough left from the other table to get two of the end tables to match....Sort of. I cut the shapes out with the Micro Mark scroll saw in just a few minutes.

I rounded the top edges of each table with an Exacto and some sandpaper. Actually, I used one of those big, fat emery boards that are printed with pretty designs. They are pretty fine.

I turned them over to the back side and marked about 3/8" from the edge to find the spots to drill for the legs. What is cool about a three legged table is they never wobble. They may slant a bit if you don't get the legs exactly the same length, but no wobbling. Ever.

The holes were drilled just large enough to force the legs in place. They should be even with the top of the table and be filed off even with the top surface to finish.

I did angle the drill towards the center as I drilled so that the legs would slant out. I can't tell you exactly what the degree was. I don't know. I just angled it about the way I thought it looked in the photo of the real table. I did it slowly with my twist drill for more accuracy.


The only stock that I had for legs was some walnut square stock. I took the Exacto to those and then sandpaper and files to make them round.

I glued the legs into the holes. I sanded the tops one last time. Then I buffed each table with Johnson's paste wax.

Finished tables. No need to tell you that they were confiscated by Tessie as soon as they were done.

Now I am off to see what other trouble I can get into.

See you tomorrow.