Has anyone here built GC1 aprons from scratch? We're in the process of restoring one of these tables and that's really the only pieces we didn't receive during the purchase (25 dollar storage unit find, they are long gone). We even got the plastic skirts that go underneath the wood aprons too. Ive tried searching far and wide, and it seems that every contact I reach out to by referral either has none, or they threw them out to make space years ago... because they're too expensive to ship.
While I'm not a table mechanic by any means, I don't see this being a hard job just making them myself. I am a fairly capable woodworker, so the processes involved don't bother me. It's the measurements and angles needed that I need to confirm. They will be painted white to match the original color of the table, so if I don't go poplar like original, I'm ok with using plywood if we use a long enough sheet.
While I'm not a table mechanic by any means, I don't see this being a hard job just making them myself. I am a fairly capable woodworker, so the processes involved don't bother me. It's the measurements and angles needed that I need to confirm. They will be painted white to match the original color of the table, so if I don't go poplar like original, I'm ok with using plywood if we use a long enough sheet.
- The bevel on the top edge (rail side), my plan is to match the angle of the aluminum brackets and rip the skirts on the table saw.
- Bevel and slope at corners. Bevel is obviously 45 as it's a rectangle. Slope on the other hand... My thought initially is to make it complimentary to the bevel on the top side that the aluminum rail brackets dictate. Could make it a hair less, for wiggle room during assembly. This type of cut is pretty straight forward to set up on a table saw with a reference block (think building a serving tray but upside down). But, since the pieces are so long, it's obvious I'll have to use a miter saw instead. Not a big deal, just need to modify the process a bit.
- Note - I know that on the corners the material is doubled up to add more "meat" for the corner brackets to bolt to. I can use the offcuts for this. My plan is to assemble the rails on the floor upside down, and build the aprons without them... then once it all looks right as far as lean-in and fit goes, glue in the extra material.
- Curve along lower edge of apron. This one I plan on shooting from the hip to do. I've taken some rough measurements from GC's at the local bars, but it would be really helpful if I was able to take one off and trace it onto a template. Either way, since this isn't critical for fitment, I'll probably just use a "drawing bow" to come up with something pretty close and cut a template on the bandsaw and flush trim the other pieces with a router.
