Piscine protection for your table
In my house, the holidays mean good times with family and friends. Quite often these gatherings are centered around a meal. When we go to set the table, we often break out family treasures including several trivets my father made. One of them is a delightful rosewood fish. It is one of those simple things that make me smile as I take it from the drawer.
This year, I wanted to share the design he devised over sixty years ago. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a trivet is an item meant to be placed under a hot dish to protect the table underneath from the heat. While the basic design lends itself to a variety of shapes, I am particularly fond of this fish and the memories it holds.
Two spines run from head to tail
The trivet in the photo is made from leopardwood, but any species will work. The ribs and the head are dadoed to receive the spines. After assembly and shaping, the tail is glued in place to complete the build. As an alternative, make the spines a little longer and swap out the End Rib and Tail for a second Head and you’ll have a football trivet ready for all your bowl game parties.
Cut, shape, and assemble
Mill the stock for all the parts to size, leaving the spines 1” overlong and slightly wider than the 1/2” specified. Set up a 1/2” dado blade and adjust it to make a 5/16” deep cut. Attach an auxiliary fence to the miter gauge that reaches across the blade. Make a cut in the fence, then shift the fence so the cut is 1-1/2” away from the blade. Mark a center line on the head and all of the ribs. Cut a dado 3/4” to one side of the center line on all six pieces. Make a 5/16 × 1/2 × 2” key to fit in the offset kerf in the auxiliary fence. Register the first dado in each piece on the key as you make the second dado cuts. Trim the spines to fit in the dados, then glue them in place clamping, or pinning them in place as the glue dries. Lay out the curves, bandsaw the piece to shape, and clean it up at the sander. Cut the bevels on the sides of the tail and edge glue the tail to the last rib. Finish with a tough finish such as boiled linseed oil.
Space with a key. After cutting the first dado in all but the tail piece, add a key to the auxiliary fence. Register the first dado on the key and cut the second dado on all the pieces.
Space with a spacer. Sand the edges and faces of the head and ribs before gluing them to the spines. Hold 5⁄8” spacers between the pieces to keep the spacing consistent.
Shape without the tail. Lay out the curved sides and bandsaw the trivet to shape before cleaning up the curves at the sander. Leaving the tail off until after sanding gives you good access to the entire curve.
