How to build a DIY Balinese-style Carved Entryway Console Table using detailed plans and an inspiring video!
Your entryway creates the first impression of your home, so I wanted a genuinely eye-catching piece of furniture for ours. I had been searching for the ideal console table for more than a year, yet nothing I found truly sparked my interest. I’ve always appreciated the detailed designs and skilled workmanship of Balinese carved wood furniture. Although I briefly considered making my own version, I realized that carving a project this large by hand would require an enormous amount of time, and I lacked both the necessary tools and experience.
That’s where the Inventables X-Carve Pro came in.
Allow me to present the newest member of The Woodhouse Workshop. Boasting an expansive 4-foot-wide work area, this machine has brought my dreams of making carved wood furniture to life.
Take a look.
She’s a stunner, Clark! Thanks to the X-Carve Pro, I completed this DIY carved console table in a single weekend! Just imagine how much could be accomplished if I were producing furniture for sale – my output would be incredible! I created this console table to assemble without difficulty, relying on standard dimensional lumber and straightforward joinery. If you’d like to make one for your home, you can download the detailed PDF plans below. And if you own a CNC machine, you can also grab my .svg design file.
DIY Carved Entryway Console Table
Let’s examine Inventables’ new X-Carve Pro more closely.
This CNC machine is available in two dimensions: 4 ft. x 4 ft. and 4 ft. x 2 ft., making it possible to complete larger projects more quickly. The extra-wide work surface is what excites me most – there’s no need to trim full plywood sheets! Inventables has also added a new tiling function to Easel Pro (its web-based design software), enabling you to carve projects that exceed the machine’s footprint. This means you can work with materials up to 4 feet wide and infinitely long for maximum efficiency. With this tiling function, oversized designs can be divided into sections, allowing the X-Carve Pro to carve each one without requiring the setup to be rearranged every time.
Now I’m imagining all sorts of enjoyable projects to create and sell since I can simply start the machine and leave it running. Could this mark the start of The House of Wood Manufacturing? 😉 Christmas is almost here – perhaps this will finally be the year of handmade presents… My mind is overflowing with ideas!
The machine’s speed was another feature that completely amazed me. I adjusted Easel Pro’s standard cutting settings, encouraging the X-Carve Pro to operate more quickly and intensely, and it handled everything effortlessly. Because the gantry is so sturdy, I never feared that the higher speed would affect the quality of the carving. This machine is a powerhouse in the workshop!
I was also delighted to learn that the X-Carve Pro operates much more quietly than my baby X-Carve! I suspect the enclosed, air-cooled spindle is responsible. Unlike my baby X-Carve, this spindle starts and stops automatically along with the software. After the carving finishes, it moves back to the home position and shuts down by itself. Fantastic!
Despite using more powerful cutting settings, the machine produced clean, exact carvings with no trouble. I reversed the design because I wanted the pattern to stand above a recessed background. The pattern’s negative areas are carved away, allowing the flowers to stand out. Although this approach takes longer than carving the design directly into the wood, I adore the finished appearance. To me, it gives the table a more traditionally hand-carved and artisan-made look, which was precisely the feeling I wanted.
If you’re considering purchasing a CNC machine, here’s one final point to keep in mind: Inventables offers exceptional customer service. From putting the machine together to completing the final design, a knowledgeable and approachable Inventables expert (Hi, John!) is available by phone or email. Since my CNC experience is limited, having professional support throughout the process gave me tremendous peace of mind.
They even helped reduce the carving time from 18 hours to roughly 7 by recommending the Two-Stage Carving feature, which lets you work with two different bits on one project. I began with a larger bit to rough out the broad sections, then switched to a smaller bit to refine the details. Here’s a useful tutorial about Two-Stage Carves. This project includes 3 individual carvings: the primary carve, consisting of the front apron, plus the two curved ‘wings.’ The front apron required nearly 5 hours, while each wing took approximately one hour.
I’m absolutely delighted with the result of my DIY carved console table! What’s your opinion? Without the X-Carve Pro, I’d probably still be carving this project by hand well into 2021, but thankfully, that isn’t the case. 🙂 Thanks for visiting – don’t forget to download the plans and design files above, and be sure to watch our YouTube video!