Jeff,
I'll assume that you are looking for period pieces to copy and not something with a slate table that looks like it could be made by Brunswick.
There is a sharp looking table attributed to John Shaw in the Winterthur collection. It is pictured in John Shaw: Cabinetmaker of Annapolis, Catalogue entry 52. It has some really nice banding and bellflowers on six robust tapered legs with pedestal feet. The apron is fairly ornate with urn paterae (I think Steve Latta told me once that he is not convinced the paterae, at least not all of them, are original). Nevertheless, it makes for an impressive table.
I'll be interested to see what you decide to build. Do you plan to make it professional size? Slate?
