Which wood should I use for an outdoor table??


mboulant

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Hello Wood Talk Forum members.  I have been following The Wood Whisper for about 6 years now and have watched just about every one of Marc's videos, but this is my first time being active in the Wood Talk Forums.  I feel that I am still a fairly green woodworker.  I have been tinkering with small projects for 5-6 years, but am about to tackle my first large project using rough sawn lumber.  I am building an outdoor table and would like some advice on which wood to choose.  I live in Las Vegas, where it is very dry.  My back patio faces south, so the table will get some sun exposure, but no rain, as it is covered.  I do have a pool, so there may be times when my kids sit on the benches with wet bathing suits or wet towels end up on the table or benches.  Locally, my choices for lumber are somewhat limited.  I would love to use western red cedar, but it's not available.  Budget is one of the deciding factors, so teak is out of the question at $25 per b/f.  I have narrowed my choices down to Alder, African Mahogany, Poplar, or construction lumber from Home Depot.  The construction lumber is only an option if the consensus is that the table will be ruined regardless of which wood I choose.  The table will be a combination of Marc's Rustic Outdoor Table and the Walnut table that Shannon built.  I plan on using 8/4 material for the top of the table and benches and doubled up 6/4 for the undercarriage.  I will likely use an thin oil/varnish blend as the finish, similar to Marc's finish on his table.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Of the choices you mentioned, I think the African Mahogany might be the most durable in that application. I'm more accustomed to fighting water damage than sun damage, but would suggest a 'spar' type varnish that has UV protectants. Skip the oil and just wipe on the thinned varnish. My $.02 worth.

Welcome into the fray!

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Rough sawn, leaves splinters in asses.  You might want to consider finished wood, even if you have to finish it yourself!

By "rough sawn", I simply meant that I would be milling the lumber myself rather than buying it pre-milled. Sorry if I wasn't clear about that.

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Of the choices you mentioned, I think the African Mahogany might be the most durable in that application. I'm more accustomed to fighting water damage than sun damage, but would suggest a 'spar' type varnish that has UV protectants. Skip the oil and just wipe on the thinned varnish. My $.02 worth.

Welcome into the fray!

African Mahogany is the way I was leaning for the reason you mentioned. Thanks for the advice on the finish. I was thinking of using the oil/varnish blend so that I could more easily touch up the finish when needed. Would the "spar" varnish offer enough protection that I shouldn't have to worry about refinishing for a number of years? Thanks again for the advice.

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Woodhack, I have a mahogany front door that catches the afternoon sun dead on, and is coated with spar urathane. About every three years it needs to be sanded and re-varnished. I have tried oil finishes on my deck furniture. Sure, it is simple to touch up, but I had to do it every few WEEKS, and I live in Tennessee. I would imagine that in Vegas you'd be touching up almost daily!

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Woodhack, I have a mahogany front door that catches the afternoon sun dead on, and is coated with spar urathane. About every three years it needs to be sanded and re-varnished. I have tried oil finishes on my deck furniture. Sure, it is simple to touch up, but I had to do it every few WEEKS, and I live in Tennessee. I would imagine that in Vegas you'd be touching up almost daily!

That's a great example. I definitely don't want to be refinishing the table every few weeks. If that were the case, it would probably end up as fire wood. Wait...I don't have a fire place; I live in Las Vegas. I will definitely look into the spar urethane. Thank you!!

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