Here we go, first real project


sjm1580

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After a couple of trips to Advantage Lumber in Sarasota, Fl. the wife and I landed some 5/4 Bolivian Pecky Walnut for our future dining room table.  Paid $5.00 a BF with an additional 10% off.

Jointed and planed the wood for the top today and am going to let sit and get used to our humid climate.  

I have 8 boards for the top and was thinking of starting off glueing two, two, two and two.  Then the resulting parts again (and a final time).  Any thoughts on breaking it down or should I just hit the pavement running and glue all at once.  I will say, I got those boards really, really close on thickness and square all around.

Picture of where I stand now.  Amazing thing is the wife and I worked in the shop all day and didn't argue once!

 

IMG_20170107_142800931.jpg

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wow! all day and no arguments, never happen at my house. two at a time would work. are you going to use anything for alignment such as biscuits or domino? if not i would use some cauls to keep them lined up, also how are you planning to deal with the voids in the wood as i assume this is the top we are looking at? looks like you have a good start and welcome to the forum. looking forward to more pictures as you progress.

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14 minutes ago, treeslayer said:

wow! all day and no arguments, never happen at my house. two at a time would work. are you going to use anything for alignment such as biscuits or domino? if not i would use some cauls to keep them lined up, also how are you planning to deal with the voids in the wood as i assume this is the top we are looking at? looks like you have a good start and welcome to the forum. looking forward to more pictures as you progress.

I have a domino but was going to try and muscle them together and not use it on the top.

I am going to use West 105 with 207 hardener for the voids.

Thanks for the help!  

7 minutes ago, Denette said:

Looks good! You might want to look into some epoxy to stabilize and fill those cracks. West Systems seems to be the go-to standard.

Going with West System 105 with 207 hardener and see how it goes.  Thanks for the help!

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8 minutes ago, mat60 said:

Welcome.   What do you have for clamps?   Id try for two glue ups myself with what I have.

Great point, I have quite a few small to mid sized clamps, but I'll have to get a count on how many large ones I have to make sure I have enough for my 42 inch finished width.

Thanks!

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33 minutes ago, Brendon_t said:

Looking like a table top that will have a lot going on.

If you have a domino, use it. Big glue ups like that will test your abilities to stay calm. Taking the alignment issue out of your mind is just one less thing to worry about.  3,8's or  5mm per joint should get you close. Don't see any reason not to. 

I'd also break them down into smaller glue ups. Even if you can do all of them at one,  why try to get 8 boards glued, joined clamped properly at one time? That's just asking for problems.  

Make it easier on yourself and use the tools and time you have to set yourself up for success.

Thanks for the advice, will go with the Domino.  One question, since my table top is going to be 42" x 96" what would be a better top to apron connection, figure 8 or z clips? 

Thanks for the help!

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Six of one,  Half dozen of the other. 

Personally, I think z clips are easier to set up for as I use a domino plunge on medium to make the slot but with something like a big table,  figure 8 connectors seem "stronger" to me and just feel better mentally. 

That's total conjecture with zero evidence as to the strength of one vs another but it's a personal feeling. 

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This will be great to follow (there is a table top in my future!)

Did you consider conditioning the wood before planing?  I'll have to decide on the order of those things myself.  Thanks to all the contributors - and a question for the experts:  for an outdoor table (temp variation of -20F in winter to +90 in summer), would you join and glue, or leave gaps?

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This will be great to follow (there is a table top in my future!)

Did you consider conditioning the wood before planing?  I'll have to decide on the order of those things myself.  Thanks to all the contributors - and a question for the experts:  for an outdoor table (temp variation of -20F in winter to +90 in summer), would you join and glue, or leave gaps?

I'm not as much of a pro as many on here, but I would leave gaps and anchor the tabletop slats only in the center line along their length so they would have nothing stopping them from expanding & contracting. Breadboard ends might help prevent warping. Leaving gaps is a must in a rainy climate - unless you want to shell out the big bucks for Epifanes or cover your table every time it rains, that is. Water needs somewhere to go, rather than pooling on the tabletop and waiting to evaporate.

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Major decision made today; decided to abandon the Pecky Walnut for the legs and apron and substituted with black walnut. I was assured by two women that the reddish tint in the Bolivian Walnut would go well with the black walnut.   Milled the leg pieces today. Tomorrow, cut the apron material, cut the top pieces to width in preparation for glue up. Leg pieces picture attached.

 

 

IMG_20170108_130713649.jpg

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Agree with@mat60, straighter grain will look better on the legs than knotty / pecky would.@pondhockey, I might leave gaps in an outdoor table to help water run off, but if it were protected from direct rainfall, I would joint and glue. Temperature swings have much less effect on wood than humidity. You still need to allow for movement, but cumulatively, no more or less for slats than a panel.

I would say avoid breadboard ends, unless you do a Greene & Greene style exaggerated overhang where the end of the breadboard meets the edge of the panel. It is difficult enough to keep that joint flush in a controlled environment, outdoors it will likely never line up.

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1 hour ago, mat60 said:

Good choice. What size will your leg blanks be?

The picture was taken before I ran the pieces through the table saw.  Looking at 3 3/4" square (finished). Picture of the cut pieces below.  Going to just glue these, considering using Titebond III, never used it, but think I would like the longer setup time than Titebond II.

IMG_20170108_162940041.jpg

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12 minutes ago, Brendon_t said:

If you are gluing in sub assemblies,  I would leave an eighth on each board.  If your jointing isn't prefect, you could clamp a bow into the sub. That will need removed before gluing them up. It's easy to take a bit of width off. Much harder to put it back on later. 

Yeah, even though my milling is always perfect (harumpf) I left a little more than an eighth all around for any misfires.

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9 hours ago, Brendon_t said:

Yeah,  it's possible.  And Anna White would have you think it will last for generations.... <dripping with sarcasm

If you joint the boards and glue each seam carefully edge to edge joints with Kreg  screws might be ugly underneath but once the glue is dry you could take the screws back out and the top will be quite strong.  I have used Kreg screws in places where I couldn't get clamps . Appropriate for fine furniture, NO, but functional for concealed areas on cabinets and starter projects.

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