lewisc Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 What’s your ideal amount of pieces for a big table top? A few as possible? All the suppliers near me seem to only sell dressed timber. They’ve probably got wider (just need to find time to get there and look) but I’ve just come across some in their FB page which is 100mm (4”) wide. It’s the colour and type I want. I’d need 10 pieces to make up the width of the top. Too many? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 My initial thought is that It's going to be difficult to orient 10 boards for a pleasing color/grain match across the table width. I guess to answer the initial question, over a 40" width, I'd probably hope for either 5 or 6 pieces ideally but would use what was needed to get good grain matches and stable parts of the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 And the wide lumber may have more cup in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 Nothing but pure luck on this one. I think it does have at least 10 boards in it. Being resawn out of old beams that almost always have the center of the tree in them, Southern Long Leaf Heart Pine is almost impossible to find in boards wider than 5 inches. In 1981, I found someone with a wide belt sander, who charged me $15 to run it. I did have to drive an hour and a half one way to the place with the sander, but probably still came out ahead time wise. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 It all depends on what kinds of wood are available in your area. We see 8" to 10" (20-25 cm ) wide sapele on average. Teak usually comes in decent widths. Gluing teak can be a challenge due to the oils but if you wipe the joint with a strong solvent before gluing helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyoak Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 A big factor on the 4" boards is the grain. Typically narrow stock has some or a lot of heart wood. That is not stable. Also what kind of wood and what grade. And how dry is it. Many decades ago, my first project. The boss was traveling and I could use the shop. I bought the lowest grade of walnut. All heart wood with a pith in the center. It splintered apart. It never happened to me again. It motivated me to find out how and why. Tom's table above looks like there is good grain to the wood... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 22, 2018 Report Share Posted March 22, 2018 If all the 4" pieces are quartersawn just go with it. Much more stable pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisc Posted March 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2018 I’m sure they have wider pieces, I’ve just got to get the time to pick some up. It won’t be for another week and a half though. It’s the kind of thing I want to spend a while doing. I could probably scrape 30mins before closing time but I don’t want to rush this. I think there will be a heap of quarter and rift sawn in the selection. A lot of the timber this supplier has is recycled. It’s old growth timber that has heaps of character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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