Big Table - Woodworking Talk

Geoguy · 08-19-2008, 09:37 AM

I think I mentioned in a post about a month ago that I was going to start a conference table. Well, it's almost complete. It's nothing special, just a big, ole, cheap, plywood table (13' 4" X 46"). I'm gonna start smearing color on it this evening. If it turns out worth a crap, I'll post some shots of the finished product. Sorry, for the bad camera phone photos.

Terry Beeson · 08-19-2008, 10:27 AM

Where's the logo?

Looks good for a "big, ole, cheap, plywood table..."

Geoguy · 08-19-2008, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terry Beeson

Where's the logo?

I've just about decided to skip the logo. So far, it turned out fairly nice and it would be a shame to to screw it up now (one little router OOPS would lead to one giant OH SH!%). And, it's pretty much a freebie, so I don't feel bad about not including the logo.

hands made for wood · 08-19-2008, 02:45 PM

wow! it looks awesome! I can't wait to see pics. of the finished product!

Geoguy · 09-05-2008, 09:35 AM

The big, ole, cheap, plywood table. Not extremely satisfied with it, but sure glad it's done.

clarionflyer · 09-05-2008, 10:32 AM

Holy smokes... that's a lot of wood!
Nicely done.

firehawkmph · 09-05-2008, 04:26 PM

Looks good. What weren't you happy with? Pictures seem nice.
Mike Hawkins

Geoguy · 09-05-2008, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firehawkmph

Looks good. What weren't you happy with? Pictures seem nice.
Mike Hawkins

I made a terrible mistake during finishing. While sanding down the first coat of polyurethane, I got a little too agressive trying to flatten the poly surface on that red oak plywood and went through the stain in a couple places. I've had that happen before and normally, it's not a huge deal - just grab your oil-based stain and smear some more on the exposed wood and wipe off what doesn't stick to the poly around the perimeter of the mistake. Well, on this project, I used lacquer-based stain to match the other trim in the conference room. Having never used laquer-based products before, I was unaware that it sticks and covers poly with an opaque smudge. I couldn't wipe it off, and I didn't have any laquer thinner (although, I don't know if that would have worked either), mineral spirits and alcohol wouldn't touch it, and I panicked. Well,,, I took it off once before, so I grabbed my sander and quickly cut it off the top of the poly. Well, as you might imagine, that only exaserbated my problem of having light spots where I cut through the color. After several days of experimenting and screwing it up even more, I developed a technique to touch-up the bad spots and managed to salvage the color. The poly coating (actually, spar) seemed to darken it a little and help blend the blotchy areas together quite well. I used an HVLP gun to shoot the final four coats of spar on it to get it really shinny. Most people just see the shiny and don't even inspect the color beneath. The walnut inlays also really help to divert attention so it doesn't look like two big sheets of plywood.

End result, I've learned a lesson about sanding between coats and I'll probably never use laquer-based stain again. It turned out OK but it's a huge PITA! Consider that a lesson learned from an amateur wood hack.

GeorgeC · 09-06-2008, 07:24 AM

Very nice job. I think it looks great.

What wood did you use for the spacers?

George

Geoguy · 09-06-2008, 10:01 AM

Thanks, George. By "spacers" I assume you mean the walnut inlays. It's oak plywood, red oak around the edges, and 1/2-inch wide walnut inlays across the plywood field and around the perimeter of the plywood.

Gerry KIERNAN · 09-06-2008, 11:46 AM

That's a fine looking table Geoguy. Glad to hear you were able to recover from your screw up. I think that's half the skill of woodwork, because we all screw up here and there. Good info on lacquer based stain.

Gerry

smitty1967 · 09-06-2008, 03:14 PM

I'd say you did a fantastic job, Geo, and also, from your description, a great job realizing your mistakes and dealing with them. Good on you. Super looking table!

smitty

hands made for wood · 09-06-2008, 04:21 PM

that right there is one amazing table! oh and the finish looks awesome!

mrnagrom · 10-08-2008, 01:03 AM

thats a big ass table.. lookin good

GeorgeC · 10-08-2008, 07:10 AM

Sure looks good for a "cheap plywood" table. Good job.

G

dbhost · 10-08-2008, 01:09 PM

Looks good to me!

Tony B · 10-09-2008, 02:01 PM

Great looking table. The only one to notice the 'oops' will be you.
Question: from the pics the top looks thick. Is it torsion box construction?
Again, G-R-E-A-T job

Geoguy · 10-09-2008, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony B

Great looking table. The only one to notice the 'oops' will be you.
Question: from the pics the top looks thick. Is it torsion box construction?
Again, G-R-E-A-T job

Thanks, Tony B. You're right - the more I look at it, the more I like it. And It's probably almost as good as anything you can buy at the office furniture store.

Sorry, Tony B, I don't know what torsion box construction is (you forget - I'm a geologist, not a real woodworker) but I assume it's something similar to a hollow core door. Maybe what appears thick is the 2-1/2" wide skirt around the edge. It's got a 4 or 5-inch wide strip of plywood glued to the underside around the perimeter to provide a place to attach the perimeter oak trim and the skirt. Extra support is provided by a 8" wide double thickness plywood beam in the center between the two pedestal legs and two 9' pieces of 2" angle iron screwed to the bottom for extra support. The steel was free so I couldn't turn it down. It's built to last.

If you don't look at the finish, the construction is actually pretty nice. By removing about eight wood screws and a few taps with a mallet, it quickly breaks down into four pieces for easy transport - assuming you have a 12' trailer. The top is all one piece just over 13' long, the two pedestal legs are just plywood boxes with base trim and 1/4" trim glued on, and the center beam is two pieces of plywood glued together with notches that slip into slots on the pedestal legs.

Tony B · 10-09-2008, 08:20 PM

Torsion Box construction would be similar to a hollow core door. You got it. Geologists are always around here when they are drilling, maybe someday we will bump into each other.

dbhost · 10-10-2008, 11:46 AM

Only thing negative I can say about it is that it IS a conference table. The point of a thousand indecisions typically made by thundering fools. Or maybe I am just biased...