Hi guys! Thanks for having me in this community, and for taking the time to read this.
A quick introduction : I'm in the military, in Moose Jaw, SK (north of the Dakotas, in the prairies). There's this table design I've had in my mind for a while that I'd love to build. I have some woodworking experience, but most of what I built is with MDF - so not "real" woodworking, I suppose. I built a ton of speakers using MDF, for myself and friends, and I also took a woodworking course with my wife last year that introduced me to some of the more "advanced" concepts (which are probably paltry for this crowd....).
In any case, I've attached a Sketchup rendering of what I have in mind. I'll have a very talented metalworker friend of mind build the frame. Dimensions are 30" height, 6'X3' table top. The metal frame will be built out of 1.5" aluminum stock, and will be hidden by a 1.5-inch "high", 1-inch "deep" wood border, that is 1" inset from the edge of the tabletop. The metal protrusions of the metal frame (not to scale in the frame drawing, which is of course upside down for illustrative purposes for my friend) are 8" long, so the frame is 9.5" total. Legs are 5"X5".
Legs, table top and "border" will be bolted to the metal frame. I'd like to keep all fasteners hidden, but that may have to change for the legs.
I have a couple of questions for you guys :
1. I've always wanted to build this out of sapele, and stain it almost black. But, recently, I've been considering using reclaimed wood from some barn around here. My wife and I will be posted this summer so I thought it'd be cool to have, as a memento, a table built of out old wood we got in SK - but most of the stuff here is Douglas Fir, and I'm afraid that won't stain or finish as well. Thoughts?
2. For the legs, one of the advantages of reclaimed barn wood is that I could get beams that are 6X6 and then just cut a little bit off of each edge to get something around 5X5 (I'd try to preserve the "old" look, so not cut too much). Anyhow - for sapele, anyone know if I can get a 5X5 solid block of it, or is it only in 4/4, 6/4 and so on boards?
3. Biggest question : if dealing with a solid block for the legs, how would you go about making the square indentation where the metal post will rest?
4. For either sapele or fir, would some lag bolts through the metal frame, screwed right into the wood, be sufficient for strength, or should I just go right through? (In the case of the latter, I'd probably just put the bolt head in a recessed hole, so it'd be flush.)
Thanks a lot, guys!
A quick introduction : I'm in the military, in Moose Jaw, SK (north of the Dakotas, in the prairies). There's this table design I've had in my mind for a while that I'd love to build. I have some woodworking experience, but most of what I built is with MDF - so not "real" woodworking, I suppose. I built a ton of speakers using MDF, for myself and friends, and I also took a woodworking course with my wife last year that introduced me to some of the more "advanced" concepts (which are probably paltry for this crowd....).
In any case, I've attached a Sketchup rendering of what I have in mind. I'll have a very talented metalworker friend of mind build the frame. Dimensions are 30" height, 6'X3' table top. The metal frame will be built out of 1.5" aluminum stock, and will be hidden by a 1.5-inch "high", 1-inch "deep" wood border, that is 1" inset from the edge of the tabletop. The metal protrusions of the metal frame (not to scale in the frame drawing, which is of course upside down for illustrative purposes for my friend) are 8" long, so the frame is 9.5" total. Legs are 5"X5".
Legs, table top and "border" will be bolted to the metal frame. I'd like to keep all fasteners hidden, but that may have to change for the legs.
I have a couple of questions for you guys :
1. I've always wanted to build this out of sapele, and stain it almost black. But, recently, I've been considering using reclaimed wood from some barn around here. My wife and I will be posted this summer so I thought it'd be cool to have, as a memento, a table built of out old wood we got in SK - but most of the stuff here is Douglas Fir, and I'm afraid that won't stain or finish as well. Thoughts?
2. For the legs, one of the advantages of reclaimed barn wood is that I could get beams that are 6X6 and then just cut a little bit off of each edge to get something around 5X5 (I'd try to preserve the "old" look, so not cut too much). Anyhow - for sapele, anyone know if I can get a 5X5 solid block of it, or is it only in 4/4, 6/4 and so on boards?
3. Biggest question : if dealing with a solid block for the legs, how would you go about making the square indentation where the metal post will rest?
4. For either sapele or fir, would some lag bolts through the metal frame, screwed right into the wood, be sufficient for strength, or should I just go right through? (In the case of the latter, I'd probably just put the bolt head in a recessed hole, so it'd be flush.)
Thanks a lot, guys!
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