Prepping old heart pine for table top

[Jim Hunt]

I got a good deal on some 100 year old 2x8 heart pine lumber. They are a full 2". I want to make a dining table top out of them and have a few questions. I have built a few basic things with pine boards from HD, but I would consider this to be my first "real" woodworking project. Most of the work will be getting the top like I want it, as of right now I am planning to use metal legs/base to give it a bit of modern industrial look. 1. what would you do to assure you have all of the nails out before you put it through your planer? I don't have a planer but am going to invest in one for this project - and to have for future projects. 2. What is the ideal thickness of the top? would you consider having them re-sawn (in half) to make them closer to a 1x8? I don't have the tools to do this myself but can have it done for about $40. I'm just worried that by the time I joint and plane them, that it might be too thin but also don't want the table to be any heavier than it needs to be, also don't want to waste any more of each board than needed. Any thoughts/advice is much appreciated.

[Jim Becker]

Any time you're working with recycled material, it's very important to use a metal detector to, well...detect...any metal in the material and then remove it before you go further. Metal in the wood can at best, damage a machine and at worse, cause serious injury to the woodworker. There are relatively inexpensive metal detectors available, such as the "Little Wizard" that I use for this purpose. This $25 tool can be invaluable to have around. While not as powerful as a more industrial unit from Garrett, etc., it does the job well within its material thickness limitations. (read from both sides to help with that)

I'm personally in favor of thicker table tops, so only taking off what you need to is good. You do really need to face joint the boards flat before you thickness or your assembly will be a real bear to get it flat. Even so, a large glue-up like that takes some care and consideration so you have enough clamps to do the job and (preferably) cauls to keep it flat.

BTW, that old heart pine may have a lot of resin in it, so be prepared to carefully monitor your dust collection system to avoid clogs...the chips and shavings that come off it can tend to be "fluffy", sticky and longer which makes them more prone to clogging if you don't have enough air flow to keep them moving along.

[Jim Morgan]

1. To spot embedded nails, etc., use a metal detector like this.

2. Even assuming minimal waste from resawing, it is likely that at least some of the resulting boards will cup (due to release of internal tensions), requiring further planing. You would be lucky to end up with material as thick as 3/4", which IMO is too thin for a dining table. I would just go with what you have. 100-year-old pine will be thoroughly dry and so not too heavy. It looks like you have at least five lengths, which joined edge to edge would give you a surface ~40" wide, a reasonable width for a dining table. It you are concerned with the table top looking too heavy, you can thin the edge, cutting a chamfer or cove from the bottom.

[Jim Hunt]

Great Info. Thanks for your time!

[marty fretheim]

You've already gotten some good advice above. All I can add is for large boards like that you'll need a jointer, planer and a big sander for best results. I can't tell how flat and straight those boards are but when I use 8/4 lumber at those lengths a final thickness of 1 3/4" is doing pretty good. If they are bowed and cupped you might end up with 1". Maybe a local lumber yard could mill them for you. Then take them home and glue it up. One of the yards around here has a wide belt sander you can rent out. That would be a good option for you if available.

Edit to add: If you live near Denver and can prove them to be nail free, I could mill them for you.

[Steve Jenkins]

If you post your general location you may find someone to help with jointing. I know I enjoy helping others.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

yes, post your location.... Maybe someone can help with some of this initial prep.

Don't forget that you will want to "joint" one side flat before you use the planer, otherwise, the planer will simply follow the curves in the wood rather than making a nice rectangle.

[Prashun Patel]

I would consider skip planing them by hand or machine and joining the boards with battens along the bottom, keeping the pieces separate and not jointed.

I would not resaw them; I suspect the risk of cupping and warping to be high.

[Mitchell Ristine]

I have had luck at local (MPLS, MN) cabinet shops for belt sanding. $20 for a dozen passes through a timesaver.

[Jim Hunt]

Thanks so much to all who have taken time to reply. I am just north of Atlanta, in Marietta.

There is a place close by that I believe would joint, plane, etc. for a small fee, but I am a little hesitant as I would like to do as much on my own as possible.

My plan was to use a jig to face joint them with a planer (which I plan to invest in) and then use another jig and my table saw to joint the edges.

Assuming I detect and remove all the nails, does this seem reasonable? I am looking for a learning experience and to also end up with something usable (even if not perfect).

Thanks!

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Thanks so much to all who have taken time to reply. I am just north of Atlanta, in Marietta.

There is a place close by that I believe would joint, plane, etc. for a small fee, but I am a little hesitant as I would like to do as much on my own as possible.

My plan was to use a jig to face joint them with a planer (which I plan to invest in) and then use another jig and my table saw to joint the edges.

Assuming I detect and remove all the nails, does this seem reasonable? I am looking for a learning experience and to also end up with something usable (even if not perfect).

Thanks!

I made a planer sled to do exactly this sort of thing. I made a "simple" sled in that it consists of nothing more than melamine with a lip screwed onto the front. remember that the planer "pulls" the wood in, so you want the ridge on the front so that the wood is not simply pulled off the sled, that would be bad.

I place my board onto the sled then I shim it so that the planer rollers cannot flatten out any warps or other deformations.

I did this for a friend, and based on the work involved, he immediately procured a jointer because the sled is so much more work than simply running it over a jointer. I still use my sled.