Kitchen Table - Project Complete (Pics)

[Don Abele]

Well, I didn't get to finish my router table this weekend due to an emergency at work (hopefully this week). But I did finally get the kitchen table done (I also reupholstered the chairs with marine-grade naugahyde).

About 2 years ago we bought this wrought iron table with a maple top. Through the actions of my two young ones we found out it wasn't solid maple as we were told, but 1/16 veneer. Needless to say, it was the discovery method that made it necessary to build a new top (major chip).

The table is 5/4 walnut wrapping a 1 inch laminated baltic birch plywood center that is top laminated with 1/4 inch curly maple. The maple was bookmatched from a single piece of 8/4 stock.

The table itself didn't take much to complete, it was the finishing that took a while (especially when I started to work on the router table at the same time). I started with 2 coats of Tung oil which popped the grain/figure nicely. Then I topped it using Tung/Poly (5 coats) and after final sanding, paste wax. Hopefully that finish will hold up to my children :p The LOL absolutely loves it but regrets it's our kitchen table and not the dining table (guess I'll be making another, larger one soon!).

Be well,

Doc

[Keith Christopher]

WOW that is beautious ! Excellent work !

[Jim Becker]

"Very curly", Doc! Nice job...I sure hope those little ones will someday appreciate their dad's awesome skill as a "timber artist"!!

[John Miliunas]

Very often, Mother Nature's artistry is truly amazing. Doc, you've taken that artistry, added your own and have come up with a beautiful piece to behold! :) Awesome. What more can one say? Awesome! :cool:

[Scott Parks]

Wow!!!!!!!

[Betsy Yocum]

nothing short of amazing Doc! That's table the kids will fight over one day (hopefully a very long long time from now!).

Great job!

Betsy

[Dick Parr]

WOW that looks great Don. You did a fantastic job.

[Mark Stutz]

Doc,
Did you use something on the back side of the plywood to make it a "core" or simply laminate the maple to the plywood? I have read various opinions about this...that it depends on the thickness of the top layer, etc. Are you woried about movement etc.? This is absolutely stunning. The combination of maple and walnut is one of my favorites.

[Don Abele]

Thank you to all for the wonderful comments. This is by far the best looking piece I've made thus far.

Mark, I did a lot of research into laminating and this is what I decided on. When I resawed and planed the curly maple, it came out to 1/4 inch. The walnut is 5/4 finished (started at 6/4 - I wanted it thicker but couldn't find a nice enough piece). Anyway, that left me with 1 inch. So I laminated 2 pieces of 1/2 inch baltic birch (at 90 degrees to each other). Then simply laminated the maple over this base. I used Unibond 800 and a vacuum press for all the laminations. Due to the thickness of the veneer I chose not to add another piece at the bottom.

Between this and the possibility of wood movement with the maple, I took some big chances - only time will tell, but personally I think it'll be fine.

Be well,

Doc

[Sam Chambers]

Don...

Outstanding work! I'm a sucker for figured wood, and that's some really beautiful maple.

[Roger Barga]

Two thumbs up on a beautiful piece of work.
roger

[Pat Monahan]

Don
Outstanding! If you can do that for a kitchen table, can't wait to see a dining table!:cool:

[Martin Lutz]

Nice job!! I love the contrast with the walnut and curly maple.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Doc, you did good on this one!!! The wrought iron base along with that stunning top make for one top notch piece. You should be very proud of yourself. And with a quarter inch of material, it's going to take the kids a few years before they reach the baltic birch :D Way to go!!!

[Kent Cori]

Great combination Doc. That curly maple grain really did pop! I know this will become a family heirloom.

[Shelley Bolster]

Words often seen inadequate to express my admiration for some of the work that you guys produce. Doc, all I can say is:

wow

[Donnie Raines]

Hey Don

Looking good my man....I like that a lot. Some really nice lumber, to!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Doc......I love that curly maple....showed that piece to the LOML....she drooled on the keyboard! Fantastic work!

[Steve Clardy]

Hey that's one fine looking table Don. A Big THUMBS UP here for you.
Steve

[Ted Shrader]

Doc -

Very nice work. We will be over tonight to give it a try! :)

Ted

[Charles Jackson III]

Nice work!

[Hans Braul]

Fantastic Don!

It really works beautifully. Did you resaw the maple yourself? Once laminated to the birch, how did you smooth it? Hand planes? Belt sander? Scrapers?

Thanks for showing

Hans

[Sammy Shuford]

VERY nice table, love the way the top came out!
Nice Job.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Moe! Larry! It's Curly maple! And curly it is.

Looks great!

-Jeff :)

[Don Abele]

Wow guys, thanks. Nice to see the table still getting compliments (as it still does in our house).

The table has held up very well to my three kids and the miter joints that I was worried about are still as tight as the day I finished it. As well as the joint between the maple/BB and the walnut.

I did resaw the maple myself just slightly over a 1/4" on my bandsaw with a 3/4" timberwolf blade. I then ran the pieces through my planer taking about 1/64 off - this caused a lot of chipping. Once I laminated the maple to the BB ply, I smooth the "up" face with a card scraper. It was a steep learning curve learning to put a burr on the scraper as well as using it. But nothing else would get the face smooth without chipping. The top came out glass smooth.

Thanks again for the compliments.

Be well,

Doc

[Eric Wong]

Well done!

[Roy Wall]

Don -

The table is truly spectacular - sorry I missed it way back!!:o

Do you know if the quarter inch veneer is about as "thick" as you can go and keep from getting any "creep" to expose the joint lines? Do you have any tips on this?

[Don Abele]

Roy, before I built this I asked A LOT of questions about veneering as this was my first project. I even built a complete vacuum press just for this project (all parts, including glue from joewoodworker).

The veneer is 1/8" not 1/4" - I resawed the maple to 1/4" then planed to 1/8". Here's the specifics.

I experimented with some regular maple and was able to resaw pieces as thin as 1/16". When I ran a small test piece with the curly maple, it tore out big time at 1/16". So I went up to 1/8" and still had problems with tear out. So up to 1/4" without any chips or tears while resawing.

I then ran it through my planer (with new knives and a 1" auxillary table that lets me plane as thin as I want). Even with VERY light passes and those new blades it was still a little rough. I pressed on and planed it down to 1/8" using 1/64" passes.

I then used blue painters tape to pull the joints together tight. I then flipped it over and opened the joints and applied unibond 800 veneer glue to the joints and flipped it over flat. I then quickly applied the veneer glue to the baltic birch substrate, put the veneer panel "sheet" on top and put it all in the vacuum bag and pressed it (I think for 6 hours). I squared the sheet up the next day. After I completed assembly I smoothed the entire surface with a card scraper and it came out as smooth as glass.

The general opinion was 1/8" was too thick and I was going to have problems. The most common thought was going to be creep as this is some serious cross-grain gluing and thick veneers. I think the unibond 800 glue, which is a urea resin glue, helped a lot as it creates a very rigid bond. Also, all surfaces of the project are completly sealed with poly, helping to minimie moisture content changes. There was also a lot of concern about the mitered corners on the walnut as well (I used poly glue for them).

As I said though, the joints on the table are absolutely tight with no visible movement what so ever. And to qualify this, the table was used in our breakfast nook in Virginia where it was abused daily by my 2 kids. It saw a lot of fluctuations in temp and humidity down there. I am now in Boston where I have converted it to an over-sized coffee table (replaced the wrought-iron base). So it sits in front of the fireplace (about 6 feet away) and gets abused by my 3 kids now (a 2 year old that loves to bang and jump on it). Still no problems. I have some of the same curly maple left over and plan on making some more table tops with it (same maple/walnut design). I will use the same construction method as this one has proven itself stable.

Be well,

Doc