Black walnut stump coffee table - how to?

[Karl Stowe]

Hi all,

Looking to see what you all think would be a good way to level up this stump for a coffet table. It is about 4' diameter and I am hoping to have it finished to be 12" tall. In the end it will have a circular piece of glass above it to help protect the finish and keep people from falling on the small nipples protruding out that look like they could really hurt someone if hit just right. I am going to cut the roots to form the legs. I might cut the roots so that they form 3 legs so that it helps minimize how much I have to level. I am thinking of getting a hand held planer to get the bulk off and then finishing with a hand held belt sander. Will a 4' level work to get the top flat or do I need to set up some sort of jig? I think once the top is level I can work on making the bottom of the legs all the same height. Any and all ideas and help is very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Karl


PS. Yes, this is going to be rather heavy and need special ways to get the finished product in the house but who could resist throwing it out.:D Maybe the wife will let me rent a crane and come in through a hole in the roof. Or just get a lot of beer and a few buddies.:D

[Justin Freund]

I'd build a big router sled. Make it the fit over the stump and level that up, then trim the stump level.

[Lee Koepke]

I got no suggestions, but will say that is COOL! My wifey wouldnt let me put that in our living room "thats what your basement is for".

The router sled sounds like it will work. It may take awhile though.

[Bob Riefer]

I agree with the router sled idea. Slice a piece off with a chain saw so you can work with it.

[alex grams]

router sled gets my vote... and maybe it is just me, but early in the morning that thing made me think of a giant chocolate donut...

[Guy Mathews]

Find someone in your area with a CNC machine that has at least 15 inches of Z height and a 5 by 10 working area. Then they can run a pocketing program and level one side. Flip the piece over and set the height. The couple hundred dollars you pay them may beat the cost and time of making a router sled. If not, the router sled is a great idea and is nothing less then a CNC machine that you operate manually instead of with a computer.

Please post pics when finished!!!!!

[Brian Kent]

One word - Dremel!

[Brett Baldwin]

I'm with the majority here. A simple router sled set up as a bridge over the trunk, then a lazy susan turntable under the trunk. Shim it on the turn table so you have to cut away the least amount of material possible. Once you've flattened one side, flip it over and you can easily set the thickness with the same setup.

[David Gendron]

I think, and this is just my thoughts, you could do realy well with a chainsaw mill, and then you only have to joint and smooth the surface for finish!!

[Henry Ambrose]

I just did a stump like that for a neighbor. I cut it with my chainsaw mill to level off the ragged cuts on the bottom, flipped it over and cut across the top. The saw grabbed a little and jerked the stump so I ended up having to remove more with the router sled than I would have liked. It took a while even with a 1.75" bit.

I used the guide board for the mill laid across two square blocks all on top of a sheet of plywood. That part worked pretty well but be sure to screw some blocks into the plywood around the base of the stump to keep it from moving.

My router sled is cobbled together from scrap 2x4s. I did joint them to get them straight. Its accurate enough for slabs and such. Cost was zero for the sled but the bit was about $50.00

[Joe Jensen]

In our 8th grade wood shop class (in 1976) the shop teach got a pile of stump slices from a large walnut tree. Each slice was about 4" thick and 15-20" in diameter. We made small stools with the slice as the top. Each slice developed one or two large cracks as they dried. Each crack was like taking a slice out of a pie. I think the crack in mine was about 1" wide at the outside down to 0" at the center. With the center missing from yours, there is a good chance it won't crack like that.

Our shop teacher was having student level their slabs with a belt sander. I got permission to take mine home and my dada and I made a simple router sled. Maybe 20 min to design the sled and another 20 min for a nice finish. The next day the shop teach was amazed and I ended up helping everyone else router sled theirs :cool:

If you think it might crack, I know you can soak green wood in PEG (poly etheline Glycol I think) and it somehow stablizes the wood and prevents cracks. I'm not a wood turner, but I think this is how they prevent cracks in turned vessels from green wood.

[Karl Stowe]

Thanks all for responding. I think I will go the router table set up but I just need to figure out how to make the sled. The stump is fresh, so should I wait for a while to cut the top flat? In the mean time I was going to anchorseal the top and root areas I cut with the chainsaw. I might be able to do the lazy susan idea with a couple palets, plywood, swivel casters, and a metal pole in the middle with steel plates on top of the poles.

Henry, do you have any pictures of your set up? I am not sure of anyone who has a chainsaw mill. A lucas mill with the slabing attachment would be very nice. I wonder if the misses would let me get an early christmas present for myself?:D

I might stop by the Tool Outlet in Atascadero, CA this weekend when I am at the in laws. I could probibly get a good router bit and some other items when there. Sure the wife will be mad I am spending money but who out there has a coffe table that makes people think of giant chocolate donuts.:cool::cool:

Thanks,
Karl Stowe

[george wilson]

Where is the rest of the log? That wood has great mineral streaking,and would make really nice lumber.

[Prashun Patel]

That wood is fantastic. Unsolicited design advice:

Too nice to 'waste' on a single table.
I'd probably slice off 2x2" slabs off the top, let 'em dry (with sealer), joint an edge on one side of each, and then book match them. If you're 'lucky' to get any minor checks or cracks, I'd dutchman them.

Then I'd either routersled it or take it to a commercial shop and have them plane it.

[Karl Stowe]

The rest of the log is at the mill. It is about 39"+ diameter. I wish I had got more pictures of the tree and the 3 other trees we took down that day. I would slab the stump but the tap root of the tree rotted out so much that the cone gets a lot bigger just a few inches in. Plus I dont know of anyone in the area that can slab a 4' to 5' diameter stump.

Thanks,
Karl

[Brian Kincaid]

Shouldn't this be in the turning forum? Chuck it up and go to town! :eek:
:D

The router sled idea sounds promising. Since it's endgrain it will be quite a challenge for the bit. If it were me I'd use two of my ez smart rails in parallelwith my router running on the rails. Probably take off no more than 1/16 per pass.

-Brian

[Matt Day]

If the stump is still fresh, I wonder if you should seal the ends with AnchorSeal and let it sit for a while? More experienced turners would be able to chime in.

I like the lazy susan idea with a router on top. That way all you need to do is spin the stump a full turn, and move your router inward after each turn. 1D is easier than 2D.

[Prashun Patel]

Re: lazy susan:Unless you take extremely shallow passes, you have to be careful that the bit doesn't grab the disc and spin it out of control. That's more of an issue with edge-trimming a circle, though.

[Roger Bullock]

You seem a little puzzled about the router sled idea. Here is my suggestion on how to make one. Level the stump as best as you can and then build a box around the stump, make the height about the height of the final finished height of the stump. To make the sled, take two boards a little wider than half the distance from the center of the bit to the outside of the router. Add a spacer on each end between these boards, making sure the gap is just a little over the bid diameter. Add guide rails for the side of the router to ride against. To use, set the sled across the outside box, set the depth of your router bit and start cutting away.

I had an old maple butcher block that had set for years in an old barn and I used this method to flatten the top. One additional thing that I did that might help you was this. I found it hard to keep making straight cuts one after another so I drilled a hole in the end spacer centered with the bit. I also drilled holes along the two opposite sides of the box frame just slightly under the diameter of the bit. This allowed me to drop a nail through the sled into the index holes on the box frame, make a cut, index to the next set of holes and make my next cut. This way I was cutting the maximum amount with each pass. Hope this helps. Take photos of your setup and show us how you completed your project.

[Mike Cruz]

Since you want it to be about 12" tall and it looks like you have about 2 feet there, please please please cut it in half and give me the other half!!!!!! Awe man, that is beautiful. I love that sort of thing, and walnut is my favorite wood. I made a coaster rack from a laurel root ball that looks just like that but lighter, and well, a LOT smaller. Fantastic. You have a great wife, too, that will let you have that in the house 40 years after it would have been cool by the general public to have one.