Koa wood coffee table

[Matt Uchida]

I just finished a Koa wood coffee table. It was an odd shape of very curly koa wood that my uncle gave me. Took me a while to figure out what to do with it but I decided to get it resawed so I had two nice pieces. My dad used his biscut joiner and we got a surface. Next I used some scraps of monkey pod wood I had around from my last table project and made some legs. Unfortunately they are kind of narrow and thus not as stable as I wanted so we put on a plank of koa on the bottom to really widen the base.
Sanded the surface to either 1000 or 600 and finished with tru oil gunstock finish.
Overall the shapes are kind of funky with the feet, legs and top not really matching each other but I am rather pelased. It just seems to work. Enjoy the pictures.

http://usera.ImageCave.com/eyeeatingfish/woodwork/KoaTable1.JPG

http://usera.ImageCave.com/eyeeatingfish/woodwork/KoaTable2.JPG

http://usera.ImageCave.com/eyeeatingfish/woodwork/KoaTable3.JPG

[alex grams]

Very nice. I love working with koa. Any idea where/when your uncle got the koa? A piece like that would cost a pretty penny.

[Bill Wyko]

Very nice. Koa is one of my favorite woods.

[Matt Uchida]

Very nice. I love working with koa. Any idea where/when your uncle got the koa? A piece like that would cost a pretty penny.

It might have been from a cabinet maker if I remember correctly, basically scrap, just very very nice scrap.

I think he said it was $25 or so but yeah I agree it probably cost a pretty penny. If the table ever broke or something like that I would be sure to save the wood and make other things out of it.

[Jim Becker]

Very nice, Matt!

[Dave Anthony]

I like this a lot. I agree, it is kind of funky, but it works for me. A beautiful unique piece. I think I like it because it is more organic than most furniture - instead of forcing the wood into a rectilinear shape, you built a table using the existing shape, while adding symmetry via the resawing and glue up. Nice job.

[Thomas Canfield]

Very nice and you did a good job of utilizing the pieces of wood and keeping the natural form. That sure looks like a lot more than $25 worth of scrap based on what I have seen in Hawaii. Even the real scrap pieces with little figure and other defects sell for $2 a pound, and this spring lower quality Koa lumber was about $15 / bd ft.

[alex grams]

Thomas is right. I have been to the big island twice in the last several years, and a piece like that, I would expect to shell out at least 200-300$.

[Art Mulder]

I really like the colour.
The legs match the top quite nicely also.
I'm not much on natural-edge stuff, but I kind of like the shape.

I would have suggested trying for a thicker set of feet, they are quite thin and seem out of step with the rest. Got any thicker scraps laying around?

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Well done. I like the contemporary design.
-Jeff :)

[Matt Uchida]

The thin feet were a last minute addition because I realized that my 6 month old might tip it over on herself. I have some Koa scrap and some monkey pod scrap that I may be able to swap out later. The feet arent even finished with anythign so ill get around to it someday.