Wood species for round coffee table

[julian abram]

Hey fellows, I was wondering what species of wood you would recommend for the construction of this round pedestal coffee table. This is a honey-do for the wife, I was planning to construct it from some 4/4 or 5/4 red oak until I found out she wanted a cream colored paint finish. I hate to see my red oak painted plus dealing with the large pores. What species would you recommend for a paint finish? I would like a solid wood top so I can rout the edge, also think I'll make my first try at bent laminations for the apron. What species would you use for laminating the apron? thanks-

[Rod Sheridan]

Julian, for paint grade work, I'd suggest poplar............Regards, Rod.

[Jim Rimmer]

Julian, for paint grade work, I'd suggest poplar............Regards, Rod.

+1 for Poplar

[Jerome Hanby]

Julian, for paint grade work, I'd suggest poplar............Regards, Rod.

Took the words out of my mouth, poplar (or whatever the lumber yard has on sale cheaper).

[William Hamilton]

Ditto on poplar.. not too expensive and not too soft

[glenn bradley]

+1 Poplar. Accepts paint very well. Zinsser B.I.N. covers any color variations as a primer. I imagine any quality primer would do as well.

[Paul McGaha]

I like poplar for painted pieces.

[shane lyall]

+1 on the poplar. Maple also takes paint well and is a little harder in most cases. As for the laminations, I am doing a coat rack in red oak and it's going well so far. Keep the strip thin but most of all keep them consistant and you should do ok

[david brum]

Poplar for sure. I also did a painted table very similar to that one using soft maple. It's a bit harder and paints beautifully. It's cheap in my neighborhood.

[scott vroom]

My first choice would be hard maple; paints beautifully and is >2x the hardness of poplar. I have no experience with bending laminated boards.

[Van Huskey]

I would consider maple just because of it hardness and the way it accepts paint.

I will say that design just begs for marquetry! As soon as I saw the design that's all I could think about.

[Steve Schoene]

I'd bet 99% of those tables made in their period were made of oak, mostly white oak. If she wants the look of an old table, then you could use oak, paint it with a paint that would not fill the pores and let the surface indicate the wood grain underneath. Oak is only a little more than poplar in most areas I'd bet. (PS, I would use a couple of coats of shellac, like Seal Coat before priming and painting. That way, if someone ever wanted to strip it back to oak, they could get the color out of the pores.)

[ken gibbs]

Why not get a new wife? You need a wife that understands and respects how beautiful solid wood furniture is with out screwing it up with painting over it. Wives can come and go, but beautiful furinture is a keepsake.

[bill schmoott]

Paint over wood????? Blasphemy! But if it had to be done, I would still make it out of oak.

[julian abram]

Guys, thanks for all the suggestions on the table. Looks like Poplar is the leading suggestion so I'll probably go with it, poplar is fairly easy for me to purchase locally, maple not so much. I may prime and paint a piece oak stock and see what she thinks about the open grain look. As far as just getting a new wife, I'm like most of you, wouldn't look forward to breaking in a new one after 30 years training this one. I think an interior decorator friend messed the wife's mind up during a visit back before Christmas. The decorator told her we had too much "wood grain" furniture and needed to mix up the decor with some "colored" pieces. I've told the wife not to invite that lady back!

[Dick Strauss]

Julian,
Before you get too far into this project try out a poplar board...sand it, finish it, and then write on it or do what you'd normally do with the table top (worst case scenario).

The point folks were trying to make is that poplar will dent. Poplar has a Janka hardness (dent/scratch resistance) of 540 while hard maple has a hardness of 1450. This makes poplar somehwat less desirable for a table top that will actually be used (especially one that will be used will ball point pens etc). For cabinet sides that don't see that kind of use, I'd suggest poplar but not for a table top! Maple is a better choice for table tops IMO.

[Scott Vigder]

The only choice is obvious: coffee and TEAk

[julian abram]

Julian,
Before you get too far into this project try out a poplar board...sand it, finish it, and then write on it or do what you'd normally do with the table top (worst case scenario).

The point folks were trying to make is that poplar will dent. Poplar has a Janka hardness (dent/scratch resistance) of 540 while hard maple has a hardness of 1450. This makes poplar somehwat less desirable for a table top that will actually be used (especially one that will be used will ball point pens etc). For cabinet sides that don't see that kind of use, I'd suggest poplar but not for a table top! Maple is a better choice for table tops IMO.


Dick, that's I good suggestion, I'll give it a try. I really did not realize that Maple was that much harder than Poplar. Again thanks-

[Tony Bilello]

I would make the whole thing from hard maple. A slightly marred or dented table top with a natural finish dont look too bad. A table top that is painted would not look good with dents. Poplar is way too soft.
If cost is an issue, I would make the top from hard maple and the apron and legs from poplar. Your eye wont pick up defects on the legs as much as it would the top.