Sofa Table - Curly Maple and Apple

[John Michaels]

Just finished this table. The base is curly western maple and the top is apple. Critiques welcome.

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[Keith Starosta]

John, that is really beautiful!! I love the live edge on the front apron. Looks great!

- Keith

[G Douglas Fowler]

Hi John. The figure and finish in the apply top is very attractive. I do however, have a problem with the proportions and the overall balance. To me, the top seems to over-power the rest of the structure and I think this could have been mitigated by a thinner top, adding some taper to the legs and a slightly deeper apron which would accentuate the live edge. Adding stretchers would also provide more balance. Of course, like everything else in life, it is all in the eye of the beholder.
Doug

[Mark Valsi]

Very nice, I agree with C Douglas somewhat, but the wood you chose is outstanding !!

[Prashun Patel]

John-
I really like this. Very well done. That's a great apron and yr finish is the kind I really love. I echo Doug's comments (FWIW), but I'd still be proud to have this in my home.

[Ted Calver]

I love it! That's some beautiful wood, top and bottom.

[Barry Richardson]

Im not much of a commenter here, but contrary to some comments above.. I feel your piece is pretty well balanced design wise. I think the flare on your legs works much better that a taper would, and counter balances the thick top. Overall, a good balance between rustic and refined. and of course the wood is fantastic!

[Paul Saffold]

Very nice, John. Beautiful woods. I didn't know apple boards could be that large. What are the dimensions? What did you use for a finish?
Paul

[John Michaels]

Very nice, John. Beautiful woods. I didn't know apple boards could be that large. What are the dimensions? What did you use for a finish?
Paul

The apple slabs I picked up were 24 inches wide, 5 or 6 feet long, and 2 inches thick. They came from an old apple orchard north of Seattle. For finish I'm using Minwax wipe on poly (oil based). By the time I leveled the slab and trimmed up the piece for the top, its about 40 inches long and 14 inches wide.

As others have stated, the dimensions/proportions are a little different on this table. Part of this was the fact that apple really likes to warp, so I wanted to keep it as thick (its about 1 3/8") as possible for the top. The other is I wanted to use up the curly maple I've had laying around. So I kind of went with what I had.

[Jeff Monson]

Very nice John, I really like the top and the live edge apron. Very unique and very nice!!

[Tony Shea]

My only complaint is that I don't have any of that Apple in my shop. I just am in awe of that peice of Apple you have aquired. It is hands down my favorite wood to work with with Pear in a close second. But I seem to be able to find Pear much easier than apple, and certainly have never dealt with a slab of that size. Great project.

[Hans Braul]

This is a really, really interesting piece. The beauty of it is that everyone looking at it can see possibilities that are somewhat different than what you've chosen. Far from being a negative, I think it's a huge positive. Wonderful work. And I'm also jealous that I don't have a pile of that apple in my shop!

[John Michaels]

I was originally planning to sell this table at an art gallery, but after moving it into my living room, I've decided not to sell it. The man with the small sawmill that I bought the apple from told me that the variety of apple tree they are planting these days is much smaller and coming across slabs this big in the future will be hard to do. He has three or four more slabs left that he wants to sell to me, so needless to say, I'm buying them! Especially at a $1.50 per board foot.

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[Todd Burch]

Hi John. I love the coloring, and I think the proportions are well enough. However, you did assemble this table with the legs upside down! LOL

Todd (NOT a fan of bell bottom legs - can you tell?)

[Tony Shea]

Im so jealous. Almost worth the trip out to Seatle from Maine to get me one or all of those slabs. If you have any trouble deciding what to do with this apple, i'll gladly take it off your hands.

On the real, congratulations on such a great find in wood.


I was originally planning to sell this table at an art gallery, but after moving it into my living room, I've decided not to sell it. The man with the small sawmill that I bought the apple from told me that the variety of apple tree they are planting these days is much smaller and coming across slabs this big in the future will be hard to do. He has three or four more slabs left that he wants to sell to me, so needless to say, I'm buying them! Especially at a $1.50 per board foot.

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[Seth Poorman]

Wood is outstanding ! Proportions are good for this Japanese style ! Overall I give you a A+ !!
Well Executed !!!