Heart pine table legs

[Jim Underwood]

I turned these legs (twice) for a table we're building at work. They are made from reclaimed heart pine. It is horrible stuff to work with, I tell you! It tears out, splits, gums up sandpaper (and sinuses), and dulls tools. Last but not least, it stinks up the shop...
But it sure looks pretty when you're done!
I had to fill cracks in these after a couple of days and re-turn, and seal them before they turned into piles of splinters.


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[Allan Ferguson]

It sounds like one tough project. Like to see them with finish.

[Dick Mahany]

You did a great job on those. I have turned only a little pine, enough to say no more!

BTW, looking at the first pic, are you sure that you have enough chucks :cool: ?

[Jim Underwood]

No. I don't have enough chucks. I need one for every set of jaws... Wanna give me a couple more?
:D

[Jim Underwood]

It sounds like one tough project. Like to see them with finish.

I'll try to get a shot of the finished table, or even the work in progress. I'm only responsible for the turning part, but I can get pix of the WIP.

[charlie knighton]

pretty stuff, sounds like a nightmare

[Bernie Weishapl]

Nicely done Jim but sounds like it was a real pain.

[Michelle Rich]

thanks for sharing the spindle work..we see very little of it, so it's great to see. that's going to be a sturdy table.

[Jim Underwood]

Michelle, speaking of "sturdy", the original table that we're duplicating had 5" x 5" x 28-14" legs... but we could only get so much out of that old octagonal column. We just barely had enough to make these four legs.

[Jim Underwood]

Here are more WIP pix. The legs have been sealed to prevent more cracking. Also sanding and sealing the top for the same reason. Wanted to breadboard the ends but customer didn't want to spend that much. Luckily this is mostly qtr sawn, so it shouldn't move so much.

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[Mike Peace]

Nice job on the spindles. I did some table legs for a guy awhile back and was surprised at how much more effort was involved in big spindles compared to the smaller stuff I typically turn.

[Jamie Donaldson]

Jim, was this seasoned or salvaged heart pine? I don't know if he's still in business, but there was a Goodwin sawmill on US 441 between Gainesville and Micanopy FL and he specialized in salvaged heart pine. I was always astonished at the size of the logs he would retrieve from local rivers, and some had been buried for a 100 yrs. yet looked like fresh cut. The aroma of worked pine is among my all time favorite shop related smells!

[Richard Jones]

I feel your pain, Jim. Used to build a ton of furniture from heart pine, as a mill was just up the road. He salvaged most of it from old warehouses up north. Had a 12' resaw in a pit, kept one man there with a big kerosene swab to clean the blade. Used a Newman 501 (Newman Machine Co., Greensboro, NC) that would dress both faces and T&G in one pass. It must have been 40' long. Local fire dept. would get called out about every other week. They were a bit late once and I don't think there was enough water in the entire county to put out the fire. Sad for us wood freaks....

I still have a good supply of 5/4 and some 12/4 in the top of my shed.

Nice looking stuff, I know your client will love it.

Thanks for sharing and for conjuring up some memories.

[Jim Underwood]

Richard,
I kept my respirator on the whole time I was working on these legs, and still had a little congestion when I was done. And now my whole shop has a fine layer of chips and sanding dust from the heart pine. I'm afraid of what would happen if a spark set this junk off! :eek:

I think I need to get in there this weekend with my respirator and a leaf blower... :cool:

[Jim Underwood]

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Here are a few progress pix. The guy building this has made a lot of furniture over the years and far surpasses me in skill. He wanted to use m/t joints and bread board the ends, but the customer wouldn't want to pay for it. So pocket screws and mostly slab top will have to do.


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