Slab table jointing help

[Prashun Patel]

I am making a dining room table from two slabs. These are 110" long. Lacking a straight edge that long, I made one long enough to cut with my circular saw, reasonably straight. I am trying to joint the edge now by hand. I'm using a Veritas BU jointer with an edge guide. It's made getting the edges square easy. However, there is a 1/16" gap in the middle of the table (where that sap wood appears).

What is the best method for removing this gap? I was planning to make a series of strokes from each end of one board, making them increasingly longer until I reach the middle. Test. Repeat.

How would you do it? I'm nervous about messing up the whole edge and then having to re-rip and risk losing more width...

[Sean Hughto]

Some thoughts: Get yourself a sheet of 1/8th inch rubber sheet from the plumbing department and slice it into pieces to cushion your clamps to keep from marring those natural edges when you glue it up. If you clamp in the middle across the gap, can you close it? How thick are these boards? Can you fashion a straight edge at least 6 feet long from another board? I'd rely on as long a straight edge as I could muster and plane as you say - more at the ends and then working towards a final full length stroke. If it still didn't fit you need to remove high spots by spot planning them along the length. scribbling a pencil on the shop made wood straight edge, might help reveal high spot if you rub and run it along. As in all joint making keep the show face in mind. In other words, given a choice of having a few thousandths gap on the top or bottom, make it the bottom.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, Sean. These are about 1 3/4" thick. I doubt I'll be able to spring that joint into submission. I may use draw bolts in lieu of clamps. I might not even use glue. Should my neighbor (that's who it's for) want to move, it might make it easier.

What would a shorter (say 6') straight edge do for me?

[Sean Hughto]

What would a shorter (say 6') straight edge do for me?

You are using a plane that is less than 2 feet long and running it over 9 feet. Your jointer therefore has plenty of runway to behave like a smoother. That sole does not remember the first three feet when it is in the middle of the next three feet. A six foot straight edge seems makeable on you table saw - checked on the saw top or your bench if that's nice and flat. Then you can span at least two-third of the joint and get some useful reading as you spot plane to get things into a straight line.

[Brian Holcombe]

I would leave an 1/8" gap between the slabs, makes life a bit easier in the way of expansion, because you're working with the expansion of two separate boards from that of one very wide board. You can fix them in the center and allow them to expand outward in the same manner as what would be done.

That being said, if you want to joint these I would recommend getting a precision ground straight edge longer than the boards (i have one that's 8' for this sort of project).

[Sean Hughto]

No offense, Brian, but if this is to be a dining table, and 1/8th inch gap down the middle is sort of a pain in use. A difficult to clean ditch catching crumbs and crud or letting it fall through.

[David Weaver]

Set a jointer plane to get an even cut and joint a pass or two on the ends of the boards (not the middle), check progress. it should narrow significantly.

Since the joint is practically finished, the last thing you want to do is favor the cut to the left or the right, but what you have to do is fairly easy aside from handling large boards.

You don't have much wood to remove. Take a look at it where you stand right now, and figure maybe planing one stroke a foot to the ends of the boards and another stroke two feet. Do it on every end and check progress. You won't have to do it many times for the joint to fit.

(edit - upon looking at the picture, it appears that the gap is only at the sap wood and most of the length of the table is fine. Still, what you need to do is the same, just along whatever length of wood needs to be removed, and if less needs to be removed in the middle, then do a little more work on the ends. If you're concerned about the joint becoming uneven, leave one of the boards in your vise so that you can lay one board on top of the other as you go along to test the fit (if you get out of whack, a short straight edge won't lay straight across the boards when you put one on top of the other).

[Prashun Patel]

Awesome tips, guys. ThAnks. Sean, duh. I should have realized what u meant. Check te edge against a longer straigt reference. Of course.

[Brian Holcombe]

No offense, Brian, but if this is to be a dining table, and 1/8th inch gap down the middle is sort of a pain in use. A difficult to clean ditch catching crumbs and crud or letting it fall through.

None taken, however, splitting the top is typical for slab dining tables.

I build a slab dining table earlier this year with a split top, if there is any issue with it hampering the use I'd have found out about it by now.

Almost all of Nakashima's bookmatched dining tables are made in this manner, some have been in use for nearly 65 years.

[Sean Hughto]

I've never tried a split top. But I have wiped down a lot tables ...:D

[Brian Holcombe]

Have you considered hiring someone to wipe your tables for you? It may alleviate your concerns to have some experienced hands on the job.

[Brian Holcombe]

I know you are using a fence, but have you checked the center for squareness? You may be going out of square as you walk down the board.

[Sean Hughto]

Yeah, perhaps when I win the lottery. Till then I guess I'll just be deprived of the split top pleasure owing to my inept crumb gathering.

More seriously perhaps - I'm odd in my design sense I suppose. I tend to foego interesting elements from an aesthetic angle if I think they will make a piece of furniture less pleasant to use for its intended purpose. Most, no doubt, value the more dramatic or pretty even if it might mean minor compromises in use. It's a quirk of mine, and just a taste thing really, not something for which there is an objective better and worse.

[Richard Line]

First off, I have never tried to joint anything even close to this length. However, I would probably try to joint both of them while they are clamped together. Not exactly edge jointing, being 3 1/2 in. wide, and it may not end up straight. But with reasonable care they should make a near perfect match when put together.

[Brian Holcombe]

Everything is to some degree, frivolous and for aesthetic purpose. However, the split top has a functional purpose with regard to large slab tables, cutting the movement you have to contend with in half, in addition to other positive aspects of splitting the top.

I really dont think everything needs to become a point of contention, it is a suggestion which is viable and used by makers who produce a great number of very nicely built slab tables. It's out there for Prashun to consider, and that was my purpose in mentioning it.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Prashun

What a beautiful tabletop that is going to make!

I can only echo the advice so far. The gap looks larger than it is simply because it is doubled when you slide the two pieces together. Obviously the ends of the boards need to be taken down first, before one long, full shaving is taken from the length. Check this with a straight edge.

The hard bit is determing where you start/end the end cuts. I would mark the carefully, not plane in the general area. Take a very fine shaving when doing this - better that you take more shavings to get to the desired level than drop further than you wanted.

Don't you wish you had my 36" jointer now! :) You are welcome to come over and borrow it!

The thickness of the timber is my concern. It will move if not dry. The joint may open. I would be ensuring that the support for the top allows movement from the centre to the sides. What plans have you made?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Dave Beauchesne]

Prashun: I am in the process of making a new workbench - a process I started over 2 years ago ( I had a mysterious virus that floored me for about 2 years, but back to about 90% ). Before I got sick, I had a couple of slabs of nice alder that I let acclimate in my shop for a couple years. They were 11.5'' x 80'' x 16/4. I had jointed them with my LN 7-1/4 and they were by far the largest thing I ever tackled. My SIL helped in the final fit ( lifting / flipping etc - they are heavy enough ) , but I had about a 1/16' gap in the centre when I was done - I did a dry clamp ( Besseys and cauls ) and the spring joint was perfect, so I glued them up, let it cure for a couple weeks, smoothed the bottom then the top. It has sat in my shop on its side for 2 years now, but it is ready to proceed. My point is, I don't know why you can't do a spring joint on your table top - isn't a properly executed spring joint a good thing? Just my 2 cents - Good luck in whatever you do - beautiful wood and job so far, by the way - - - - - Dave B

[Christopher Charles]

Thinking outside the box here, is there any reason to try an maintain a perfectly straight joint?

As long as the edges remain at 90 deg to the top to maintain glue surface, why not plane the right side to match the left (for instance). Mark the fat sides on the right with a pencil, plane, test, repeat. This may be easier across the long distance than trying for two perfectly straight lines. Krenov describes a similar, much more curved joint in the top of a writing desk in one of his books but don't recall which one.

Regardless, looking great and looking forward to seeing the outcome.

Cheers,
C

[Frank Martin]

I had to do something similar when I was building my table top. Long story… What I did was to use a track saw (in my case Festool) and then clean up using a jointer plane. After the track saw really did not need much of a clean up, but the Veritas BU Jointer made it perfect. Did not take much time at all.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks for all the advice so far. My neighbor wants them glued, so glued they shall be. Brian, FWIW, I like your idea and were this my own table, I'd do it that way.

Also, Derek, the pedestal legs will be steel. I purchased them from a fabricator.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Just adding to what others said, I would dovetail key the joint in at least three places to keep it from splitting with age. Make the dovetails contrasting rather than trying to hide them.

[Ted Calver]

Would this work? Clamp a straight edge on top, separate the pieces by +/- 1/2" with bottom tacked cleats and then run a top bearing router trim bit between them?

[Steve Friedman]

Others with much more experience and knowledge than me, but I recall seeing a video (can't find it or I would have provided the link) where someone used a track saw to edge joint two boards. If I recall, they put the two boards next to each other just as they would be when finished. Then, they used the track saw to cut both pieces at once. Since it was a single kerf, the two edges had to match.

Steve

Edit to add:

Found the link to the tracksaw edge jointing technique.

http://legacy.woodshopdemos.com/fes-53.htm

[Kent A Bathurst]

Would this work? Clamp a straight edge on top, separate the pieces by +/- 1/2" with bottom tacked cleats and then run a top bearing router trim bit between them?

That is what I was going to suggest - run a router down that joint, cleaning up both sides at the same time. Get them aligned and clamped and go for it.

[Daniel Hartmann]

I do a lot of work with slabs. I usually just use a jack plane to get it close then finish with a #8 jointer. I've built tables from two pieces both ways, glued and with a gap. I like the gap. It emphasizes the fact the table is just two boards and I think that's special. It also let's me route a sliding dovetail cleat and slide the two halves onto the base that way. Keeps it flat over time and allows for wood movement. I just finished a slab table.

[Brian Holcombe]

Nice work Daniel! I am glad to see someone else crazy enough to use sliding dovetail battens.

[Pat Barry]

Thanks, Sean. These are about 1 3/4" thick. I doubt I'll be able to spring that joint into submission.
Even if you did those would come apart the first chance they got due to expansion / contraction. I like the router idea but I would suggest that you do what yo tell others to do in these situations. Find someone with an industrial edge jointer - a monster big one - and have them clean up these two edges for you. They'll get it done right with minimum material loss. It would be a shame to lose that pretty grain match with the creep up planing approach IMO.

[David Weaver]

Find someone with an industrial edge jointer - a monster big one - and have them clean up these two edges for you. They'll get it done right with minimum material loss. It would be a shame to lose that pretty grain match with the creep up planing approach IMO.

If you get the sense that using a power jointer would remove less wood than planing this to a flush fit, you probably should save your suggestions for the power tool section.

[Pat Barry]

If you get the sense that using a power jointer would remove less wood than planing this to a flush fit, you probably should save your suggestions for the power tool section.
The question he asked was: "What is the best method for removing this gap? I was planning to make a series of strokes from each end of one board, making them increasingly longer until I reach the middle. Test. Repeat.

How would you do it? I'm nervous about messing up the whole edge and then having to re-rip and risk losing more width..."

Why don't you just let it be?

[Wilson Williams II]

300423I think Ted Calver has an easy fix if you dont have a large joiner. I use 2x3 aluminum square tubing for jobs like this. I use a bearing bit, measure from bit to edge of router plate, set your "straight" fence, and route away. I'd do in a few passes so not to bite off to much and chatter. Breathe, and stay steady, let tool do work. Ive had awesome results with domino 700, and I use the west systems adhesive epoxy in a tube, does mixing for you in nozzle, love it. I did a rosewood headboard like this, will add pic.

[David Weaver]

The experienced posters on this thread have already stated what prashun should do, and that it's actually a low risk activity. The most difficult part of this whole exchange is going to be getting these boards into a bench vise or attached to something that allows you to plane them (which prashun has clearly already done). The difficult part for someone who hasn't done this joint before is squareness, but that's also covered - prashun has good squareness.

*I have planed several joints like this before*, as have other people on this thread. that is why I said that what's left is generally the easy part. I think if you want to suggest people should use power tools to do a joint because you don't think that you could do the joint by hand, you should defer to people who have done these types of joints.

FTR, the joints that I have had to do over 4 feet long (I suppose the longest countertops I ever glued together were probably about 8, and made of 8/4 soft maple glued on edge), I have never wasted any significant amount doing them. I don't see any reason prashun would, either. I can't actually remember any joint that I ever jointed that didn't come out fairly well (i've certainly never had any fail at a glue line or left gaps).

It is a good chance to develop a skill that is very useful (being able to work a joint on something that is not convenient to haul around or hoist up onto someone else's jointer), and hauling it to someone else to work on (which will take longer than just doing it) is not going to teach anyone anything.

I wouldn't make a suggestion on how to do it with power tools, because I don't use them much. That would be a good practice for the people who float into here and say "this just isn't a good place for hand tools, it's risky" to follow.

[Tom M King]

This is a good time to learn to see straight. If you can't see straight, you can't see straight. If your vision is fine, then anyone should be able to learn to see straight. When straightening an edge, being able to see what straight is, requires much less time and effort than fumbling with a straight edge, whether using a power jointer, or a jointer plane. With either tool, you just take off the part that's not straight. I never use a straightedge for either method.

If was a big day for each of my helpers when they learned how to see straight.

[Andrew Hughes]

The problem I have faced with long edge joints,esp in thick planks ,Was the end results.If the joint is not tru,I would get a glue line that creeps shows up long after the finsh is done.
Hopefully Prasuns walnut stays flat long enough to get jointed.
Hand tools can do lots of neat joints and surfaces better than machines.
Long edges for a table is not one of them esp where time is important.
I now wait to see more of Prasuns craftmanship.Aj

[Curt Putnam]

If you have access to tracksaw rails that would give you the long straight edge that you need. You can then joint by hand or power. Just a thought.

[Brian Holcombe]

The operator in both instances has a great effect on the outcome. I've seen professional grade machinery jointers used to make curved edges and handplanes used to make dead flat surfaces and vice versa.

[Steve Voigt]

In principle I have no objections to people who want to use a router or whatever, but where are you going to get a straight edge that's long enough? The planks are 110", so he'd need at least 10 feet, absolute minimum. A piece of aluminum square tube, or some of the other things people have suggested, are not going to get any closer to straight than what Prashun showed in the first post. In fact, I'd bet they would be significantly worse.

More to the point, he got 95% of the way there with a hand plane, and was just looking for some pointers and encouragement to finish the job. I have to admit I'm scratching my head at the suggestions that he throw in the towel and use a router, or truck the slabs down to a cabinet shop. I guess it makes sense if all you care about is the final product, but if you care at all about the process, wouldn't you want to finish the job the way you started?

Really, the slabs he showed in the 1st post were at most 10 minutes from being done. I'm really hoping that he went out to the shop, took a few strokes from each end, eliminated the gap, and is laughing hysterically at the responses (including mine) that continue to pour forth…

[Steve Voigt]

The operator in both instances has a great effect on the outcome. I've seen professional grade machinery jointers used to make curved edges and handplanes used to make dead flat surfaces and vice versa.

Ha! That's pretty much it right there.

[Pat Barry]

I must have mistakenly assumed that the jointer can be adjusted to make a fine cut, such as is being advocated to solve Prashun's dilemma. No doubt that the 'standard' setting might be a bit agressive. I assumed that the machine would be set up for a super fine cut before actually touching the desired piece of material. If the jointer can't be adjusted, for example, to obtain a trim cut a few thou thick then by all means I agree. I also agree, that for an experienced guy like David, that making the last few kisses on Prashun's tabletop would probably be a cakewalk. Maybe David could stop by Prashun's place (it looks like he's right next door from Google Earth) and bring his new Jointer plane and get er done!

[David Weaver]

I must have mistakenly assumed that the jointer can be adjusted to make a fine cut, such as is being advocated to solve Prashun's dilemma. No doubt that the 'standard' setting might be a bit agressive. I assumed that the machine would be set up for a super fine cut before actually touching the desired piece of material. If the jointer can't be adjusted, for example, to obtain a trim cut a few thou thick then by all means I agree. I also agree, that for an experienced guy like David, that making the last few kisses on Prashun's tabletop would probably be a cakewalk. Maybe David could stop by Prashun's place (it looks like he's right next door from Google Earth) and bring his new Jointer plane and get er done!

If Prashun lived close by, I'd do it with a bailey pattern jointer (I'm not familar enough with my own jointer yet, though I'm sure I could produce a serviceable result with it - you do important work with tools you're familiar with). That would be cheating Prashun out of the experience, though. We'd have it done before you could load two pieces in a car and get wherever it was you felt the need to go to.

[Ted Calver]

....he got 95% of the way there with a hand plane....
Actually, he got 99% of the way with a circular saw and straight edge and is attempting to finish the job with a hand plane. I guess if he was a purist he would have hand sawed the two pieces and then proceeded to plane. Lots of methods suggested above...most pretty darn good, some involve tailed tools and that's really not a sin to most folks. I bet Prashun has this already glued and waiting a second coat.:)

[Brian Holcombe]

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/8F780659-A63D-47C8-B297-A3B0A5540FED_zps1jxc2stp.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/0754DD9D-A57F-4F45-8285-0A289A384AB8_zpsj9k64kcz.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/C68AA4A0-D92D-40F2-B19D-EDBFFF4FD27E_zps4fe9m1l7.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c181/SpeedyGoomba/1C2E097B-BDDC-4468-A695-73ADA8FDEB8A_zpsejtnb6qp.jpg

[Pat Barry]

If Prashun lived close by, I'd do it with a bailey pattern jointer (I'm not familar enough with my own jointer yet, though I'm sure I could produce a serviceable result with it - you do important work with tools you're familiar with). That would be cheating Prashun out of the experience, though. We'd have it done before you could load two pieces in a car and get wherever it was you felt the need to go to. How far is it to Prashun's by the way (estimate)? It might be an interesting get together

[David Weaver]

Probably about 5 hours.

[Jim Belair]

How far is it to Prashun's by the way (estimate)? It might be an interesting get together

Invite Derek and he can bring his big jointer. ;)

[Prashun Patel]

This has been a personally rewarding thread. Thanks for *all* of the responses. It's really got me thinking.

I'm always intrigued and impressed with people who are lucky to be able to label themselves purely, and I don't just mean Neander or Tailed, I mean Hybrid too. I think it's a blessing to be able to identify the approach that defines you when you approach each project.

For me, I just can't figure it out. Sometimes I want speed, sometimes I want accuracy, sometimes I want the process and touch and control. Sometimes I don't know what I want - I just want it to look good and I want to feel good about how I did it. Sometimes I like the process of hand work, sometimes I find engineering and executing a jig highly rewarding. Product and process are such fluctuating priorities for me, not just between but DURING most projects.

So, while the power tool references or admonishments thereof may be misplaced for some, for ME, it's just reassuring to know there are may ways to skin a cat, and many people to affirm the decision. Like (I imagine) many here, I did not grow up with a traditional apprentice/mentor in this craft; I'm learning it (gulp) really from the Internet. So, crowd-teaching, even if it doesn't all converge (in fact ESPECIALLY when it does not converge) is very instructional for me.

Thx.

[Brian Holcombe]

My mentor/apprenticeship was in a machine shop. When I was in high school/early college years I worked under a machinist, with his nearly 50 years of experience in the field having repaired or worked on what seemed like anything and everything, his most important lesson was in how to investigate approach and create a plan of attack. You are doing that here, I think you will continue to find the improvement in process and result that you are looking for.

[Prashun Patel]

There are few times I've been so excited. Here are my results. I have to admit, I pushed HARD for my customer to allow me to leave a gap. She wouldn't have it.

I tried using a 4" straight edge jointed plywood as my reference. After 2-3 patient iterations, I couldn't close the gap. So, I prepped my router and my circular saw and debated which to use. Then I realized that a big problem with this slab is having a poor work surface to work on. It would have taken a lot of work to get those slabs co-planar and shimmed enough such that when I walked over them with either power tool that I would not get any flex. They're just too wide to reach around.

So, I persisted, really out of necessity, with the jointer plane. I remembered Tom King's post below to 'learn to see straight'. I tried it by sighting down the edges. To my surprise, I was able to find the offending bow at one of the corners. It took 3 simple passes to true that up. I'm happy enough with my results that I think I'll glue it up now.

Another thing I noticed is that it was tricky to maintain a square edge. Upon close inspection, I was able to see residual tell-tale saw blade marks.

So, my lessons learned:

1) Be patient
2) Learn to see straight
3) Learn to see square
4) Rock the straight edge and blend high-lows
5) It's easy (for me) to miss the leading edge of the board. The blade is tricky to engage right on the leading end. I had to avoid the temptation to dial down the depth and instead flipped my edge guide so that I was planing off the edge instead of onto the edge. This was a time-consuming process because I had to recheck and calibrate the edge guide each time I flipped it. But SO worth it...
6) Be patient

This may be second nature for most, but for me, it's been a revelation and a huge learning and victory for me. Thanks for the help, truly!

( I look forward to all your responses to my next thread three days from now: "Help! Everything moved on me!!!"

The third picture shows where I damaged the corner of the left piece a little. It's jointed below that, though, so I'm leaving well-enough alone.

[David Weaver]

I promise that after another one or two, it will become almost like second nature. Squareness is aided a lot when the work is little if the plane is set up to cut perfect even depth from left to right on the blade (or more clearly, if the edges on the left and right cut at exactly the same depth - smoother-ish camber is fine).

I agree with tom about seeing things. You'll be surprised how much you can see. Glad that you persisted!!

[Pat Barry]

First off - congratulations on sticking with it and getting it done. I certainly can appreciate a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction with this effort. Question: In the fourth picture I am confused by the white material between the two boards. What is that? Also, with regard to squareness, how do you feel about how the bottom side of the joint came out? The top fitup looks great.

[Sean Hughto]

I think that the far board is a hair higher and the white is a reflection of light on the edge of the board. I assume Prashun will use cauls and also need to flatten the whole top after glue up. Lots of rough planing marks right now.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I retract my early comments re: sapwood.

In this instance, where you were able to mantain what looks to be a perfect book-matched alignment, it would not look nearly as good without the sliver of sapwood in the middle.

I "get it". I like it. thanks for the education on design using the features available.

YOu will,of course, keep posting build progress photos, right?

[Prashun Patel]

The bottom side is largely pretty good. I have some minor clean up to do, but I feel comfortable doing that now without compromising the top fit.

That white is residual sap wood. I know, not everyone will like that aesthetic choice, but it felt right to me to leave it, so I shall leave it. Bookmatches sometimes make mild suggestions to some beholders. This accomplishes that for me. I'm being intentionally vague about that.

[Kent A Bathurst]

The bottom side is largely pretty good. I have some minor clean up to do, but I feel comfortable doing that now without compromising the top fit.

That white is residual sap wood. I know, not everyone will like that aesthetic choice, but it felt right to me to leave it, so I shall leave it. Bookmatches sometimes make mild suggestions to some beholders. This accomplishes that for me. I'm being intentionally vague about that.

With the live sapwood edges, that bit in the middle realy ties the whole thing together, IMO. Nice design detail to offset / enhance the outer edges, plus it clearly defines the 2 slabs as "the whole tree".

[David Weaver]

First off - congratulations on sticking with it antd getting it done. I certainly can appreciate a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction with this effort. Question: In the fourth picture I am confused by the white material between the two boards. What is that? Also, with regard to squareness, how do you feel about how the bottom side of the joint came out? The top fitup looks great.

Pat, is it safe to assume you're talking about the bits that look like a white line right in the middle? It's just the edge of the far board sticking up a little from the near one. It probably just looks bright because it's facing directly into the camera/light source.

(I just noticed that Sean already said the same thing.)

[Gary Muto]

Congratulations Prashun. Great work and a very nice design.

[Brian Holcombe]

Nice work! I am looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us for the base. :)

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks, but sadly i am not making the base. I am purchasing a steel one.

[Pat Barry]

Pat, is it safe to assume you're talking about the bits that look like a white line right in the middle? It's just the edge of the far board sticking up a little from the near one. It probably just looks bright because it's facing directly into the camera/light source.(I just noticed that Sean already said the same thing.)
Yes, that's right. On my monitor I couldn't tell if it was that or wood filler or a whitish glue line

[David Weaver]

I saw it the same when I first looked at it, as maybe an interim picture or something, and had to look twice to notice it's just wood proud of the line.

[Pat Barry]

That white is residual sap wood. I know, not everyone will like that aesthetic choice, but it felt right to me to leave it, so I shall leave it. Bookmatches sometimes make mild suggestions to some beholders. This accomplishes that for me. I'm being intentionally vague about that.
I like the sap wood there. I was worried that you would be losing too much of that in the edge jointing process. Its nice to see that it survived the process. It really does add interest to the top.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks. I really wanted a gap. But it was nearly impossible to get a large enough glue line and a gap that was symmetrical. Anyway, had this been any wider I wouldn't have been able to use my 48" pipe clamps.

[Brian Holcombe]

Thanks, but sadly i am not making the base. I am purchasing a steel one.

Cool, I would still like to see the result. As much as I enjoy wooden bases I do also like the cast bronze bases I've seen.

[Kent A Bathurst]

........ had this been any wider I wouldn't have been able to use my 48" pipe clamps.

No. You did not really say that, did you? :eek:

@ $10 - $12 per 10' length, a pair of 60" clamps is only $5 - $6 each, including free cutting and threading, at the BORG.

Plus - I don't understand how you got 48" clamps? Mine are 30", 40", and 60". I have a few 96" ones, but that is only because I could not fit 10' lengths in my stand-up clamp racks. Maybe you cut the pipe to 3' - 3' - 4' ?? In which case, you coulda also had 4' + 6'.

Prashun - No body ever had too many clamps - you must know that, right? Go buy a few lengths of pipe, brudda. They'll never take the training wheels off the Mod Bike if you keep this up!! :D :D :D

[Prashun Patel]

Ok Kent, you have a point. But near me, the 60" pipes are between $12 and $15/pc. So, if I need 6-10 of them, it can add up. I know, keep it in perspective.

Anyway, I placed 10mm Dominos every foot for alignment, and used T88 Epoxy (System Three) for assembly. It has a 45 minute open time, so what I spent in mixing in spreading effort, I saved in sweat by not having to race the clock.

I had to make a bunch of cauls (thanks Jamie Buxton) from scrap 2x4's. I'm a fan of longer, more pressure-distributing clamping cauls, but this shape precluded that. These cauls were just to prevent the edges from damage.

On a side note, I had some tear out from the router bit I used to do the initial surfacing. I used a cheap bit, and I suspect my cut depth in places was too much. My Veritas BU Smoother made short work of clean up. There are one or two switch-grain areas on this, and for once I really appreciate the things this plane can do with 40 degree bevel. On this wood I was able to come from almost any direction with a fairly aggressive depth of cut, and was still successful.

I still sand my work, but with each project, I have been able to start at a higher grit. On this, I think I can start at 180 or 220. I am finding that if the wood cooperates (as these wonderful pieces have) it's actually easier to use planes.

[Andrew Hughes]

I like the way the cathedral grain worked out looks good!

[Prashun Patel]

i used a cabinet scraper to level the epoxy. I admit to using 220 and 400 grit sandpaper...

waterlox and blo.

[Jamie Buxton]

Gorgeous!!

[Brian Holcombe]

Fantastic work! Very nice grain in that slab!

[Mike Holbrook]

It is a little known fact that Festool track saws are actually hand tools. It has a handle. You push it through the wood with the one handle! The track is just a big straight edge that the saw happens to fit on.

[Ron Kanter]

The finished top looks terrific. Love the grain and the sapwood center detail.
My question: how did you shoot the picture of the top with all the clamps. There is almost no parallax in this shot. Do you have a Skycam?

[Prashun Patel]

My plant has a mezzanine that overlooks the floor space I'm working on. "Parallax". Nicely played!

[Christopher Charles]

Looks fantastic, I love the bit of remaining sapwood. Looking forward to seeing it on the base. and that we all had a plant with a mezzanine! :)

[Prashun Patel]

Table is finished. I know the base isn't for everyone. It is for my neighbor; she selected it. I'm trying to convince myself it looks good. Anyway. Done. Thanks for your help guys. learned a lot.

She wants it polished to a chrome-ish finish. I tried a little with my angle grinder. Not that easy. I'm going to an autobody shop next week to see if they can take the shine north.

[Sean Hughto]

Your top looks fantastic. I don't mind the look of the base, but I question the safety and comfort of users' feet with those sharp protruding corners on the ends at floor level.

[Brian Holcombe]

Awesome!

Polishing stainless is no small chore, it's fairly involved. BDDW does a similar base in cast bronze. My only issue with these style of bases is that there are no supporting battens.

[Pat Barry]

Whats it look like underneath Prashun? Curious about the suports for the leg attachment. Also, the finish looks nice - how many coats of Waterlox did you use?

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks. I'm still putting on more Waterlox OSF. I've put on 4 thin coats so far. I mixed it with about 10% BLO and am wiping on/wiping off. The finish is (intentionally) in-the-wood. My neighbor and I both don't want a thick film. If that means some dings and scratches along the way, so be it. I'm finishing for sheen and feel, not for protection.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Ok Kent, you have a point. But near me, the 60" pipes are between $12 and $15/pc. So, if I need 6-10 of them, it can add up. I know, keep it in perspective.

Not arguing, but that does not seem right to me............a 120" section of 3/4" black pipe @ BORG in Atlanta is, like, $12. They make 1 cut and thread the ends for free - so that is more like 6 bucks per 60" section.

But - hey - whatever works for you is certainly fine by me. Can't argue with the tactics nor the results.

Over the years, bit-by-bit, I have accumulated about 30 pieces of black pipe of various lengths, with the intention of swapping heads as needed.

Then, over the years, I started scarfing up clamps when a "deal" presented itself - like on the Creek. That's lame, I know, I know........but, still........Now I have heads on all pipes except my 2 @ 96" - those critters rarely come off the rack.

[Prashun Patel]

My other prob with clamps - at least the black pipes - is that I have nary a space to store them. They invariably get leaned up against a wall. Then, when I am precariously moving something, I push one, and the whole thing Jengas to the ground.

[Kent A Bathurst]

My other prob with clamps - at least the black pipes - is that I have nary a space to store them. They invariably get leaned up against a wall. Then, when I am precariously moving something, I push one, and the whole thing Jengas to the ground.

Not only is that not a problem, that is actually the avenue for the perfect solution. PM coming shortly

[Mike Holbrook]

Prashun,

I had the same problem with clamps taking up too much space and staying unorganized. Until I noticed a rack for clamps on sale at Highland Woodworking. This little guy is less than 2 feet square at the bottom, yet it is holding 28 (4'-1') clamps. I suspect I can just about double what I have on it currently. It is on locking casters so I can move it around the shop too:
301071

Oddly I am finding the picture of this clamp rack at Highland now but not a SKU or price to link to. They have some other rack they are selling now, not sure if they still carry this item, although I imagine someone is. I like mine. The little horizontal bars are a little close together which sometimes means I have to turn the clamps to get them on the rack but they are secure and I can get a bunch of clamps in that small space.

[Brian Holcombe]

I have 8' clamps clamped to a floor joist.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Get a length of 1" PVC pipe.

Go to the BS. For each pipe / clamp, cut 2 pcs 1" +/- long.

Stand on end, and cut into the middle with the BS.

Rotate the piece about 120*, and cut your way back out.

You have a chunk of PVC with maybe 40% missing.

This will snap firmly on a 3/4" black pipe.

Mount 2 of these, and snap the pipe into them.

Mount them on a 4 x 2, mount the 4 x 2 to the wall, and you have clearance for pipes with clamps on them.

Better yet - if you have a section of unfinished wall, mounte them between the studs - that is wasted space anyway.

Photos availabe if anyone cares about seeing them.

Also - cut anothe pair for each pipe. You can move them to any position on the pipe. Perfect stand-offs to keep the pipe above the glue line.