black walnut kitchen table project

[Ben Urso]

I picked up 2 slabs of black walnut and I'm planning to make a kitchen table out of 1. not sure what i'll be doing with the second slab yet. the slabs are 40"wide by 9'long and 4" thick. they were cut 3.5 years ago and have been air drying since. I would like just a clear natural finish when done. Any suggestions and help is greatly appreciated. as far as the base for the table I'm not sure what I will do yet. I'm thinking a mixture of wood and metal. again any thought and sugestions are welcome.

thanks
Ben

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p207/motowrecker121/3B1A2C52-0037-49B3-AE50-2A9E46AA4F78.jpg (http://s129.photobucket.com/user/motowrecker121/media/3B1A2C52-0037-49B3-AE50-2A9E46AA4F78.jpg.html)

[kevin nee]

I would go with a trestle style. Fairly simple to do & extremely strong. With that material it would be fabulous.
(And heavy) Where did you find the walnut?
Find someone with a wide belt sander. Good luck keep us posted.

332227

[Mike Null]

Ben

Welcome to SMC. I built a kitchen table about 20 years ago and finished it with polyurethane. It has served us well through the years and is now ready for refinishing. In our house nothing takes a beating more than the kitchen table so I think that speaks well for the finish.

There are many who refuse to use poly saying it doesn't reveal the real beauty of the wood. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so they say.

[Marty Schlosser]

I really like some of the work that is being done making the base of dissimilar materials, such as you've described. Kevin's suggestion about a trestle style base is something else to think of, too. If your heart is set on incorporating metal into it, then there's no reason why you couldn't bring Kevin's trestle style and your idea to use metal together. After all, isn't that how most new ideas come about?

Lovely grain on the photos you've provided! There are so many different ways this project could go, as you've really got yourself a lot of material there. I'll be following this one with interest.

Welcome to the forum.

[Prashun Patel]

You have some choices for finish. Consider Waterlox Original Sealer finish. It's a wipe-on varnish that is durable. Where it excels vis-a-vis other oil-based varnishes is that it has a dark amber color that does nice aesthetic things to black walnut.

That being said, another good choice is Arm R Seal.

I choose these two because they are relatively easy to apply.

The hardest part of this slab table will be making sure it's flat and stays flat. So, your leg base design should take that into consideration.

Do you have a picture of the end grain? Is that slab close to the pith?

4" is massive! Good luck.

[Yonak Hawkins]

There are two things that I would be concerned about with a slab like that. At 4" thick, I would want to be sure it's good and dry before I started working on it so it doesn't deform while working on it or after. Second, that's quite a cross-grain distance. Be sure to design for movement due to atmospheric conditions.

[Ben Urso]

Hi guys thanks for the insite. I'm new to wood working so I appreciate any advice. I'm an electrician by trade. I enjoy building my own stuff instead of buying. A good customer of mine bought out a cabinet making factory I haven't been there to check it out yet but it is a full shop with spray booth and everything imaginable. He says he has a plainer that will except upto 44" and a drum sander that is just as big. I hope he's right lol.

You will have to bear with me I don't know all the terminology yet. I will def post a ton of pictures along the way.

[Ben Urso]

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p207/motowrecker121/F1428066-1CB3-4210-9704-569F8B6EFD0D.jpg (http://s129.photobucket.com/user/motowrecker121/media/F1428066-1CB3-4210-9704-569F8B6EFD0D.jpg.html)

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p207/motowrecker121/838494EB-48B0-4E96-B94D-7293E397BEBA.jpg (http://s129.photobucket.com/user/motowrecker121/media/838494EB-48B0-4E96-B94D-7293E397BEBA.jpg.html)

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p207/motowrecker121/390BE422-2658-4835-AF7F-5AD22BFA438B.jpg (http://s129.photobucket.com/user/motowrecker121/media/390BE422-2658-4835-AF7F-5AD22BFA438B.jpg.html)


http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p207/motowrecker121/29F84B03-EB4F-4830-A256-2F2F19115AFC.jpg (http://s129.photobucket.com/user/motowrecker121/media/29F84B03-EB4F-4830-A256-2F2F19115AFC.jpg.html)



this is how I found the slabs

[Mike Null]

Good for you in rescuing them.

[Bill McNiel]

Ben, welcome to the Creek.
I have, and continue to, do a fair amount of large/live edge, air dried, slab work. My initial suggestions;
- Get a good quality moisture meter - Lignomat or equal. My slabs have been drying for 20 to 30 years in fully covered but open air. They are typically about 14% moisture content when moved into the shop. After 2-4 weeks in the heated shop the MC is about 9-10%, not as low as 6-7% from the kiln but much better grain pattern IMHO.
- Unless you have solid hand plane skills build a router sled set-up. Doing your own "milling" allows you maximize the material. Magnate has great router bits for this process.
- Remove material from both faces as equally as possible.
- Mill to rough thickness and allow the slab to rest before final milling and sizing.
- Use a belt sander, jack plane, smoother, card scraper to remove milling marks to whatever degree is consistent with your design.
- Waterlox is a great finish choice for all the reasons put forth by Prashun. I am a big fan of Waterlox.

You don't say where you are located but, if by chance, you are in the great NW you are welcome to come by the Barn and observe my process, discuss and ask questions. If not, don't hesitate to PM me or just ask more detailed questions here on SMC. This is a great forum with a lot of good folks who are happy to share their experience.

[Ben Urso]

Ben, welcome to the Creek.
I have, and continue to, do a fair amount of large/live edge, air dried, slab work. My initial suggestions;
- Get a good quality moisture meter - Lignomat or equal. My slabs have been drying for 20 to 30 years in fully covered but open air. They are typically about 14% moisture content when moved into the shop. After 2-4 weeks in the heated shop the MC is about 9-10%, not as low as 6-7% from the kiln but much better grain pattern IMHO.
- Unless you have solid hand plane skills build a router sled set-up. Doing your own "milling" allows you maximize the material. Magnate has great router bits for this process.
- Remove material from both faces as equally as possible.
- Mill to rough thickness and allow the slab to rest before final milling and sizing.
- Use a belt sander, jack plane, smoother, card scraper to remove milling marks to whatever degree is consistent with your design.
- Waterlox is a great finish choice for all the reasons put forth by Prashun. I am a big fan of Waterlox.

You don't say where you are located but, if by chance, you are in the great NW you are welcome to come by the Barn and observe my process, discuss and ask questions. If not, don't hesitate to PM me or just ask more detailed questions here on SMC. This is a great forum with a lot of good folks who are happy to share their experience.


Thanks Bill Im sure I will be asking a ton of questions. I'm going to wait a while before I start this project. 1 to make sure the wood is dry enough and 2 to learn as much as I can before I dive right in. I would hate to jump the gun and ruin these slabs. Im located in CT

[Ben Urso]

So my table will fit in this wide belt machine. Do you think it's a good idea or not to run it through? Thanks ben

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p207/motowrecker121/7121CDE9-5E49-4779-B384-EE854464DC14.jpg (http://s129.photobucket.com/user/motowrecker121/media/7121CDE9-5E49-4779-B384-EE854464DC14.jpg.html)

[Matt Day]

Why wouldn't you run it through? That's exactly what I'd be looking for if I had that wonderful hunk of wood. Go for it.

[Mel Fulks]

Well, since the question is asking for opinions... I think the base has to be wood with that top thickness. Too much mass to use spindly metal (looks, not engineering). I would lose the sap edges. Would consider two matching trestle style tables that could be used together side by side or end to end. Maybe metal could be used for latches to hold both tables together.

[Bill McNiel]

Ben - Assuming you have "rough" milled the slab to a flat plane, then go for it, absolutely .

Regards - Bill

[jack duren]

Wood and metal is the new thing.

[Jim Dwight]

I would probably use a fairly sturdy base of wood, possibly cutting up the other slab. But my main comment is on the finish. I have several walnut pieces I made roughly years ago. All have lightened from sun exposure. I put some walnut caps on newel posts in the staircase in our last house and had to change them (to cherry) because they got so light. I will use a finish with a UV blocker on walnut going forward. If the piece doesn't get a lot of sun it may fade slowly enough it doesn't bug you but in full sun, it will lighten quickly, only a few years. The newel post caps looked like butternut after less than 5 years.

[Neil Gaskin]

Bill,

How long would you allow the slabs to rest between initial milling/thicknessing and final milling. Is there an ideal or suggested amount of material to leave for the final milling process?

Thank you, Neil

[Wes Ramsey]

I hate to post a known non-working link, but hopefully someone will chime in with something better: http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/mSinger/markSinger-index.asp

This was a list someone posted here a few weeks ago in memory of Mark Singer, a giant in the WW industry. He had some very detailed thoughts, Q&A, and process descriptions on how and why he built things the way he did. His work was stunning for it's elegance and simplicity, and I can tell that he had a heart for teaching. A beginner would be wise to learn from his work. Anyway, I wanted to post the link to give you a source for simple table ideas, like the split-top table that used to be in the link above.

I slabbed out a big walnut tree a few months ago and have plans for it similar to what you're thinking. One of the logs had a gentle curve to it so I plan to book match and join the concave sides of two book matched slabs to make a natural edge dining table with a small gap showing the natural edge in the middle. I've pondered making the base from brushed stainless, but I have another idea in mind - something like 3" through mortises for the legs where they move with the top instead of the top moving across the base. I have the tools (mostly), but I'm still at the point where everything I make is for the first time and truly original.

Don't let the wood intimidate you. God grows more every day! Make a plan, take your time, consult the experts, and don't think less of your word in light of theirs.

[Andrew Gibson]

Don't let the wood intimidate you. God grows more every day! Make a plan, take your time, consult the experts, and don't think less of your word in light of theirs.
Great advise right there. never let the material intimidate you. It's only wood, the stuff grows on trees.
I'm working on my second slab table. My first is my 40"x 65" kitchen/dining room table (no live edge)
My second I am working on now is a 48" x 32" oval coffee table with live edge in one portion. If you are worried about the size, just think of it as a panel that is already glued up. :)

Walnut will lighten with age. Use your favorite finish and Don't worry about it.