Conference Table Help

[Joe Unni]

Hey all!

I hope this is the right spot to post this...

I need to quote a conference table and need some help. The table will be and ellipse that is 10' or 12' long by ~4' wide at its widest. Here are my issues:


How do you lay out an ellipse this big?
As veneer over mdf is NOT an option, cherry veneer ply will be used. It will be in two sections with some type of hardwood banding with a roundover profile. How does one apply banding as stated?
The customer wishes to have two curved (to match the top) legs. Any thoughts to how to do this? I've got access to a company that deals with curved panels, but I'd like to take this challenge on myself.
Any thoughts on how to approach this would be very helpful. Let me know if you need any additional info.

Thanks in advance,
-joe

[Earl Kelly]

Joe, unless your getting a custom panel laid up your "factory" ply is going to have a very thin face veneer. Keep this in mind when attaching and sanding any edging flush.

You can make the curved legs with a form and curv-a-board and veneer. You need a vacuum press, if you don't have one, purchase one or sub the bases out. And if you get a vacuum press you can make the top panels yourself.

Don't short change yourself on this, these types of tables get real pricy. It's not unusual for them to cost $10-$20,000.

[Jim Becker]

The easiest way I know to lay out an elipse with simplicity is to use a loop of string , a pencil and two nails. Draw the centerlines on your "blank" (the bottom will be best because of the nails) and then work on finding the righ spacing for the nails on the long axis as well as the loop size to get your ellipse at the proportions you want. (There is probably a mathmatical formula for this...but I don't know it. I used trial and error....) Click on this link to see an example as the software seems to be losing the "display image" tags...

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=20820&stc=1

[Steve Evans]

Joe

Micro-fence makes a jig for cutting ellipses. According to their website the max major axis dimension is 10'. I haven't used one so I can't give you any input on the quality or ease of use. Here's a link to some info on it.
http://www.microfence.com/pages/Ellipse%20Jig.html

[John Lucas]

Joe,
Ten years or so ago, I was in ameeting where the client had just such a table...5 by 12 long and veneer over a heavy builtup MDF top. Solid wood edging and rather plain legs. It was a monster table that they were very protective about since they had is "commissioned" for $18,000, if I recall.
I sat thru much of the 4 hr meeting exploring the underside with my hands and then touching the smoothness of the top. The owner saw that I was caring for it and we started talking about it and he told me all the details.
His senior VP had been using a laptop that at the end of the presentaton had clearly left marks. I watched this owner go through many shades of purple. He asked me what he should do, and I said dont let anybody touch it. I will assume it is a lacquer top but anything anyone does might make it worse better than better. The original maker came in and for $1500 refinished. After that there were several nice placards saying to keep things off the table. If you had seen the owners looks, no plaquared was neccssary.
My point to you is that this table may be a very high dollar item with a lot of other stuff mixed in. If you aren't a complete pro in design, building and finishing, I would walk away from it.

[Lee DeRaud]

The easiest way I know to lay out an elipse with simplicity is to use a loop of string , a pencil and two nails. Draw the centerlines on your "blank" (the bottom will be best because of the nails) and then work on finding the righ spacing for the nails on the long axis as well as the loop size to get your ellipse at the proportions you want. (There is probably a mathmatical formula for this...but I don't know it. I used trial and error....)If M1 is the long axis and M2 is the short axis:

T = square root of (M1 x M1 - M2 x M2) = distance between nails
S = M1 + T = length of string (i.e. loop is S/2 long)

For the table in question (M1 = 10', M2 = 4'), the nails go in about 111" apart, and you need about 231" of string...plus enough to tie the knot :p .

(Somebody check this: it looks right, but it's way too late at night for me to be deriving this from scratch.:eek: )

[Lee DeRaud]

Ten years or so ago, I was in a meeting where the client had just such a table...5 by 12 long and veneer over a heavy builtup MDF top. Solid wood edging and rather plain legs. It was a monster table that they were very protective about since they had is "commissioned" for $18,000, if I recall.
I sat thru much of the 4 hr meeting exploring the underside with my hands and then touching the smoothness of the top. The owner saw that I was caring for it and we started talking about it and he told me all the details.
His senior VP had been using a laptop that at the end of the presentaton had clearly left marks. I watched this owner go through many shades of purple. He asked me what he should do, and I said dont let anybody touch it. I will assume it is a lacquer top but anything anyone does might make it worse better than better. The original maker came in and for $1500 refinished. After that there were several nice placards saying to keep things off the table. If you had seen the owners looks, no plaquared was neccssary.
My point to you is that this table may be a very high dollar item with a lot of other stuff mixed in. If you aren't a complete pro in design, building and finishing, I would walk away from it.$18K for a conference table that's pretty much useless for a conference where actual work is performed?

Oy.

[Frank Hagan]

David Marks had a modern glass topped table with curved legs that looked very nice. He used "coopering" ... borrowed from barrell makers ... to make the curved legs. They are replaying it every now and then on DIY network (his show is "Wood Works".)

We're outfitting our new offices now, and our office furniture person has a website with a lot of pictures of conference tables and their legs ... see http://www.ambiencedore.com/collection/conference.php and start clicking on the links along the left side. Dozens and dozens of examples. There's one that looks like it has coopered legs on the page for "JJ", and there's another example under the "JSI" link for one that has curved legs, but not tapered.

The types of tables we saw were "round", "boat shaped", "racetrack" or oval, and "rectangular". "Boat shaped" is like a pregnant rectangle ... the width of the table is wider toward the center, tapering slightly at the ends. Any of them over 10' long came in two pieces. Glass on top is a good option for keeping the wood in good shape.

[Chris Giles]

Joe,

Please reconsider using veneer core ply for the top blanks on this table. The inconsistent crossbanding under the veneer surface will telegraph through. Normally, this is a small problem, but on a conference table it will be a disaster. Mdf core is the only surface perfect enough to serve as the plywood core on a project like this. Twenty years ago, I worked at a factory that made only commercial table and conference table tops, and the main thing I took away from that experience was that they have to be nearly perfect. Companies look to their conference room to set the tone of professionalism with all of their customers and vendors. Yours must live up to this expectation.
As for the elipse, again I would ordinarily draw my own, but in this case I would call on a CNC machining company to make you a 1/4 pattern out of baltic birch. You can look at the overall shape on the CAD drawing, then have them run the pattern for you. You will rough cut the blank, then use this pattern as a router template. Why not just have them cut the whole top, you might ask? Because you are also going to have a 1/4 template made with which to cut the inside and outside of the solid nosing.
I would have the veneer layed up on the blank by a veneer mill, expensive but perfect. And after all this. I would have it professionally finished as this, again, would be out of my comfort range. Perfect veneer, perfect elipse, perfect nosing, perfect finish. That's the ticket. See why it costs 20 grand?
Good Luck!

[John Lucas]

$18K for a conference table that's pretty much useless for a conference where actual work is performed?

Oy.

I agree. What you have is a company that is on the fast track in the advnaced computer science world and a lot of ego. A lot of work was performed, just not on the table. It was part of an advanced presentation room.