8'x8' oak table

[kent wardecke]

The guys at the fire house want to build a new table for our day room. They have two 4'x8' tables on steel frames now. they want to put the frames side by side and have an 8'x8' table and then route a design in the middle and epoxy the table. I have about 100 bd/ft of 4/4 red oak. I said they could have it. Then I started to wonder how durable the table would be. That's a lot of gluing and it may want to move. once it's installed the room will remain a steady 72 deg the air doesn't get really dry.
Would you glue up an 8' table?

[Prashun Patel]

An 8'x8' sounds fantastic...until you try to glue it, sand it, finish it, and move it - even get it into the space.

YMMV, but I would convince them to stick with 2 tables. There are connectors that will draw them tight enough to remain functionally as a single table.

[johnny means]

The main issue asides from having eight foot clamps is going to be applying enough pressure to close all the seams. I usually glue up in 24 inch sections, straightening my edges, then glue the sections together. When that isn't practical, I'll glue up no more than 24 inches it a time, let the glue set, then add on another 24 inches. Flattening is your biggest challenge. Some sort of alignment technique could save dozens of hours of hand flattening. 64 sq ft is a behemoth but doable. I've done much bigger without an entire fire company to help move it. Red oak is plenty durable for table tops.

[Frank Pratt]

An 8'x8' sounds fantastic...until you try to glue it, sand it, finish it, and move it - even get it into the space.

YMMV, but I would convince them to stick with 2 tables. There are connectors that will draw them tight enough to remain functionally as a single table.


... or even try to wash it. This is a bad idea.

[David Bassett]

... have an 8'x8' table and then route a design in the middle and epoxy the table. ...


An 8'x8' sounds fantastic...until you try to glue it, sand it, finish it, and move it - even get it into the space.

YMMV, but I would convince them to stick with 2 tables. There are connectors that will draw them tight enough to remain functionally as a single table.

Conference room tables are often multiple sections and the connectors (bed bolts?) they use have to be available somewhere. However you might not want to do that with the design in the middle. At least not as an even split. Maybe you could play with multiple sections, depending on the routed design size. Perhaps a center 4' x 4' surrounded by four 2' x 6' top sections?

Just thinking aloud. Good luck you have quite a puzzle.

[Gordon Stump]

What about a square donut with 2- 3' x 8' sides and 2 3' x 2' sides all connected with countertop connectors or even pocket screws underneath . Then a nice 12" x 12" inset center carving or other decorative insert. Just my $.02

I did not read David Basset's post. Same concept. You can have form follow function with the size of the center insert.

[Richard Coers]

That's about a 230 pound table top, that will require oversized doors to get it in place. It will expand about 1" in width from season to season. Someone would need a floor sander to level all the glue ups, and a way to not walk on it, or a giant easel to lean it against with a ladder, to apply the finish. That would be one ugly project to work on!

[johnny means]

Don't listen to the naysayers. Jobs like this get done everyday. They just tend to require a little more consideration and planning. Oh, and maybe some bigger clamps.

[Jacob Reverb]

That would be one ugly project to work on!

It'd be an ugly project just to wipe off an 8'x8' table. Assuming you could attack it from all sides, you'd still need to lean over 48" to get to the middle of it. Assuming the table will be around 29" high, that's a real challenge ... I hope the guys on the cleanup crew have 42" long arms!

[Mel Fulks]

It's certainly doable. I think the routed center thing will end up full of cigarette ashes. My choice would be make it in two
pieces and join them with the hardware made for that purpose. Then if the place catches fire the table can be removed
without attacking the walls with those too handy fire axes.

[johnny means]

It's certainly doable. I think the routed center thing will end up full of cigarette ashes. My choice would be make it in two
pieces and join them with the hardware made for that purpose. Then if the place catches fire the table can be removed
without attacking the walls with those too handy fire axes.

I don't know, every firehouse I've ever been in was immaculately clean.

[Frank Pratt]

Don't listen to the naysayers. Jobs like this get done everyday. They just tend to require a little more consideration and planning. Oh, and maybe some bigger clamps.

Think about it though. How many doors can you get an 8' x 8' table through?

[Prashun Patel]

It is certainly doable. Assuming you get over all the hurdles, how practical really is an 8 foot square table? What can you possibly put in the middle that you can reach across and use? Now I am curious.

[Frank Pratt]

My kitchen counter peninsula is 3" wide and it's a stretch for me to clean all if from my one side. My wife can't do it.

[kent wardecke]

Don't listen to the naysayers. Jobs like this get done everyday. They just tend to require a little more consideration and planning. Oh, and maybe some bigger clamps.

Thanks for the positive attitude and encouragement. But the people who do this type of job are professionals with prior experience.
I'm liking the 5 part solution or the two parts. It's being built by an informal committee so decision making is far from concise.

[Matt Day]

My first thought is essentially making 2 tables that push together to make one. Use some knock down furniture type fasteners to join them together.

[Richard Coers]

Don't listen to the naysayers. Jobs like this get done everyday. They just tend to require a little more consideration and planning. Oh, and maybe some bigger clamps.
How many big conference tables have you built Johnny? The largest I've done was 4'x12'. I had two employees at the time, and it was a major task just to turn the torsion box structure over. It was 2 sheets of 4x12 MDF with a structure between.

[Jacob Reverb]

Think about it though. How many doors can you get an 8' x 8' table through?

Hey, as long as I'm not the guy holding the top part up. Don't pinch yer fingers against the ceiling! :eek: ;)

[johnny means]

How many big conference tables have you built Johnny? The largest I've done was 4'x12'. I had two employees at the time, and it was a major task just to turn the torsion box structure over. It was 2 sheets of 4x12 MDF with a structure between.
Dozens. Hell, I've got dozens on my work schedule right now. We consider a 4x12 to be on the smallish side. I'm planning out how to execute a 8'x24' right now. We're planning on a three piece design.

[Nick Lazz]

Hey Kent, One of the guys in our local made 4 or 5 tables for our fire stations out of glue lam beams. Although the dimensions aren't the same for what you are talking about, I could see glueing up 2-3 with some tennons to reach the width you are looking for. He also inlayed the top of each table. We've used them for years and they will be here long after I retire.
Just an idea.. Good luck. I would really like to see the finished product.

26yrs IAFF 452

[Tom Bender]

Hey Jonny
You clearly are the expert here. How about expansion, does it make sense to try this with solid stock?

[Don Stephan]

Before addressing the other issues, how flat and straight are the 4/4 boards? How much thickness will remain after milling the boards flat and straight?

[johnny means]

Hey Jonny
You clearly are the expert here. How about expansion, does it make sense to try this with solid stock?

Allow for expansion in your connections and it won't be an issue. I think the inch allotment mentioned earlier should be plenty for an eight foot wide panel in a climate controlled environment. Though I doubt that much expansion/contraction is likely.

[Jacob Reverb]

I'm surprised to hear these gigantic conference tables are made from solid stock. I would have expected them to be made from plywood, with some solid on the edges.

[Jim Becker]

I'm surprised to hear these gigantic conference tables are made from solid stock. I would have expected them to be made from plywood, with some solid on the edges.
Aside from natural edge type conference tables I've seen, the majority of such large surfaces are veneered manufactured sheet goods with solid edging as you state. But even those are sectional above a certain size for practicality...'have to be able to actually get them in the hallways and through doors into a room and up freight elevators, etc.

[Brian W Evans]

From an aesthetic point of view, I don't think 4/4 stock is going to look very good at that size - the bigger the table, the thinner it will appear. Putting some thick edging around it might be necessary to get it to look "right". Are you up for two 8' breadboard ends?

My vote would be two full sheets of ply with solid wood edging, pulled tight with the hardware mentioned above. You could still rout your design and fill with epoxy.

[Andy D Jones]

What about a square donut with 2- 3' x 8' sides and 2 3' x 2' sides all connected with countertop connectors or even pocket screws underneath . Then a nice 12" x 12" inset center carving or other decorative insert. Just my $.02

I did not read David Basset's post. Same concept. You can have form follow function with the size of the center insert.

The inset would actually be 2' x 2'.

Or, similar to Basset's suggestion, make four 3' x 5' tables, and "assemble" them together in a square ring, "head to hip", for an 8'x8' table with a 2'x2' hole. That way the tables are all identical, transportable, and useful either on their own or in various other assemblies. Fill in the 2x2 hole if/as desired.

Any combination where the sum of the width and length for each table is 8' would work. You can vary the size of the "hole" by varying their width (along with the corresponding length).

Andy - Arlington TX

[Tom Bender]

Milling the stock till it lays flat is going to cost you too much wood. Some unevenness can be dealt with in the layout and joinery. It is a test of your skill and experienceto know how much and how.

[John Goodin]

A lot of functionality will be lost going from 48 lineal feet of table edge to 32 if it is going to be used as a seated gathering space. Building something that can be two smaller tables or one large one would be very versatile.