Big, Big, BIG Bubinga!

[Todd Burch]

A couple months ago, SMC member Gord Graff posted some pics of some big Pomele (figured) Bubinga slabs that Century Mill (Ontario) had gotten in. I fell in love with them.

I recently made my Trestle Cherry table and a client saw it and wanted something similar. I told him about the Bubinga, and he and his wife liked it too. They have 5 kids, so they need a big table.

So, to make a long story short, I have 2, count 'em 2, slabs on their way from Ontario, Canada to Katy, Texas! I'll use one for the trestle table for my client, and perhaps make a spec table with the other - not that I have room to store it! (I just opened myself up for your generous offers - I know, but no thanks - I'll figure it out!!)

4' wide, 12' long, 1" thick. I'll double-thickness the edges for a beefier look. The finished size will be 40" wide x 10' long x 29" tall. It will get an oil finish, followed by a dull lacquer. Haven't decide completely on the style of the base or the wood either. Here are a couple pics.

A HUGE thanks to Gord Graff for being my eyes during this process. He was most helpful in the process.

Todd.

(Did I mention they are bookmatched? :D )

[Lloyd Robins]

Oh, my goodness! :eek: Let us see the finished picture.

[Chris Padilla]

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

W O W ! ! What a slab...should make a glorious table...dammit, there ya go...just drooled all over myself....

Chris

[Jamie Buxton]

Todd --

There's a nice trick for double-thicknessing the edge. If you just fold over the edge, the seam between the upper layer and the lower layer is obvious. To my eye, it looks like the maker is trying to skimp on materials. The fix is to inlay a narrow strip of contrasting wood that covers the seam. You can leave it proud, or set it flush. It looks like deliberate decoration, added to a nice thick plank.

The effect is better if you arrange the lower layer so it is kinda slip-matched from the upper layer, rather than bookmatched. The grain of the buginga will appear continuous right through the inlay.

There aren't many woods with enough color to work with bubinga. I'd reach for ebony. Or, you can leap out of the wood world, and use brass.

Jamie

[Todd Burch]

Jamie, very good suggestions! Thanks! I'll probably implement one or both of them. A slot cutter router bit with an oversize bearing would work well for routing the inlay. I can always dye stain the inlay before inserting it. Todd.

[Gord Graff]

Hello Todd,

You are more than welcome and I was glad to help. Pictures don't really tell the story of this wood, it is absolutely beautiful. Standing there at the mill the other day looking at these slabs of wood I couldn’t help but wonder what they were finally going to look like when finished. I know you’ll do them justice. Please post the finished product.

Merry Christmas.

All the best
Gord

[Chris Padilla]

Hello Todd,

You are more than welcome and I was glad to help. Pictures don't really tell the story of this wood, it is absolutely beautiful. Standing there at the mill the other day looking at these slabs of wood I couldn’t help but wonder what they were finally going to look like when finished. I know you’ll do them justice. Please post the finished product.

Merry Christmas.

All the best
Gord

Yet another, "Wow!" I am trying to make out the price on the sticker there...can't...quite...see...it.... :D

Chris

[Todd Burch]

Just under $15/bf (US). Plus, of course, shipping, packaging, customs fees/taxes, and the time to go pick it up @ the depot. And, I'll have to rent time on a wide belt sander to smooth it off...

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Simply breathtaking sections of Bubinga! Being a self proclaimed Exotic Wood NUT..............I can apprectiate the beauty and rarity of such a find. I just CANNOT wait to see the finished product Todd! PLEASE, oh PLEASE take many pictures during the process using this beautiful gift from Mother Nature. Good for you my friend...........I know that the justice will be done with this gem. :D

[Doug Littlejohn]

Wow!!,and I thought I had a nice slab of bubinga. I WAS thinking of gloating on a 14' slab of redwood I picked up, BUT not after seeing that gorgeous slab.

Please, Please, PLEASE show us many pictures of what you create.

THanks.

[Alan Turner]

Nice wood, and a very fair price. I am sure your work on it will be outstanding. Please do post it as it goes through the process. Hope it is flat, as handplaning one side could take a month of Sundays.
Alan

[Chris Padilla]

Just under $15/bf (US). Plus, of course, shipping, packaging, customs fees/taxes, and the time to go pick it up @ the depot. And, I'll have to rent time on a wide belt sander to smooth it off...

...and rent a Bobcat or cherry picker or fork lift to haul it around or pay off your buddies with lots and lots of beer every time you need to move it!! Still, I relish your opportunity and look forward to you spending more time taking/posting pics than working on the darn thing! LOL! :D

Chris

[Richard McComas]

A couple months ago, SMC member Gord Graff posted some pics of some big Pomele (figured) Bubinga slabs that Century Mill (Ontario) had gotten in. I fell in love with them.

I recently made my Trestle Cherry table and a client saw it and wanted something similar. I told him about the Bubinga, and he and his wife liked it too. They have 5 kids, so they need a big table.

So, to make a long story short, I have 2, count 'em 2, slabs on their way from Ontario, Canada to Katy, Texas! I'll use one for the trestle table for my client, and perhaps make a spec table with the other - not that I have room to store it! (I just opened myself up for your generous offers - I know, but no thanks - I'll figure it out!!)

4' wide, 12' long, 1" thick. I'll double-thickness the edges for a beefier look. The finished size will be 40" wide x 10' long x 29" tall. It will get an oil finish, followed by a dull lacquer. Haven't decide completely on the style of the base or the wood either. Here are a couple pics.

A HUGE thanks to Gord Graff for being my eyes during this process. He was most helpful in the process.

Todd.

(Did I mention they are bookmatched? :D )

So Todd, tell me how you flatten and thickness a slab of wood like that.

[Phil Phelps]

...what a ping-pong table :p

[Byron Trantham]

Well hat else can we say - simply stupendous! I couldn't imagine working with a piece that big. How on earth are you going to move that thing? I mean after you FIND a belt sander that can handle the job, how do you get it home and maneuver it during processing without "dinging it"? Though I can't wait to see the end product, I would also like to see some of the methods you used to manage the piece. For myself, I guess I will live vicariously through guys like you who have the space resources to do something like this. Good luck Todd. I know you will turn this piece into something to be proud of.

[Rob Lee]

Todd -

Takes guts to do something with a piece of wood that big - it's not a job, it's a responsibilty...

We have three pieces just like those - except they're mahogany...4-5 feet wide, 11-14 feet long, but 1 1/2" thick. Cut sometime in the 1940's.

Sold the smallest one seven or eight years ago. The guy who bought it asked us to buy it back after about 5 years.....couldn't bring himself to do anything with it....

Cheers -

Rob

[Todd Burch]

Rob, I would have rathered these were thicker like your mahogany. Nice to know you have some big, thicker stock available... Now I can offer someone a mahogany single-board table!! (or 3!)

Richard, I'll tell you how I flatten a board like this, but I'll start it in a new post. (Ooh, goody - another reason to use Sketchup!)

Moving this thing around the shop will be a huge headache. I generally work alone, and get my wife to help when I need more hands. I guess I'll have to get ALL my friend's wives to help me with this thing! ;)

I will takes lots of pictures. It will make a good story.

[Chris Padilla]

http://www.grizzly.com/catalog/pages/109.cfm?

The one on the right should work! :)

I think I might build 1 or a pair of roll-around carts to handle that piece around the shop, Todd. I estimate it weighs around 225 lbs. and while the weight is inhibitive, it's area is more formidable.

You probably read all this already, Todd:

http://www.exotichardwoods-africa.com/bubinga.htm

Interesting stuff...go for it...start a new thread...I'd like to see your plans for flattening the piece.

Chris

[Scott Coffelt]

Wow, Wow and Wow.

[Todd Burch]

(I'm posting this for Jamie Buxton - read on to see why. Todd.)

Todd --
On the SMC board, in your thread about that bubinga slab, I mentioned a way of disguising the seam when you double-thickness an edge. I've taken two snapshots of this technique as applied to a curly maple top. The maple is gorgeous, but by the time I got the 4/4 lumber flat it was only 5/8" thick. I doubled over the edges, and inlaid a strip of jarrah.

In the photos, notice that the grain lines on the edge of the maple seem
continuous, which helps the illusion a lot. This is from slip-matching the lower strip. The added-on strips are mitered at the corner to make all the grain lines come out right.

I'm sending you these shapshots directly because SMC's software doesn't let me post photos. [It's a long story. It has to do with the weirdness that happened with cookies about six months ago. Neither I nor SMC can figure out how to fix it.] If you don't mind, would you post them in that thread?

One of them (plimsoltop.jpg) is shot from the top. The jarrah is installed, about a sixteenth proud. The other shot (plimsolbottom.jpg) is of the underside, to illustrate the mitering on the added strips. On this bookcase, the top is only 36" off the floor, so nobody will be looking at the underside of the top, and I didn't worry that the inside of the miters don't line up -- only the outside matters.

I've never had the miters open up. Generally miters are at hazard of opening on wide miters like picture frames or door casing. As you can see from the shot of the underside, these miters are only 1/2" wide or
so. (Making them a little on the narrow side makes the grain matching on the slip-match better.)

Jamie Buxton

[Tyler Howell]

After seeing your work Todd, I'm sure you're up to the challenge. Keep the Pic coming.

TJH

[Terry Quiram]

Todd

OK, since no one else has asked. How much does one of these wonderful, beautiful boards weigh?

Terry

[Todd Burch]

An internet search says that bubinga weighs 55lbs/cubic foot. So, that's about 225lbs each.

[Hans Kribbel]

:rolleyes: Hello. Yes the wood is awesome, but why does nobody say anything about that beautiful German Shepherd on the picture?

Happy New Year

hans Kribbel

[Todd Burch]

Well, the bubinga shipped out yesterday. I'll pick THEM up on Monday, Jan 5th. Yes, I broke down and bought 2 pieces. I would hate to be accused of breaking up a pair of twins. One is allocated, it will be an oval trestle table, 40" wide & 10' long. The other will be for spec. Let's all cross our fingers I find another commission for the other one. Otherwise, I'll have to cut it up to make a doghouse...

To get them to Katy from Ontario, the price worked out to be right at about $1,000 each: $1640 for the wood, packing, customs, etc.) and $330 for shipping.

[Chris Padilla]

(I'm posting this for Jamie Buxton - read on to see why. Todd.)

Todd --
On the SMC board, in your thread about that bubinga slab, I mentioned a way of disguising the seam when you double-thickness an edge. ...snip...
Jamie Buxton
Hey, that is a pretty cool idea and takes a lot of patience and a good eye for the pattern.


Thanks,

Chris

[Todd Burch]

Well, bubinga has made it to town, but Roadway can't release it to me until it clears customs. So, hurry up and wait, again. Rodway service manager said it was BIG!

[Jeff Ward]

Almost makes me want to offer to drive over and help move it. Just so I can say I saw it.

[Todd Burch]

Jeff, ABSOLUTELY, consider yourself invited!