Beginner seeking advice on slab coffee table

[Eugene Krimkevich]

Hi all,

I've been shopping around for a slab coffee table and haven't been able to find any reasonably priced items, so I've decided to have a go at building one myself. That said, I have absolutely no woodworking experience. Besides sourcing the wood (I've found some mills in my area and am thinking of using walnut for the slab), I'm not sure where to start.

I'm thinking of a design similar to the following, but with a second tier/shelf at the bottom: http://www.custommade.com/slab-coffe...sionfurniture/

Apologies for any dumb questions that follow...

- What particulars should I look for when selecting a slab?
- Once I have a slab selected, do I go about sanding right away or are there other preparatory steps?
- When I sand, should I do this by hand or with a rotary sander or a belt sander? What grit # sand papers should I use?
- What tools/techniques can I use to shape/polish the edges of the slab?
- What steps do I go through to apply finish? I'd like a fairly dark and polished look but nothing too glossy (similar to photo in link above)
- What finishing products should I use? (which brand, how do I select the proper shade, etc.)

I have a lot more questions, mainly about how to build the base and add in a second tier at the bottom, but I figure I'll pace myself and figure out the absolute basics with the slab first. Any and all guidance is greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
Eugene

[Ari Friedman]

In what state is the mill going to provide you the slab? That's going to be the key determinant of how much work goes into it. If they could plane it for you, that would save you an enormous amount of effort (if they don't, you'll either have to build router skis to do it or build a huge sanding belt surfacer).

Honestly, I'd guess that you'll finish faster overall if you make this your second project. The first should be a smaller piece that you can use to practice joinery on. A bench maybe.

[Eugene Krimkevich]

Hi Ari,

I think I'll be able to obtain a slab that's already been planed. At that point, can I just go straight to sanding it?

Thanks,
Eugene

[Jim Rimmer]

Wow, that's a pretty big project for the first one. What kind of equipment/tools do you have? Just the finishing questions you have asked can generate many, many options and opinions. Sanding is one big issue but what about edge treatments? are you looking for a live edge? You need to have some kind of idea of the base and how it will attached to the slab before you start.

I would suggest you go to the Woodworking Projects Forum and look at a lot of projects. You'll also find some in the General Woodworking forum. Maybe they will give you some ideas on how to start.

There a few finishing gurus on here (I hesitate to name any because I'll leave someone out). Go to the finishing forum and read some posts there; you'll soon figure out who the finishing experts are.

Once you've kind of narrowed down a design and the finish you think you want, ask some specific questions and you'll get lots of help.

You may also want to check if there is a Woodcraft store near you. They offer one day weekend classes in different woodworking aspects (including finishing). Many are low cost and some are free. And check the websites for Harwood Lumber and More and Homestead Finishing (can't post the links here but you can find them easily). Both of those sites have good articles about finsihing.

And, Welcome to the Creek.

[Prashun Patel]

I would pay the $20-60/hr to have the slab planed on both sides, then drum sanded at the mill.
You should let the slab acclimate to your 'shop' for a while before having at it.

You might get some movement in the slab once you get it home, but in my experience - especially with walnut - you sometimes get lucky and it doesn't move enough to make a difference.

I usually work on the base before the top, which gives the top some time to acclimate. Once the base is done, if the top hasn't moved significantly (i.e., it sits pretty flat on the base and doesn't look like it's warped) then I move right to sanding with the ROS.

There are a couple ways you can clean up the edges. A fine wire brush (in a portable drilll or angle grinder) or even a handheld brush can remove most of the dirt.

Know that wood likes to expand and contract along its width. The wider the piece, the more drastic the movement. It's important to plan how your base will attach to the top so as to provide adequate support while still allowing the table to expand without cracking the base.

[David Helm]

A drawknife works pretty well at removing bark. This table isn't the easiest of first projects though.

[Eugene Krimkevich]

Thanks all for the guidance! I'll get a better idea as to the exact design I'm looking at and will come back with some more specific questions.

[James White]

Eugene,

It is very important that the slab is either kiln dried or air dried for several years. The price for a dried slab will be significantly different. Be sure the lumber yard shows you the moisture content before you buy. What state do you live in? Average humidity will affect the desired % moisture content of the slab.

James

[Eugene Krimkevich]

Hi James,

Thanks for the info! I live in the sf bay area, not too humid here. What level of moisture content would be acceptable here for the slab to be project-ready?

[Matt Day]

Eugene,

You haven't responded to the question regarding the tools you have to work with. That will greatly affect any design & joinery advice you'll be getting here, especially since you have no woodworking experience. What type of wood do you plan on using for the legs/apron/base: surfaced 4 sides (S4S), rough sawn, dimensional from the big box store?

The top is going to be challenging itself, but there will be a lot of work to be done building the base of the table as well.

[James White]

Eugene,

That would be best answered by a local woodworker who knows your climate. Here in CT I like about 10%. I imagine you would need it a bit drier.

James

[Eugene Krimkevich]

Hi Matt,

All I've really got is a circular saw, rotary sander and a power drill in the way of power tools. I figured I'd be able to rent everything else, though I'm not sure how feasible that is. I haven't figure out what wood to use for the base, that's one of my outstanding questions.

I'd like to replicate this design: http://www.cmstatic1.com/2835/2835.64237.jpg

What wood would be best/easiest to work with for this kind of base? What kind of joinery should I use to join the base together and the base to the table? What tools will I need for this? Sorry for being all over the place with questions, I have a Woodcraft store in my area, hoping to stop by and get some more specific guidance since I'm getting a much better idea of the right questions to ask now.

[Sam Murdoch]

Hi all,

I've been shopping around for a slab coffee table and haven't been able to find any reasonably priced items, so I've decided to have a go at building one myself. That said, I have absolutely no woodworking experience. Besides sourcing the wood (I've found some mills in my area and am thinking of using walnut for the slab), I'm not sure where to start.

Cheers,
Eugene

Eugene, this is an ambitious project for a beginner woodworker even more so for someone self described as having - "absolutely no woodworking experience". I applaud your initiative but as I wrote to someone else this week on this forum - take a class. At the least buy a few books, or subscribe to Fine Woodworking or another mag and get at least some intellectual background before you start chopping into boards. Bring your slab and lumber to a woodworking class or club and work side by side with a few folks more advanced than you. You will get to use equipment and learn how to do that safely. Get the table built and we here on the Creek can walk you through the finishing, but to guide you from start to finish on such a project will only frustrate you and us. Perhaps I speak for myself but I can't imagine how to begin addressing your questions.

[Victor Robinson]

I think Sam has it right, but it kind of depends what your long-term goals are. If you just want to get this table cobbled together as quickly and cheaply (and nicely) as possible and then get on with your life, I'm sure you can find more than enough guidance here on SMC, from your Woodcraft, and perhaps from folks local to you with more tools and knowledge.

Now if you intend to invest in woodworking as a hobby with your time and money and really make this table yourself the way a dedicated woodworker might, you are going to need some better tools and more knowledge.

What follows is just a brief outline of some (not all) of the steps that you will encounter and possible solutions:

The top will need to be flattened - this is something you can and should outsource unless you intend on investing in some fairly serious equipment or want to give hand tools and elbow grease a go. After it's flattened, you will need an orbital sander and some sandpaper (a progression of grits from 60-220ish) to get the surface ready for finishing. There are non-sanding methods for this as well (e.g. using hand planes and scrapers), but going the power tool route will probably be faster as hand tools can be an exercise in frustration until you learn how to properly sharpen and tune them.

Once sanded, to get a satin look, you might go with something like a wipe-on varnish for the top. You would apply it with rags in thin coats, knocking off dust nibs in between coats with fine sandpaper. The final polishing of the finish could be done with super fine sandpaper (grits 600+), steel wool, or other polishing abrasives/compounds depending on the level of sheen you are after. A coat of paste wax would finish off the top.

As for the base, the one in the image you linked looks simple enough, but it requires lumber that is straight and true first of all. To be able to mill lumber yourself into straight pieces ready for joinery, you need to invest in some serious power tools or hand tools (or find a buddy or a place you can mill lumber). Now, you could probably get by with purchasing pre-surfaced stock from Home Depot and ripping to size with your circular saw, and perhaps that would satisfy your needs. But it would probably yield workpieces that need a lot of sanding and might not fit together without gaps. The actual wood is up to you but stay away from softwoods available at your big box store (e.g. pine or 2x4s). Oak, birch, maple are readily available and not too expensive, though you will pay a premium if you are buying pre-surfaced and pre-straight-line-ripped stock from HD.

As for actually joining the base parts together, there are a multitude of different options. Though woodworkers tend to mostly shun screws, you could just screw the parts together. Wouldn't be pretty, but it would work. A step up from just butt-joining with screws (not recommended, honestly) would be pocket-screws, which are hidden, for which a small Kreg pockethole jig would be useful. You can also buy plugs in a variety of wood species to fill in the pocketholes.

If you want to use more traditional woodworking joinery, e.g. mortise and tenons, half-laps, etc., again you'd need to upgrade your tooling and knowledge. There are lots of ways to make wood joints both with hand and power tools, but the investment in obtaining the tooling and learning would be a lot unless you have long-term woodworking plans.

I believe you mentioned you are in the SF Bay Area. If you are in the south bay, look up the Sawdust Shop. It's a woodworking collective where you can rent time in their shop and attend classes. Signing up there for a little while would give you access to real woodworking equipment and guidance while you learn and work on your table.

[Eugene Krimkevich]

Thanks all for the generous and helpful guidance. I'm going to head it and sign up for a woodworking night class at an adult school in my area. I think all the advice I got here made me realize just how much I underestimated this project!

Victor - I actually just found out about the Sawdust Shop today, definitely looks like a great resource and I plan on taking advantage, if at least just to have access to the shop tools. I guess I'll be back here in a couple of months once the class gets started with (hopefully) more educated questions