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Thread: 8'x8' oak table

  1. #1

    8'x8' oak table

    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?

  2. #2
    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.

  3. #3
    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.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Prashun Patel View Post
    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.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by kent wardecke View Post
    ... have an 8'x8' table and then route a design in the middle and epoxy the table. ...
    Quote Originally Posted by Prashun Patel View Post
    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.

  6. #6
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    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.
    Last edited by Gordon Stump; 02-12-2020 at 6:24 PM.
    Ask a woodworker to "make your bed" and he/she makes a bed.

  7. #7
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    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!

  8. #8
    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.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Coers View Post
    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!

  10. #10
    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.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Mel Fulks View Post
    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.

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    Quote Originally Posted by johnny means View Post
    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?

  13. #13
    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.

  14. #14
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    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.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by johnny means View Post
    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.

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