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I worked at a lumbar yard between high school and college and got a chance to see various building materials I had never seen before. I also had the time to really SEE some materials that were all too familiar, but usually ignored. Oriented Strand Board (OSB) is one such material. Most people wouldn't give it much of a thought but to me there is an inherent beauty to it. It reminds me of looking at a Jackson Pollock painting. If you look at it for a moment you can start to see these layers going back into space. It just seemed so interesting and such a shame that it gets covered up.

This got me thinking about how I could try to bring it to the foreground, make people see more possibility in it than just something to walk on or cover with shingles. A dinning table seemed the perfect direction to go. People would gather at it for a period of time and be forced to come into direct contact with it. A person would, by default see it while they used the table. And, in making it into a dinning table instead of a bench or stool, it elevates the nature of how it is used as to bring it into the realm of something reserved for special occasions.

As I worked on the project I started to discover some added benefits of working with OSB. Things like the lateral strength and torsional rigidity would prove useful especially when carving something down to such a small footprint (each leg is tapered down to a contact patch of less than 3 square inches). The compressed material made for a (mostly) void-free substrate. And the irregular pattern took on a marbled texture as it was carved and finished.

Aside form a few pieces made by fellow students that were spawned from my work, I haven't seen much of this material used in furniture -but I hope to see more.

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Comments

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Bravo
Well done and my compliments .
I like the use of OSB and this table demonstrates that it can look great if worked into a good design like this .
I have been playing around with OSB also and made a couple of project choosing the edge grain .
Here is one example http://lumberjocks.com/projects/92322 of its use and I aslso used a laminated strand board for another project which aslso has a very interesting apperance .http://lumberjocks.com/projects/90338
I am sure there are other materials to be dicovered that can be worked into a succesful design .

Klaus
 

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First off, let me welcome you to the Lumberjocks community of woodworkers, we are happy to have you on board.

Your OSB dining table is a piece of art. I love the organic, flowing lines of your design as well as the natural beauty of the finished OSB. I agree that this material has been greatly ignored by woodworkers as a resource for furniture building. Perhaps your dining table and my OSB rocker will inspire others to experiment with this low cost, unique material. Thank you for posting your dining table.
 

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Thank you for the warm welcome and kind words. I am really digging the work I see on here and am getting more and more inspired to go make some dust.
 

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That's a clever design. Do you have a picture of the top? What did you use for a finish?
 

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Welcome to Ljs
Unique and very well done,nice work.
 

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Wow, very nice, very unique.
 

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That is a very cool looking dining table! Your guests will definitely have something to talk about at dinner!
 

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I was in a J Jill store with my honey weeks ago and I noticed one of the display cabinets had been constructed with OSB panels in hardwood style and rail frames. It was stunning! So, I now have a small project ongoing testing OSB with various stains and varnishes. My intent is to use OSB in a future cabinet. I'll post here of course. I do appreciate that you made your project public here. Well done I might add!
 

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Nice work! The best looking OSB I have ever seen… gonna have to put OSB on the list of things to pick up and make something out of in the shop. And welcome to Lj's!
 

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Great looking Table. It takes some talent to make OSB look that good! You and Lee are very inspiring. Welcome to Lumberjocks!
 

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Welcome to Lj, very nice job on that table. That idea would be nice for an office desk also. Thank you for your post.
 

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Very nice looking table with a unique perspective.
Welcome to LumberJocks. Todd
 

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love your approach here - I've been a big fan mixing mediums in art or woodworking
i'll definitely give this material a second look
 

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Beautiful table I have often wondered why OSB isnt used more for furniture etc
 

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Awesome design I love it. I've got OSB on my to do list of furniture
 

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That looks fantastic. As someone who can't really afford to buy good quality wood and survives on using scrap, the possibilities of Plywood and OSB really appeal to me and this is just lovely!
 
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