Natural Edge Mesquite Desk

That is beautiful

Jamie

-- Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though 'twere his own. --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Beautiful wood. Nice job on the table. I thought God created mesuqite only to cook steaks. I didn’t realize it was such a pretty wood.

-- Stormy: Sometimes the wood just tells you what it wants to be.

You did a beautiful job bringing out the character of that mesquite. I like the design and the finish appears perfect. I also REALLY like the chair with the cowhide back.

-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm

That’s really nice! I like all the character and the way it stands out.

-- www.largewoodslabs.com Apple Creek, Ohio

That’s a beautiful desk. With something that pretty to look at, how would you ever get any work done?

-- Hal, Tennessee http://www.first285.com

That’s absolutely beautiful!!!

-- Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein

So cool looking! I’d love to see how you attached the table to the legs.

beautiful!

Nice job.

-- Ken, "Everyday above ground is a good day!"

Awesome job. How are the legs coneted? I’m working on a table project and am looking for some direction.

-- It's hard to focus on the daily stresses when using power tools.

Connecting the top and not making it to noticeable was a little difficult. As you notice on the is desk there are no drawers that usually would have added the stability to a desk. So to attach the legs to the top I did a couple of things. Fist the top is 1 3/4” thick so I made a mortise in the top 1 1/4” deep to accept the tendon on the legs. Then I drilled pilot holes diagonally from the bottom of the top through the mortise with large wood screws. This worked pretty well, but there was still movement in the desk. So I added triangle blocks, used pocket hole screws on the inside of the blocks so the screws could not be seen from ether side of the desk. the blocks were attached to the inside portion of the legs and the desk top. If you look closely in a couple of the pictures you will see the triangle blocks. They are also made from the same Mesquite so they blend in pretty well. I did not use any glue in attaching the legs because there would be no way to move the desk if we needed to. It is very heavy. Hope this helps.

Nice work, I am working on something similar but out of Tasmanian Rose Myrtle. However, I have had a ton of problems with the wood cracking and warping due to the climate change (high humidity to low humidity in Arizona). Curious how you flattened the top. Did you use #8 or less bench planes or just sand the top.

-- Matt, Arizona

Matt, Sounds like you are working on a challenging project. What your goal should be is to get your top as flat as you possibly can then seal it on all sides as quickly as possible. I can tell you what I do and maybe that will help.
The table in the picture above is made of Mesquite which is a very stable wood. I have no problem with warping with Mesquite, but it does quite a few cracks in it which I have to deal with. I have done Pecan or hickory tables before, and the problem with Pecan/Hickory is that it does move allot. In those cases, we sand the top flat, finish it down to 220 grit and then seal it with the finish on all for sides right away. The first coat we try to finish on all four sides at the same time to encase the wood in finish. The rest of the coats can go on one side at a time.
To flatten the top I use a 50” dual drum Woodmaster Drum sander.
http://www.woodmasterdrumsanders.com/specs.cfm
It is a good sander and for my shop works on single phase 220 Volt power, I would love to have something bigger, but I don’t have the space or access to single phase.

It the top wider then about 48” then i do it in multiple pieces then join the edges with a straight edge and a router bit, then use biskets about ever 6” to align the two halves of the top.

To fill in the cracks in Mesquite or other woods I use system three epoxy.
http://www.systemthree.com/store/pc/General-Purpose-c11.htm
I have used it for years. It is very strong and performs very well with finishes. There is three speeds of hardeners designed to be used at different temps. The key things with system three is to use the correct hardener for the temp of your shop, measure exactly, and mix twice as long as you would think you need to. I mix in large plastic Dixie cups. We mix each cup before using for a timed 3 min. Yes we do time it because it is very easy not to mix enough.

Finishes I use vary from job to job, but I do like spraying Waterlox finish.
http://www.waterlox.com/
It will darken the wood but gives a very durable and great looking finish. I normally spray two to 3 coats of gloss, sanding with 320 grit between coats, with a final finish of satin. If you do multiple coats of satin, it will start to blur the small details of the finish. It is very important to finish the top and the bottom of your desktop with the same number of coats of finish. this should greatly help in the stability of your top. If your top is endgrain use 220 grit sand paper and hand sand the finish into the top and let dry. Sand smooth then finish as normal. Doing this will fill in the endgrain and leaves a smooth finish. If not the finished top will have thousands of tiny pin holes all over the top.

Hope this helps. Let me know if I can help further.
Wes

Awesome! I like it! Gonna make one too. ;)