| Project by Manitario | posted 118 days ago | 2099 views | 25 times favorited | 40 comments |  |
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Like so many of my projects, this started off with my wife wanting to buy a piece of furniture. She’d been bugging me that we needed a new kitchen table and started sending me pics of tables from stores…I told her that there was no way I was going to pay money for something that I could make.
I’ve admired the slab furniture on LJ’s and really wanted to try making a slab trestle table. I’ve used elm before and I really admire its rich grain figure; as well I grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba which unlike most of the cities in N. America still retains most of its elm forest, so I have a certain nostalgia for elm.
When planning this table, I thought it would be relatively simple to make; a couple of weeks of casual work to throw it together. As I started the work though I realized that this was a huge undertaking. The joinery is simple; basic mortise and tenon construction for the base and only one glue joint for the top, but it presented several serious difficulties due to the size of the pieces. The bookmatched slabs for the top came “planed on on side and jointed on one edge” but in reality the top was not flat and the edge was not at 90 deg. After several very awkward attempts to feed the 80lb slabs through my 6” jointer I gave up and used a #7 plane which was still awkward given that the top is almost 3” thick. After I got the edge jointed as best as I thought possible I glued the top together; which ended up with an almost 1” cup from edge to edge. Time for more hand planing. And more hand planing. And hours of sanding. Then filling most of the cracks with epoxy which I dyed black. Finally, almost 3 months after I started the “two week” project is done!
Finish is 8 coats of Minwax “Tung oil” aka wiping varnish progressively sanded up to 1000 grit. The bowties are walnut. Now comes the fun of making benches and chairs….
-- Rob, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
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40 comments so far
Retsof
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131 posts in 401 days
#1 posted 118 days ago
The first thing that came to mind as I saw your table was, “Wow, that looks heavy!” That top is beautiful. Nice work!
-- "There seems to be a black hole in my garage that swallows up pencils and tape measures as soon as I put them down."
joein10asee
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1657 posts in 173 days
#2 posted 118 days ago
Beautiful job! My wife is standing next to me and she says “OOhhh, THAT’S nice!”
Which in “wifespeak” means… “Why couldnt you have built ME one like that?” LOL
-- Perform A Random Act Of Kindness Today ... Pay It Forward
kimosawboy
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18 posts in 1137 days
#3 posted 118 days ago
Your second pic certainly got my attention, love the joinery!!
What are the small “blocks” on the horizontals under the slab??
Nice all around.
G Vavra
whitebeast88
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1833 posts in 356 days
#4 posted 118 days ago
beautiful table!great job,a lot nicer than you’d buy in a store.
-- It don't have to be straight,it's just a suggestion!!!
Manitario
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1862 posts in 1049 days
#5 posted 118 days ago
joein10asee; yep, you might as well buy the wood and start…
kimosawboy; the blocks are screwed into the slab and fit into slots on the trestles; it attaches the top to the trestles but still allows for wood movement in the top.
-- Rob, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
david38
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529 posts in 509 days
#6 posted 118 days ago
very nice table
Don W
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9932 posts in 733 days
#7 posted 118 days ago
Well it was worth the wait. Its beautiful for sure.
-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)
John Franklin
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321 posts in 1964 days
#8 posted 118 days ago
what a beauty! elm is some tough wood, that’ll look as great 200 years from now; great butterflys
-- John Franklin - Central PA - http://affyx.wordpress.com
a1Jim
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86947 posts in 1743 days
#9 posted 118 days ago
Super table ,great job.
-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/
Jamie Speirs
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3668 posts in 1022 days
#10 posted 118 days ago
That is one great table
Elm being my favorite timber
well worth the extra ten weeks
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
Manitario
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1862 posts in 1049 days
#11 posted 118 days ago
thanks guys! I see all its flaws but my wife is happy so I guess it turned out ok…
-- Rob, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
BTimmons
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1076 posts in 651 days
#12 posted 118 days ago
I hope your wife has since mentioned that it’s so much nicer than anything store bought! Great work, very stout.
-- Brian in Arlington, TX - Laziness is the foundation of efficiency.
Dusty56
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10496 posts in 1854 days
#13 posted 118 days ago
Anything worth having is worth waiting for …...point proven by this beautiful table : )
Looking forward to your chairs and benches !
-- When did quiet and quite become the same word ? I'm guessing about the same time as your and you're did.
LexWoodWorks
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15 posts in 387 days
#14 posted 118 days ago
Rob…Love the dovetail keys; Nakashima would be proud. Funny how the “small” projects become much more huh. One of these days I’m going to get to get good at estimating time and scope with the “Mission Control”...ha ha ha.
Have fun making the benches and chairs! Great project…well done!
-- the lyf so short the craft so long to lerne
gfadvm
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6611 posts in 856 days
#15 posted 118 days ago
You did a wonderful job on this table. The black dyed epoxy and the bowties really look great. Elm is not easy but the end result justifies the headaches. How did you dye your epoxy?
-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm
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