Hey guys,
Newbie here again. I had posted earlier with questions about finishing curly white oak. Thanks for all your suggestions. I am going to go with a more natural finish of BLO, clear shellac, and a finish of varnish.
However, there are a couple things I am second guessing. I did an inlay of bubinga around the border. I know that the wood expands and contracts, but I thought since it is wood in wood, it wouldn't be an issue. I figured that it would all expand and contract together. Yep, newbie here. Well I did my research and found that wood expands across the grain a lot more than with the grain. So I am concerned that the strips I inlayed across the grain are going to cramp the wood movement. My question is, will this actually be a problem? They are strips of bubinga 3/16" by 3/4" glued in with Titebond. It is pretty dry here in St. Louis MO at this time of year, and the table will end up in Dallas, where it is generally more humid. Will this make the wood crack, bend the inlay, or pull away from the bubinga? If so, what would you suggest? I could cut an expansion joint into the strip with a chisel, but it would look terrible.
As far as attaching the table to the metal frame, I know to give the table top room to move, but I also know that people are going to pick the table up by the wood. How do I attach the top so that it can move but be strong enough to hold the weight of the table. I was thinking of tightening it down with screws in the middle board and attaching it loosely with wider slots and washers towards the outside. Hopefully, the middle ones will keep it from shifting side to side, and the outer ones will hold it to the frame
Here are some pictures so far.
Newbie here again. I had posted earlier with questions about finishing curly white oak. Thanks for all your suggestions. I am going to go with a more natural finish of BLO, clear shellac, and a finish of varnish.
However, there are a couple things I am second guessing. I did an inlay of bubinga around the border. I know that the wood expands and contracts, but I thought since it is wood in wood, it wouldn't be an issue. I figured that it would all expand and contract together. Yep, newbie here. Well I did my research and found that wood expands across the grain a lot more than with the grain. So I am concerned that the strips I inlayed across the grain are going to cramp the wood movement. My question is, will this actually be a problem? They are strips of bubinga 3/16" by 3/4" glued in with Titebond. It is pretty dry here in St. Louis MO at this time of year, and the table will end up in Dallas, where it is generally more humid. Will this make the wood crack, bend the inlay, or pull away from the bubinga? If so, what would you suggest? I could cut an expansion joint into the strip with a chisel, but it would look terrible.
As far as attaching the table to the metal frame, I know to give the table top room to move, but I also know that people are going to pick the table up by the wood. How do I attach the top so that it can move but be strong enough to hold the weight of the table. I was thinking of tightening it down with screws in the middle board and attaching it loosely with wider slots and washers towards the outside. Hopefully, the middle ones will keep it from shifting side to side, and the outer ones will hold it to the frame
Here are some pictures so far.