# Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?



## tpobrienjr (Aug 8, 2007)

*Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*

My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.

I would like to make the 46 inch diameter top from 3/4 inch oak plywood, because (1) it will be more stable than built-up solid wood, (2) I can make leaves with matching grain, and (3) total building time will be less (we have 8 evenings to get this done at the local high school woodshop).

The apron of this tabletop is laminated from thin slices of oak, bent to a radius of 20 inches or so. I don't think that part will be a problem (though it will be a challenge).

Here's the sticky part (no pun intended):

If I make the top from plywood, I have to come up with some kind of edge treatment.

Ideas so far:

add a one-inch band of oak, bent and laminated just as the apron is (this seems scary to me).

Build up the edge with segments of oak, doweled together at ends, cut to radius (very complex, lots of miters)


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## dennis (Aug 3, 2006)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


I kinda like the solid oak idea….


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## toddc (Mar 6, 2007)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


I'm with Dennis.


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## Darell (Jul 23, 2008)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


I agree. Go solid oak. The veneer is so thin on plywood these days that you'll sand through it in no time, particularly around the edges if you're not very careful. Happened to me yesterday on a shelf I'm making. I went clean through the veneer in the middle of the shelf after just 4 passes with a 120 grit disk on my random orbital sander. Not even applying pressure.


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## mmh (Mar 17, 2008)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


Solid wood is my preferrence. Plywood is good for cabinet sides that won't show. The solid wood table will be worthy of keeping for many generations.


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## jim1953 (Nov 18, 2007)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


I Like Solid Oak The Best


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## Tangle (Jul 21, 2007)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


solid


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## pommy (Apr 17, 2008)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


well i think you have your answer friend i'm with everyone else

andy


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## bayouman (May 13, 2008)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


Gotta go with others - solid oak.


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## rsharp (May 6, 2008)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


Tom, for your reasons stated, I would go with plywood for this particular project. Time is limited. I agree with the heirloom factor mentioned, but a quality finish will allow for many years of use.

Who knows? You could use this as a prototype for a solid project in the future, when time allows.


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## mtnwild (Sep 28, 2008)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


I was just at a friends house where they have an old solid oak table. They love it and use it a lot. So at the most used areas the finish and wood quality is showing wear. Easily repaired with solid wood. Good as new. Veneer plywood would have been a problem for a favorite piece of furniture. Just a thought.


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## matter (Jan 30, 2008)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


Solid- for sure

We have a solid white oak table from when I was a kid, still has 4 plate marks in it. My Mom refinished it in 1978 or 79, and aside from the generation of plate marks, it looks as good as new.

BTW- my own son will be working in MY old plate mark soon….


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## dsb1829 (Jun 20, 2008)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


I haven't seen the table in question, but I can give some feedback on plywood for a table surface. I was in a rush to get my dining table up in time for Thanksgiving. In the end I just ran out of time, so I grabbed a sheet of ply from the home center, stained it, sealed it, and put a layer of poly on it. It doesl work and so far none of our guests have had anything but positive comments on it. I just rounded over the edges, so the plys do show. For me this is a temporary solution until I can get back to laminating up a solid wood tabletop.

Since you are in a time crunch this method of doing ply now and then a solid top later may appeal. One concern that I have about the round table is the unsupported edge. I have seen this handled various ways. The easiest seems to be to cut the ply into an octagon (or other flat sided geometric shape) then laminate on solid wood. After that cut the rounds. Add a plywood apron with edge banding, it is easier to kerf and bend than solid.

Just some thoughts. Again pictures would make it easier to see what you are up to. I am guessing it is a traditional pedestal table with extension slides to go from round to oval-ish.


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


In the end, a solid wood top is faster to make and again, in the end, it will last longer.


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## amir (Dec 8, 2008)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


Go solid, forget the crisis


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## thom (Feb 16, 2008)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


I would think any homecenter or lumber yard that would stock the oak plywood would also have 3/4 F4S Oak as standard stock .

If you have to work with rough sawn wood, the jointing and surfacing shouldn't take but a few hours at the most and as a bonus you could get the top a little thicker by at least a sixteenth or an eighth.

Go with the solid wood and the table will be something your daughter could pass on to your future grandchildren.


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## Huckleberry (Nov 7, 2007)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


If I may humbly disagree with all of you that say solid wood top. I made my dining room table and I used 3/4" mdf and veneered with a nice oak veneer. Now upside to this method is a dead flat table for ever. My table top is 36" by 72" with an apron around at 2" by 2 1/2" to make it seem as though the top is 2 1/2" thick and with the mdf it seems that is the case. You do not have to worry at all about wood movement on the top thus you will be able to do what ever it is you want using a veneer. The downside to this is that an apron around the mdf is going to be tricky. If you build it up using 1/8" to 1/4" thick strips of oak and using glue and pocket hole screws it will probably be ok. You will also have to be very careful when sanding a veneer of course. Now I also had to use a paper backing on the underside of my table to make sure as the glue cured that the top did not cup. One more benefit to this method is attaching this top to the base and not worrying about the movement of the top. My top is put on using pocket hole screws. I would invite to take a look at my projects and look at the table that I made for myself. Good luck with yours and I hope that all of our advice helps you out.


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## tpobrienjr (Aug 8, 2007)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


Thanks, everybody, for lots of good advice and interesting comments. I may go in a different direction with this. Woodsmith magazine (another of my favorites) has a plan this issue for a trestle table that has pull-out wings for two 8 inch leaves. The top is cherry plywood, edged with a bullnose of solid cherry. One of Amy's desires is to have a place in the table to store the leaves, as her grandma's dining room table does. I think the Woodsmith plan, being a rectangular table, will accommodate that. I'll discuss the Woodsmith plan with her, and we'll see where that goes. Huckleberry, thanks for reminding me about the MDF plus veneer approach. That was also suggested by TW, a friend who wholesales sheet goods.


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## tpobrienjr (Aug 8, 2007)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


Status of the table project: All of the base parts (legs, arms, feet, stretcher) have been made from solid Red Oak. The quartersawn Red Oak that I originally wanted to use for the top just didn't work out. So I have cut pieces for the big parts of the top from a very nice looking piece of 3/4 Red Oak plywood, and I'm adding the under part of the top's structure now. Cold weather and holidays and travel have slowed the project down, but I think it's about time to get it going again. This project takes up a lot of room, giving me an incentive to finish it….


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


I read all that for nothing LOL


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## tpobrienjr (Aug 8, 2007)

tpobrienjr said:


> *Oak tabletop - solid lumber or plywood?*
> 
> My daughter and I are building a table for her breakfast room. We would like to build the round oak table that's featured in a recent American Woodworker magazine. But that one's made with a lot of solid oak, requiring major amounts of rough-lumber processing.
> 
> ...


See my projects for a couple of pictures of the finished table. We made all of the structure out of solid red oak, and picked out a nice-looking sheet of red oak plywood for the top. Amy is happy with it, and so am I.


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