I have finished my table finally! Here is a detailed process of the project. It all started with some amazing pieces of wood. Locally the wood is called Korai and it is grown here in Bangladesh. The pieces still retained the natural edge on one side which gave me some inspiration for the table. There were only three pieces that were long enough so I needed some other wood to mix in. I wanted to do a lighter wood to contrast with the Korai. Here is the original layout of the table top. This was before adding the lighter wood but I wanted to show the original condition of the lumber... Rough!
Next step was getting the wood straight, flat and smooth. This was a 5 hour process with the small DeWalt planner in the picture below. It was challenging because so much material had to be remove and the feed roller did not pull the wood through so I had to push everything. Here is the top with the planing done.
Here is a pic with the edges straight and the the ends trimmed. It is hard to see in the pic but the outside boards are trimmed with a slight angl on them; it just seemed like the right thing to do.
Next was joining the top together and gluing it up. I went with a very nice doweling fixture we had in the shop. The dowels are spaced every 12 inches.
Once all the holes were drilled it was time to clamp it up. This was challenging as I was by myself and the irregular sides made the top buckle so I had to clamp it down to the workbench.
Next was figuring out the legs. I wanted something modern and minimal to offset the chunky top. It took a month to find the right design and I modified it a bit to make it mine. Here is a shot of the legs being glued together.
Here is a picture of the leg joint detail. I cut a channel in the face of the joint and glued in a contrasting piece of wood for looks and to strengthen the joint.
Last was the sanding... hours of sanding and finishing. I had a minor snafu with the finish and it is a good thing I started on the bottom because the finished turned it green. Part of it was the way the wood reacts to water and part of it was a contaminated brush or something. Anyway the rest went without issue and the finished product turned out great. From a technical woodworking standpoint it is not my best work (See the bowtie insert) but the overall impact is what I had hoped. I love the two tone, the legs and the natural edge. The height turned out right on at 29 inches. Our old table was a bit too high at 30 inches. The final test is to get eight people around it and see how it performs!
Next step was getting the wood straight, flat and smooth. This was a 5 hour process with the small DeWalt planner in the picture below. It was challenging because so much material had to be remove and the feed roller did not pull the wood through so I had to push everything. Here is the top with the planing done.
Here is a pic with the edges straight and the the ends trimmed. It is hard to see in the pic but the outside boards are trimmed with a slight angl on them; it just seemed like the right thing to do.
Next was joining the top together and gluing it up. I went with a very nice doweling fixture we had in the shop. The dowels are spaced every 12 inches.
Once all the holes were drilled it was time to clamp it up. This was challenging as I was by myself and the irregular sides made the top buckle so I had to clamp it down to the workbench.
Next was figuring out the legs. I wanted something modern and minimal to offset the chunky top. It took a month to find the right design and I modified it a bit to make it mine. Here is a shot of the legs being glued together.
The next detail was to keep one of the pieces in the top from cracking. In the Nakashima style I decided to put a bow tie in the crack. Here is a pic... I am not all that proud of this part...
Last was the sanding... hours of sanding and finishing. I had a minor snafu with the finish and it is a good thing I started on the bottom because the finished turned it green. Part of it was the way the wood reacts to water and part of it was a contaminated brush or something. Anyway the rest went without issue and the finished product turned out great. From a technical woodworking standpoint it is not my best work (See the bowtie insert) but the overall impact is what I had hoped. I love the two tone, the legs and the natural edge. The height turned out right on at 29 inches. Our old table was a bit too high at 30 inches. The final test is to get eight people around it and see how it performs!
