Thread: Oregon Dining Table

Nick,
That is a lot of hand plane work but it is doable in pine. Have a look at how Paul Sellars does a pine bench top.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD39949332C7FB168

Regards
John

I'll watch for now

100 mm thick can be a bit unwieldy and heavy. I hope you are fit.

Originally Posted by cava

100 mm thick can be a bit unwieldy and heavy. I hope you are fit.

He'll be well and truly fit after 120m of hand planing

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

He'll be well and truly fit after 120m of hand planing

Seriously don't try it. You'll be put off woodwork forever. It's not just hand planing the glued top that you have to worry about, it's also the individual pieces that make up the laminate so that each is flat and smooth enough to take the glue.

Paul Sellers calls it "real wood work" - In reality it's hard work, tedious work and really boring. Surely the "real wood work" is in the design and joining etc.

Why don't you ask a a timber shop or a workshop somewhere near you to dress the oregon for you with a thicknesser? All the pieces will be smooth, flat, the same thickness and all you will have to do is glue up and sand. I had to reduce the thickness of some standard 32 X 110 to 25 mm thick one time and a timber shop in Canberra was willing to do it for me for a very small cost. If I could find someone to do it in Canberra I am sure you will find somewhere close to you who can do it.

The truss rods are a good idea, but you can make some very cheap bar clamps with cheap timber off cuts, some nuts and bolts and some wedges. You can make them so that they will clamp both the top and bottom of the laminate top while the glue dry, so that your top will be fairly smooth as soon as the glue dries. I posted pictures in this forum of a set I made a while ago and they get a lot of use. Here is the post:

https://www.woodworkforums.com/showth...44#post1655544

I would also invest on a hand 1/3 sheet orbital sander to finish the project too - A good one will only cost $100 these days. A cheap one only about $30. The cheap one might not last long, but at that price they are almost disposable.

These things will make the job easier, more enjoyable, and it will look better. You will finish the top faster too (Can you imagine months of nagging by your wife?)

You will, of course have to find your own way, but hey! you asked!

Good luck! I hope you enjoy the process... Post some pictures of the table when you are done...

Thanks for the advice guys.

I think I will order the timber and just have a crack with the handplanes. I'm sure I'll know within a few days if its going to take a few weeks or a few years and in the case of the latter I will go pick up a thicknesser from carbatec

Hi gents, after some more advice before I order the timber.

The timber I would like to order is 50x100mm and I'm trying to decide between a 50mm or 100mm thick top.



Or



Am I right in thinking the 100mm thick will have less issues with expansion between the base and top as it should mainly change size across the thickness rather than the width of the top?

Cheers,
Nick

Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk

Your thoughts on expansion are spot on.
I'd say it depends on the actual cut of the timber as to which way you go.
If it's all quarter cut, like in the pics, you can have it however you want as movement will be minimal.
If it's crown cut, I'd be going for 100mm thick and have the boards glued face to face.

This is an Oregon outdoor table 2.7m x 1m x 70mm. The top weighed a ton....2 of us struggled to lift it.

It was made from recycled timber where very little of it was quatersawn, hence it started out faced glued and 100mm thick.

Used a router with a planer bit in a sled to smooth the top and bottom.


table_2.jpg

Originally Posted by giddleberry

Hi gents, after some more advice before I order the timber.

The timber I would like to order is 50x100mm and I'm trying to decide between a 50mm or 100mm thick top.



Or



Am I right in thinking the 100mm thick will have less issues with expansion between the base and top as it should mainly change size across the thickness rather than the width of the top?

Cheers,
Nick

Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk

The expansion coefficient (expansion with temp) of timber is actually quite low. Expansion with humidity is another matter. The internal stresses in each piece should cancel each other out to a large extent. And a good oil finish will stabilise the moisture content.

I have seen some beautiful tops that are much thinner than 50 mm.

I would not worry about going one way or the other....