Thread: Dining Table Blackwood Surprise

Maybe a slight adaption but it gives you an almost perfectly flat top even if you have a few wonky bits of timber. I would have liked just one join but Mal didn't have any big slabs so the top is 4 boards the widest is about 380 x 45 - 2.5 long dressed. Did mis one photo but I used the 160mm circular saw with the straight edge to get a nice crisp edge accross the end, a second cut just to make it quick and easy, then knocked it out with the chisel (you could use a router but then I can't hear my music). The Blackwood chips out quickly and straight, then a tidy up with the LN carriage plane.

Lookin good CH
I notice that you have the grain curvature of your boards running in the same direction . I thought the practice was to alternate them ?

Thanks Craw, sorry for going on, it obviously works but I see no depth line scribed at the tennon end. I assume you knock the shoulder of the tennon out across the grain and use the saw cut as a depth guide

Looking good!

Good morining guys, yes SW I did use a scribe line as well as the saw cut, the grain in the Blackwood is pretty straight so mostly you can give it a tap from the end as well.
Pete, there are two schools of thought on this, one is to alternate the other is to keep them all the same. The grain/figure always (almost) looks best looking at it from inside to outside (centre of the tree to outside of the tree) so thats the way I like to lay it. If you alternate the boards you get stripes in your table top. If they all face the one way all you have to do is tie the top down and its not an issue. Hi WW

Your SC must be quiet CH I'd find my GMC 1500 router quieter then the Hitachi SC

OR you could turn the music up, wear WiFi head phones.

Originally Posted by Claw Hama

Pete, there are two schools of thought on this, one is to alternate the other is to keep them all the same. The grain/figure always (almost) looks best looking at it from inside to outside (centre of the tree to outside of the tree) so thats the way I like to lay it. If you alternate the boards you get stripes in your table top. If they all face the one way all you have to do is tie the top down and its not an issue.

I usually orientate the boards so they look their best. I have experimented with alternating the panels of carcases which were to be veneered, and while I acknowledge the technical reasons for doing so, I don't get too worried with it all.

I continue to sit and watch.

Originally Posted by springwater

... , is it like a Zen moment or something? Is that a jungle trained cordless drill

No it's a zing moment


Looking good KoZ

Ok a bit more Zing on the project today went over for a little while and got the tenon ends set for the end timbers. One end was ok but on the short slabs I had to fit some floating tenons. I used a piece of quarter sawn Tassie Oak that was already the right thickness and a little harder than the Blackwood so when I drill and slot it for the pins its a little stronger. Photo 1 is showing the underside of the table, 2 is the topside. Mostly they have three tenons but I sliped a forth in for good measure.

G'day CH,

Nice looking table mate, looking forward to seeing the final product.

regards
Anthony

Hey KoZ

that is one great looking table top - simply love the grain

Hey Ray, the small CS isn't too bad and it only takes a few seconds to run a saw cut across the table but the NBR (noisey bl__dy router) would be screeming at me for for a while, that tongue started off at 50mm deep and 1.1m wide (in places anyway). I always find that with Blackwood I feel like I'm in the middle of a bush fire too with the amount of smoke from the router.
WW, I'm with you, the clients paying for the best grain to be on the top of their table and its up to me to keep it flat. I find its not all that hard with multipul boards to ease them back down if they curl a bit. With some of the big slabs of Ironbark, Blackbutt etc it takes a lot more force and sometimes all you can do it plane off the high points

Hmm speeking of 50mm tenons, has anyone come across a shoulder plane that has a bit more height to to them. All the shoulder planes I have seen or seached for only have a height of 60 -70mm. So what I hate is when I'm tidying up a shoulder on a 50mm or more tenon you bash your finges or knuckles on the end of the tenon. If I can't find a commercialy made one I may have to make my own.

Looking good there Claw Hama, some nice bling on the table top too.