Thread: Melbourne woodworkers

That is going to be a big table.

I would love to make one for you but I am too far away from you.

Anton Gerner would be your man for the job

Another possibiity is Christian Cole Furniture
Australian hardwood timber furniture designers | Christian Cole Furniture

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That's where I work.

Originally Posted by andre6

I'm looking for an established woodworker that is willing to build a big contemportary natural edge 20 person dining table, similar to but not necesarily like attached image?
any thoughts?

by my reconning, a 20 person table will be in the order of 8m long and around one to 1.2 metres wide
that will be one serious table, with very significant challenges, not the least of which will be sourcing the timber -- a 8m natural edge slab probably means a custom logging contract and a three year wait while the slab dries
weight -- I'm estimating over 350kg for the top alone
installation -- you might need to remove a window and hire a crane to get it into the room.


can I suggest you consider a number of shorter tables, each seating three on the long side, that can be brought together to seat 20

Originally Posted by ian

by my reconning, a 20 person table will be in the order of 8m long and around one to 1.2 metres wide
that will be one serious table, with very significant challenges, not the least of which will be sourcing the timber -- a 8m natural edge slab probably means a custom logging contract and a three year wait while the slab dries
weight -- I'm estimating over 350kg for the top alone
installation -- you might need to remove a window and hire a crane to get it into the room.


can I suggest you consider a number of shorter tables, each seating three on the long side, that can be brought together to seat 20

At work we allow 600mm per seat. 1.4 wide will allow 2 per end which leaves 8 per side. So it could be done at 5m x 1.4m; the biggest table we've done was about 6m long so I'm confident we could accommodate.

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

At work we allow 600mm per seat. 1.4 wide will allow 2 per end which leaves 8 per side. So it could be done at 5m x 1.4m; the biggest table we've done was about 6m long so I'm confident we could accommodate.

the range, per place setting, seems to be 550 to 750 per person -- 550 is close to knee to knee and shoulder to shoulder, while 750 is described as "roomy"
width wise, 1400 might be OK for a boardroom or cafe table, but is generally considered too wide to allow comfortable conversation and the passing of dishes from one side of the table to another.
one reference Dining Table Design Basics

the original poser is looking for a live edge design, was the 6m version you constructed this or a torsion box? if I were commissioned to build such a table, I'd recommend a torsion box or a suite of smaller tables

the OP still needs to consider how the table will reach its design location
it would be criminal if once installed, the only way of getting the table out of the room would be after using a chain saw

The 6m was before I started there so I'm not sure how it was made. The biggest I've made is 3.8 x 1.35 parquetry topped with a 150 x 45mm solid edge; imposing but I don't think it's too wide for a dining table, also depends on the room. It went in in 2 pieces: top and base.

Provided there's a straight path from the entrance to the room and a large-ish doorway delivery will be do-able albeit heavy.

We tend to engineer around the desing, rather than design around engineering, and 9 times out of 10 we can make it work. We can also have a steel frame made if extra reinforcement is needed.

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

The 6m was before I started there so I'm not sure how it was made. The biggest I've made is 3.8 x 1.35 parquetry topped with a 150 x 45mm solid edge; imposing but I don't think it's too wide for a dining table, also depends on the room. It went in in 2 pieces: top and base.

Provided there's a straight path from the entrance to the room and a large-ish doorway delivery will be do-able albeit heavy.

We tend to engineer around the desing, rather than design around engineering, and 9 times out of 10 we can make it work. We can also have a steel frame made if extra reinforcement is needed.

I think that 6m table, or a similar one was written up in Australian Wood Review.
From memory, it was a two piece torsion box, joined on site to make the large table.

I agree that engineering the legs for a table that size, while not trivial, is relatively straight forward.

I'm not saying it can't be done, but "live edge" and the original poster's example, implies to me a slab, or something very similar, not veneer on a substrate

The only way to do it is to join up a top normally and put a raw edge on each side. Even if you could find a slab that size it would be pretty much impossible to stop it from warping