Thread: Garden stake table

Nice one Steve.

Steve,

The colours have come out really nicely. Looks like a satisfying project.

Were these old stakes or new stakes?

Why did you choose to use garden stakes?

Nice work steve, you must have gone through more biscuits than the Arnotts factory

Wow, who would have thought of doing that .. obviously you Steve .. brings a smile to my face thinking how something utilitarian, sharp and rough, has been transformed into something smooth and good looking .. still useful.

ace concept and execution

What a great look!! I wonder if you'll come into probs with the different types of timber shifting at different rates over the years? Is that a problem generally when you joint different timbers?

Either way it looks great.

Cheers

I wonder if you'll come into probs with the different types of timber shifting at different rates over the years? Is that a problem generally when you joint different timbers?

I wouldn't think so. Most of the movement is across the grain and the section sizes are small. It's not really any different to butcher's blocks, which are commonly made from different timbers laminated together to get the colour contrast. GlueLam benchtops are made this way too.

Originally Posted by silentC

I wouldn't think so. Most of the movement is across the grain and the section sizes are small. It's not really any different to butcher's blocks, which are commonly made from different timbers laminated together to get the colour contrast. GlueLam benchtops are made this way too.

At the risk of hijacking - When would it become a problem? Could I joint say 150mm by 40mm lengths of redgum and ash to make a benchtop? Given that the Ash is about 6/7 years dry and the redgum would be over 100 years dry?

The only personal experience I have to draw on here is the electric guitar I made about 20 years ago. The body was laminated from two pieces of ash with a strip of rosewood flanked by strips of Queensland maple up the middle. The neck was a lamination of two pieces of Queensland maple with a strip of rosewood. I haven't had any trouble with these moving independently over time, although they are both sealed with poly-urethane.

If you wanted to get technical, you could look at the rate at which each absorbs moisture from the surrounding air and try to match timbers that do so at a similar rate. I don't know much about the science involved but I gather that different timbers take a different amount of time to absorb moisture and reach equilibrium moisture content, which is the moisture content of the surrounding air. If one loses or takes on moisture quicker than the other, then you might find some movement as the relative thickness changes.

I don't know that the age of the timber makes much difference one drying has been completed because even 100 year old timber still takes on and loses moisture.

I also suppose the glue you use would have some bearing on it in the long term.

One thing I have seen though is a laminated bench top where the timbers used were of different hardnesses. Over time, the softer one wears away leaving the harder one more prominent. Something else to keep in mind I suppose.

Back on track!
Nice job Steve. Any idea what the timbers are? Looks like one may be jarrah.
It's amazing what good timber gets used for. I once made a hall table from Sydney blue gum that had been cut up for survey pegs.

At the risk of hijacking - When would it become a problem? Could I joint say 150mm by 40mm lengths of redgum and ash to make a benchtop? Given that the Ash is about 6/7 years dry and the redgum would be over 100 years dry?

If you mix species it is better to profile the joint edges with an interlocking router bit (forgotten the name of the actual cutter). This then tends to stabilise the timber movement near the outside faces.

Thick timbers are less likely to move over a short time period than thin timbers so the planks you have should work quite well.

Originally Posted by Wood Borer

Steve,

The colours have come out really nicely. Looks like a satisfying project.

Were these old stakes or new stakes?

Why did you choose to use garden stakes?

Very old stakes - stored under a house for around 10 years. I picked the straighest and the most colorful. I doubt very much whether there will be any shrinkage.

Why use stakes? When I noticed the color variation between them as they were all stacked together I was reminded of a kitchen cutting board so I thought I'd do something along those lines.

steve

Originally Posted by Slavo

Nice work steve, you must have gone through more biscuits than the Arnotts factory

Exactly 50