A fabulous walnut counter for the fabulous Darlene's computers

[mesquite buckeye]

Well, we shall see just how fabulous, but here goes anyway. We have a very nice view out of a six foot wide window of the Santa Catalina Mountains to our north from our recently finished upstairs.

 
Darlene wants to be able to use her computers and see the pretty mountains so she can be happy on her working from home days.
;D 8) 8) 8)

Here is the space. 

 
The counter will be like 11 1/2 feet long and it needs to be at least 20" wide. I have 2- 3 X 9 X 15 1/2 feet long book matches from that lightning struck walnut from the MO farm. I'm going to have to figure out how to add at least 2-6 inches to the glueup width. I have some ideas how to get there, but I'm sure there will be some evolution of thought during the process.

Already have an idea using some end matching. Thanks, Rob.

[tule peak timber]

You betcha

[sawguy21]

What a view. I see the need,our desk is double yours and still too small. ;D This should be interesting, keep us posted.

[mesquite buckeye]

Here are the rough planks.

 
At least they are nice and light. : :-\ ;D

I didn't have any good twist sticks, and the 11.5' planks are too big and heavy to run through my jointer. I made a set of twist sticks from some old, short stickers. Couple of quick runs through my jointer on 2 faces and then planed out even both directions so they can't be screwed up lying on the side. ;D
I used my fancy push sticks seen in the eucalyptus flooring thread beloved by all who saw them to get this done.
;D ;D ;D 8)

Here they be all nice and even.

 

And here shown sitting on top of the first plank cut to 11' 7".

 

Good thing the plank is extra thick.May only be 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 finished.

[samandothers]

This will be fun!  Great looking floors!

[mesquite buckeye]

 ;D

[mesquite buckeye]

Working up the first plank. It has some twist as well as some crook, a bit of bow and a kink about 2/3 of the way down at a knot cluster. Argh.

 
Started planing away the high spots with the help of the winding sticks. They help with spotting the low spots and any cup remaining.



 
The knot cluster that made the kink. I'm sure the end to center deflection is at least 3/4" :(



 
Reverse side after running a few passes through the planer. The black line is the burn from the lightning bolt. In the places where the burn is really bad it cracks along that line.

[plowboyswr]

 :P ;D

[mesquite buckeye]

Those holes are from flathead borers, by the way. Some pretty big ones I'd say.

Also, I need to cut the winding sticks to the same length. The varying lengths make them harder to use. :(

[Ljohnsaw]

:P ;D

[scgargoyle]

Waiting for the next installation... I'm patient, but I'm old! :D

[mesquite buckeye]

Fine. :

Busy now trying to wrap up all my stuff around here before heading to Missouri on Saturday for the big annual woods workout.
;D 8) 8) 8)

Got to get a patent written, fix a broken trailer and gather together my stuff.

But just fine.......

I looked at the second timber and it was considerably straighter than the first. ;D Got it close and it is still like almost 3" thick. Here it is on the right of the first one. Note the cutoffs from both pieces leaning over to the right. I will need to add more length to the two of them to get the third stave.

 
After getting the first and second beams close to flat the bookmatch isn't so great after the loss of the matching layers. Take a look at this spot and see how poorly the matching pieces correspond. :(

 
I'm sure the loss of probably 3/4" of the matching wood to leveling is the cause.

Also all of the cool lightning bolt wood is on the other side of both pieces. :( :( :(

Darlene wants the fire. ;D 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

Try to be patient, as Monrovia is hot to get one of our new plants and I have to get that patent written as soon as I get home to contribute to the family income. :-\ ;D

Boooooring. :( I'd much rather be getting this done.  :( :( Priorities. :-\ : : : 8) ;D

[mesquite buckeye]

I'll try to get a picture when I get back and get them really flat to show what it looks like with the winding sticks for those unfamiliar with doing it the old fashioned way.

I do cheat and use a hand power planer to cut down the high spots, then the big planer to smooth out the rough finish, then back to the winding sticks to check and fine tune.

[beenthere]

And each layer removed changes the stresses a bit, releasing some such that it is like chasing your tail around the tree. But hope you catch up with it. ;)

[mesquite buckeye]

Exactly right. Something I never hear anybody talk about. My experience is that working on it a bit, then leaving it for a week or two to move around, touch it up, repeat.

I've done some very juvenile cherry log centers like this and the finished products are completely stable. You have to remember to let the adjustment movement be allowed to happen and not rush it. ;D

[mesquite buckeye]

Well, those patents still aren't done but the wife is wanting this more at this moment. :-\

I got my winding sticks all cut nice and even, which helps a lot when trying to sight down them. I use a little block of wood like a measuring stick to get them lined up. Unfortunately my winding sticks decided to do some winding themselves while I was away. :( :( :( I put them on my table saw for a flat surface and flipped them around until I found a side that sat pretty flat. Then put an X on the up side of each stick. 8)

 

[mesquite buckeye]

So here is the long kinked beam. Seems it did kink some more in the last month. Hopefully it is getting tired. ;D

 
If you look closely you can see the winding sticks spaced out across the top and all lining up. ;D


Here is one of those 4+ foot long pieces that I'll have to fit together. If you look at the sticks you can see the back one is high on the right and the front one is high to the left. Also a lot of cup but that doesn't matter at the moment.

 

This one shows how the board looks after knocking down the twisted ends, tapering out to nothing in the middle.

 
You can see the planed parts as smoother. After the twist was removed I sighted across the sticks, which were level side to side and end to end across all three. ;D Next, just flip over the board and run through the planer until flat on that side, reverse and rotate 180° and run that side flat. All good. ;D

The next one is the other short piece with sticks. This one is just cupped and not twisted.

 
A quick look across the sticks showed it to be flat along the edges, even though the board is a bit cupped. Off to the planer to smooth the bulge side letting the board ride on the straight cup edges to hold it square. ;D  Flip, rotate, repeat. ;D 8) 8) 8)

If you already know how to do this stuff, hang on, it gets prettier. ;D Just trying to help the guys who don't know this stuff yet. ;D


I ended up with everything trued up at 2 1/2" thick. I'm planning to finish it out at close to 20", as Darlene thinks it will be too fat for the space otherwise. I will rip the short pieces to close to 4", which will give me plenty of material to finish the job with a bit left over.

There is lots of strange, partially shattered and burnt areas within this wood, not just near the sapwood area. I've been able to plane through to worst of a lot of it and the rest i can stabilize (hopefully) at the glippity glop phase.

I hit some kind of cool bug holes filled with bright orange frass, which I thought contrasted nicely with the wood. I was thinking to color the epoxy filler orange. Darlene doesn't like it. :(

Basic black it will be. >:( >:( :(

Oh well. It will still be nice.

[mesquite buckeye]

Progress. Jointed and ripped the short planks. Here is one possible layout. Still have to straighten out the middle stave, which has close to 1" of crook. :(


 

Also thinking of putting the skinny stave in the middle.....


;D 8) 8) 8)

[lowpolyjoe]

Glad to watch your journey.  Looks like lots of work flattening those beams

[mesquite buckeye]

The biggest issue is the weight. Also they are too fat for the jointer I have. Then there is the post flattening unflattening. :( :( :

The real cupped piece cupped a little again after it was flat. Figured wood just likes to move.

Once I get it all glued up the pieces can fight with themselves. Hopefully that will help keep the shelf from puckering too much. ;D 8) 8) 8)

[mesquite buckeye]

Got those monsters all jointed up with Robert's help. Kept having unsquare edge issues. :( Turns out my little square isn't. OOPSie, : :( :(

Found another square that was actually square. ;D

Now things are better. ;D

This is looking like the layout.

 

Still have to rejoint the skinny pieces square and level them up in width in the planer.

I'm tired now....

[mesquite buckeye]

The left stave on the previous post decided it would like to move some more after we trimmed the sapwood side even. It is amazing how much a thin strip of sapwood can pull. The curve is maybe a quarter inch total and will close using the armstrong method.
;D 8) 8) 8)

Got the skinny pieces all evened and squared up today. Just waiting to get the chop saw back from the ranch.

[yukon cornelius]

Following intently! I can't wait to see how this turns out. It sure looks good so far

[mesquite buckeye]

 

[mesquite buckeye]

Got those middle guys all nice, cut and fitted. Off to mark for dowels.

 

[Just Me]

Those holes are from flathead borers, by the way. Some pretty big ones I'd say.

Also, I need to cut the winding sticks to the same length. The varying lengths make them harder to use. :(

I paint mine different colors. Red, green, purple and so on.

[mesquite buckeye]

Not a bad idea. Then you get several sets of them depending on the width and length of what you are making.
;D 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

Or are you saying this is for one set so you can see the different sticks better?

[Just Me]

I have a set of two footers, and a set of four footers painted four different colors. So, yeah, so you can see the sticks better. Eyes are getting old just like the rest of me.

I just used two of the four footers. I'm gluing up a tabletop and my assembly bench is on wheels so I have to shim up one wheel with wedges before I do a glueup on a top or a door. Floor has drains, new shop will be flat so I don't have to do that.

My wife is pretty fabulous too, in fact they call her Laura the Fabulous at several of the stores in town. One of these days I'll have to get a new camera and post some pictures of how I spoil her with woodwork. Fun, isn't it? Nice job on all of your projects.

[mesquite buckeye]

 

[mesquite buckeye]

 

 
I'm going to 'restrain' those unruly boards with some 1/2" dowels so everything ends up where it is supposed to. ;D Here we are all clamped up for marking for the dowels. Took a bit of grunting and pounding to get everything to behave. >:(

[tyb525]

Turns out my little square isn't.

If it's like a framing square, you can fix it by using a sharp punch on the inside or outside corner to spread, or close the legs of the square as necessary.

[mesquite buckeye]

I think I just saw that one in Fine Woodworking. I haven't tried it yet. Two out of 3 of mine are off. :(

[mesquite buckeye]

Fancy doweling setup.

 

Found this cutoff piece from one of the center staves. You can see how the lightning bolt turned the water in the wood into steam and almost blew the tree to pieces as well the spidering pattern of the electrical discharge. Some of them in other parts are burnt and look like little black trees. The orange mold followed the cracks.

 


Hole check.

 

[samandothers]

This is really starting to come together!  Literally!

[mesquite buckeye]

 

[mesquite buckeye]

Here are the dowels. The blunt end goes in first on the right staves, then all of them go into the left stave at once. The big taper is to help draw the crookeds straight. ;D

 

Dowels glued on one side and tested for fit. I did have one screwy hole that was in a knot/void and the dowel went crooked. I cut away the crooked part so it should work. ;D

 

All set up for the big glueup and clamping. ;D 8) 8) 8)

 

Note the presence of various persuaders, just in case. The clamps are there now too. ;D 8) 8) 8)

Just need to wait for the fabulous one to get home so we can glue it up. ;D

[Magicman]

Looking good as usual.  I have that same doweling jig which has guided many hundreds of holes.   ;D

[mesquite buckeye]

Big glueup this morning. Went together sooooo easy. :-\ :-\ :-\

 
Only had to move up to persuader #2 to get them close.

 
Looks like I'm going to have to look for a new bash board. :(

After we got it all clamped up the top was cupped. :( Still not closed on the bottom. Had to move several of the I beam clamps to the bottom and go find more clamps. Almost ran out. It closed to much banging and popping as it came together. All good now. Worst deviation is just over 1/16".

That will do. ;D 8) 8) 8)

Now a day clamped just to make sure that glue is good and locked up.

[mesquite buckeye]

Glippity glop part 1.

 

[mesquite buckeye]

I keep finding more hairline lightning cracks that need filling. Really hard to see but they sure drink the epoxy. Here you can see the material wicking to the right in one of them.

 

[mesquite buckeye]

Fancy shmancy guide board to cut the ends square with my skilsaw. Had to mill it thinner and not have the clamps covering more than half on to clear the axle cover. Worked pretty not bad. Only problem is the skilsaw left about 3/16" at the bottom I had to cut off by hand and sand smooth.

 

Here is my equally fancy fitting setup. Cement blocks with two of the unfinished chair backs for Athena bring it to just the right height. ;D

 

[mesquite buckeye]

Moving day. Ugh. :-\ :-[

 

Highly non fun. The worst is swinging that long heavy monster through the door. And back outside again to do any work on it to keep the dust down.

Fabulosity factor has dropped by about 3 points. The skillsaw 0° isn't. >:( Both ends were tapered outward top to bottom, a fixable problem, but needs to be squared and recut. First cut no problem. Very tight quarters on the balcony though. Second cut the monster didn't get moved to the right side for the cutting direction so the end was cut almost 2 inches too short.  :-[ :-[ :-[ :  

 
I didn't notice till halfway through the cut. I told Robert I ruined it. :( :( :(

Not all is lost. Looks like I can glue it back on and the match is still decent, but I'll always be reminded of the screwup when I see it. :( I think I will add some long screws as well as this is going to bear a lot of the load at that point.

Sure made it easier to set the short piece in though. The house turned out to be a lot more out of square than I thought, with about a quarter inch gap at the left front. Guess I'll have to fit in a fill piece there and stick it to the wall so it doesn't have to fight the seasonal movement in width. Grrr. I'm sure that will look fine when it is done. I think if I had this to do all over again I would build an oversize bevel to fit between the walls to make sure the angles are better. Still might have problems getting it fitted as the walls are brownstone on two sides and fairly irregular surfaced with a taper for the last 4 inches of the corners.

Wish I could find my handy dandy beam stretcher.

[beenthere]

I would leave it shy of the end walls both ends equal distance. Say you planned it that way. Room for lamp cords and other things (dust/dirt to fall), etc. Saves seeing a 'less than straight' or square end wall too.

Looking good.

[Ljohnsaw]

+1 

leave it short otherwise you will have to drill some holes for cables and stuff.  Looking good!

[mesquite buckeye]

Thanks for the words of encouragement, guys. The look the wife wants is clean, minimalist, no posts or brackets for support. No trim. That limits it to concealed drop on attachments and to support the front half, the ends have to be at the end walls. I was planning to cut circular holes behind the computer spots for the cords and hooks underneath the counter to hide them right up to where they get plugged into the surge protector. Basically making a nearly wireless install. Still, not an easy way to go, especially with a repaired end. That's why I was thinking to add some deep screws to make sure the glue line doesn't fail when somebody decides to stand on top of the already loaded counter. I think the end bolts will need to rate at about 100 pounds capacity each to be safe. Sure don't want this thing breaking loose and falling.

[mesquite buckeye]

Fixt.



 

[petefrom bearswamp]

Way to go.
Isn't it funny the way we see our mess ups but most folks never see them or if they do are too polite to say so?

[mesquite buckeye]

Usually at least one tells me. :

[mesquite buckeye]

It fits.  ;D 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

 

[Just Me]

Looks awesome, but those are some ugly legs! :D

[beenthere]

Nice chairs tho, dontcha think?

[mesquite buckeye]

Youse guys are funny. :D :D :D :D :D

[Darrel]

Obviously those legs and chairs are just temporary, I know first hand about these things. 5 years later, they're still temporary.  :D :D :D :D :D

[Just Me]

Moving day. Ugh. :-\ :-[

 

Highly non fun. The worst is swinging that long heavy monster through the door. And back outside again to do any work on it to keep the dust down.

Fabulosity factor has dropped by about 3 points. The skillsaw 0° isn't. >:( Both ends were tapered outward top to bottom, a fixable problem, but needs to be squared and recut. First cut no problem. Very tight quarters on the balcony though. Second cut the monster didn't get moved to the right side for the cutting direction so the end was cut almost 2 inches too short.  :-[ :-[ :-[ :  

 
I didn't notice till halfway through the cut. I told Robert I ruined it. :( :( :(

Not all is lost. Looks like I can glue it back on and the match is still decent, but I'll always be reminded of the screwup when I see it. :( I think I will add some long screws as well as this is going to bear a lot of the load at that point.

Sure made it easier to set the short piece in though. The house turned out to be a lot more out of square than I thought, with about a quarter inch gap at the left front. Guess I'll have to fit in a fill piece there and stick it to the wall so it doesn't have to fight the seasonal movement in width. Grrr. I'm sure that will look fine when it is done. I think if I had this to do all over again I would build an oversize bevel to fit between the walls to make sure the angles are better. Still might have problems getting it fitted as the walls are brownstone on two sides and fairly irregular surfaced with a taper for the last 4 inches of the corners.

Wish I could find my handy dandy beam stretcher.

Great place to have a pen holder/paper slots. That way only the match in the front is visible. A trick to make that disappear is to paint on a knot/grain oddity over the cut and clear. The eye can't see it then.

A great old carpenter I worked with in the old days told me a great carpenter is not one that does not make mistakes, its one that knows how to hide them. :D

[mesquite buckeye]

Wall anchors. There are 10 of these. Too bad cement blocks don't like to drill straight. :( Had to recalibrate all the holes for the counter. Worst ones moved 3/32" one way or the other. :(

 


Deck screw reinforcements for the reglued end. Drilled first and countersunk deck screws.

 

We'll get there soon, I hope. Next dreaded job is taking it back downstairs for finishing, then bringing it back upstairs. :(

[mesquite buckeye]

Here are the fancy modified washer hangers.

 

[Dodgy Loner]

Clever

[mesquite buckeye]

They work like this. Washer gets screwed to counter. It gets countersunk and has a channel from the bottom up to it so the counter just drops onto the anchor bolts at install.

 

[bkaimwood]

Mesquite Buckeye...I apologize for not interjecting sooner, just watching your progress... And wanting to say...thank you!!! You had apologized early on for the slow and detailed reporting, or something along those lines...I say thank you, no need to apologize, and guys like me NEED and appreciate this thread...I'm interested in starting to do something myself with with my sawmill and kiln dried lumber, and threads like this help guys like me...and there's lots of me's... So thanks, and keep up the good work!!!

[tule peak timber]

 

[mesquite buckeye]

That's why I put in those details, bk. Lots of this stuff is not obvious if you haven't done it before. I am figuring out new stuff every time I build something new.

These anchors are one of those deals. There is a sequence. All the washers are hand made so they get numbered to match the holes they will go in. Turns out that some of the holes will be too close to the chopped channel so more adjusting.

I made the countersink for the washers with a 1 1/2" paddle drill. Too bad, but they don't make a flat bottomed hole. Had to chisel all the bottoms. Then mark each screw hole and punch a starter dent with a sharpened 16d nail. Then another  11/16" paddle drill to cut the top of the channel, which crowded some of the screw holes... Now have to do some adjusting there, probably a v cut to expose the top of the screw shaft so it won't punch out the side where they are too close.

Good thing I drilled pilot holes first for the deck screws. : ;D

And so it goes.

[yukon cornelius]

That is looking good! Nice job on the end fix too! I have had my fair share of "oops, hey mammy, what if I made this a little shorter" moments. Its more about selling the idea of it being shorter   ;D

[mesquite buckeye]

There's that, but somebody might notice the big gap with the bolts jumping across it. :-\

[mesquite buckeye]

Chopping out the channels for the bolts. The plank is upside down so I don't have to be. ;D ;D ;D 8)


 

Checking the depth with my machinist's thingy. Just has to be at least that deep to clear.

 

Another view of how the anchor bolts work as seen from the bottom which is now on top. ;D 8) ;D 8)

 

[beenthere]

Hope that works for you.

[mesquite buckeye]

My backup is if it is wiggly I can blob at spots underneath to make it stop at install. :

Sand, sand, sand. :(

 

[beenthere]

I can blob at spots underneath

What does that mean? 

[mesquite buckeye]

I'm thinking I was skip thinking. I think I'll stick with that.

I meant to say blobs of construction glue if needed. Thanks BT.

Getting close. Got the wire holes bored and most of the sanding done.

   ;D

[bkaimwood]

I'm dying to see this thing with finish on it!!! What do you plan on using, M.B.? What was your choice of glippity glop for this project... And is it your choice for most projects? ....you are inspiring me...

[mesquite buckeye]

Thanks for the kind thoughts, bk. ;D I use System Three two part epoxy that I get from the local Woodcraft store. The owner is a friend of mine so I try to buy his stuff when I can. You can get a variety of colorants and plastic chips if you like. A real popular combination is black with turquoise chips. I just use the black as Darlene prefers it without the chips.

Getting more there.

 
I wiped it all down with a wet microfiber cloth to raise the grain and resanded to 220. Usually good enough, but the internal damage from the lightning seems to be right down to almost a microscopic level making the wood much more brash (rough/splintery, I learned that here. Just showin' off.) than usual. I can see I'm going to have to sand again on the show surfaces and recoat at least once more after that. I want a nice finish on the top and front, don't care all that much about the bottom and back edges as long as they have been sealed.

I'm hoping we have it installed and perfect  : :-\ by midweek. ;D

Darlene is hoping to have it done as soon as we talked about it months ago.  :(

Oh well, doesn't make itself. :-\

Next project is making external leaves for Athena's table. Have to redesign the whole structure to do it. :(

[mesquite buckeye]

More doner. ;D

 

High PITA factor on the resand and recoat. A little more touch up and just have to let it get hard.

[plowboyswr]

Purdy! ;D

[mesquite buckeye]

 

[mesquite buckeye]

Ready for final fitting.

 
Tight as a drum. ;D No wiggle at all. ;D 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

 
Even the holes work. ;D

 

[mesquite buckeye]

The fabulous one approves. ;D 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

 
So does the Claire Bear.

 

[beenthere]

Good job, now you can rest.

[mesquite buckeye]

You a very funny fellow, BT. There shall be no rest for the wicked. :(

But thanks for the thought. ;D 8) 8) 8)

[Magicman]

Thanks for sharing this fabulous project for the fabulous one.  As always there are many tips and ideas.  I think that is is ......well Fabulous.   

[mesquite buckeye]

 

[21incher]

That looks great, thanks for sharing the project with us. I would like to see a video of you squeezing it in place. ;D

[mesquite buckeye]

 

No problem sliding it in. We had 1/16" of clearance. ;D 8) 8) 8)

Just added a couple more Athena chairback boards, slid it across them, then removed the supporting boards once the countertop was against the back wall one at a time. Dropped right into place. I think the tapered slots on the washers helped take the wiggle out since I'm sure the holes and bolts weren't absolutely perfect by acting like wedges. That was the only part of making this that went easier than expected. All perfect at the end.

Wait a minute, the counter just made a pop. Maybe it just wanted to put in its two cents. This whole house creaks and groans with temperature and wind changes. I guess it just wants to fit in. ;D

[beenthere]

"Made a pop"

And don't see the crack?

[mesquite buckeye]

Probably just one of the bolts shifting a bit. We have a beam ceiling that has been popping every day for over 20 years and the house is still standing. The outside walls are concrete block and our day/night temperature variation is from 25-45 degrees. The roof just made a series of pops as I am writing.

It would take more than a little stress to pop that counter apart. ;D

[lowpolyjoe]

Looks great  8)

[mesquite buckeye]

 

[bkaimwood]

Turned out beautifully, MB. Great thread, I especially enjoyed the detail in the hidden fastener parts...the hand chisel, the depth measurements, the precision, simplified for less experienced fellas like myself...

[drobertson]

Very nice out come! pretty finish and style,  I have to say I love the view! 

[mesquite buckeye]

  ;D

[mesquite buckeye]

The view outside Darlene's window just got better. The neighbor's blue palo verdes are in full bloom.

 
;D

[tule peak timber]

Pretty !

[Magicman]

I am seeing some oranges I guess??

[mesquite buckeye]

Those are the Valencias. They are the last oranges to get ripe. They are getting close right now. ;D

[mesquite buckeye]

Pretty !

;D