Building a Live Edge Walnut Table with Doug Fir 3x3 legs

[firefighter ontheside]

I started building this last week.  The top is 42"x60" and about 1 5/8" thick.  This will be the first table top like this that I've built from wood I milled and dried.  The legs will be made from 4x4 Doug fir from Menards.  I will mill down to about 3 1/4" to get straight and flat.  It will be a trestle style leg set.  I thought long and hard about what type of joinery to use.  I've settled on half laps where logs intersect and then where one piece ends at another, I will just make a 3/4" thick dado that the other piece will fit into, but it will not be mortise and tenon.  I will glue and then screw from the other side with some holes that will be plugged.  The buyer will be painting white.  I'm going to suggest they use some Kilz primer to make sure sap doesn't bleed thru.  I've always used card scraper to remove glue from the joint and to level the pieces, but I decided to try this Stanley #80 scraper plane I've had for a while and it is now my go to for cleaning glue joints.  Its easy to use and to sharpen.

 

 

 

 

[Andries]

. . . The buyer will be painting white. . . 

Nice work - loving that walnut top!
.
As to the customers wanting to paint the wood . . . man, I hope that's intended for the legs only.
Wanting to paint the walnut top would lead me to telling them to go to Ikea for a table.
Good thing I'm not a customer service rep. somewhere, right? 😆

[firefighter ontheside]

Thanks.  Indeed they are only painting the legs.  I will be finishing the top with about 6 coats of oil based poly.  The doug fir was bought because it was cheap, when nicely planed it looks nice in itself.  I think it would look really nice with clear finish too.  

[DWyatt]

Kudos to you for working on a top that size. I did a kitchen island for a friend of mine a few months back that was basically that size out of hard maple and it's a nightmare moving those things around! On the island top, I did what I believe I had read from @WDH where he puts a large sweeping radius on the end of large tables rather than leaving it as a straight cut. It just added the perfect touch to an otherwise massive piece of wood. 

There is a special enjoyment that comes with building with wood you mill and dry yourself. It has taught me how to be a better sawyer and kiln operator. I look forward to seeing the final result.

[firefighter ontheside]

Thanks.  That's a nice idea about making a slight arc instead of a straight edge.  Maybe next time.  Next time will be pretty soon.  My jointer was giving me some trouble when I first started jointing these slabs.  I ended up changing knives, which of course makes me reset all the tables.  It worked like a charm and I had them all straight within 10 minutes after the hours spent changing knives.  One of the biggest things that helped was that I waxed the beds and the fence.

[firefighter ontheside]

I plan to have this table done this week.  I just need to finish up with the legs and that is almost done.  Then I will put a coat of primer on legs so buyer can paint white.  Then about 6 coats of poly on top.

 

 

[Old Greenhorn]

Wow, that looks SO nice! Pretty joinery. Wish I could approach that someday.

[firefighter ontheside]

Thanks, Tom.  What I'm doing is not too difficult.  Instead of M&T i just made dadoes with the dado blade and then used glue and some big lag bolts from the other side to pull the joint together.  I put the lag in a 1 1/4 hole drilled with a forstner bit and then made plugs to cover up the heads.  On the trestle piece I made a half lap joint.  It will be a very sturdy table.

[Crusarius]

I would not put any primer on anything. I would let them see it as is and then if they still decide to paint it let them do it.

I really dislike ppl that paint nice looking wood.

[firefighter ontheside]

Yeah, the walnut will look good with the doug fir, but the poplar that I used for stretchers on the side of the table base will not look good with it.  Now, if it were my table it would be different.  There are a few spots on these pieces that are a little sappy too.

[Crusarius]

sappy as in bad pun?

[firefighter ontheside]

No, its not a romantic love story where two legs find each other and its love at first sight.  A couple pitch pockets had some sap seeping out.

[WDH]

That is a fine, well engineered table base.  

[firefighter ontheside]

Thanks, Danny.  I can't take full credit as I'm copying a picture my customer gave me.  The joinery method is all my own as the picture had painted legs and you couldn't see what was going on.

[charles mann]

That looks fantastic. Great workmanship. I agree, let the customer see the fir unpainted, and maybe take a scrap piece and oil it down and show them what it would like. 
Again, great workmanship. 

[firefighter ontheside]

Thanks, guys.  I will mention it to them, but I'm pretty sure they're adamant about the paint.  I think the walnut will look good with the white painted base, so I'm not too concerned about it.

[firefighter ontheside]

Legs are done for my part.  The last thing I added was the diagonals.  They were not necessary for strenght, but it was the look they wanted.  I put a coat of Kilz on the legs.  They definitely wanted it to be white.  I hate finishing, but I do love when oil based poly goes on walnut.  That is the bottom of the table top.  I will do 2 coats on bottom just to seal it and then flip it over and do about 6 coats.


 

 

[WDH]

Putting poly on with a rag, paint brush, foam pad, spray?

[doc henderson]

the white will make the Walnut "pop".  the white base, nay be easier to touch up from people banging chairs into it ect.  give the what they want, as long as they do not change their mind.  

[firefighter ontheside]

I use foam brushes for putting on oil based poly.  They do a nice job, dont leave strokes and are cheap enough that it costs more to clean them than they are worth.  I cut off the handles which are little pieces of 1/2" dowel to use at a later date.  I can spray it, but I hate cleaning my gun after spraying oil based products.  Also, I have to spray in the garage or outdoors and as long as it takes to dry I would get bugs, dust, pine needles, you name it in the finish.

[WDH]

Try the General Finishes water based topcoat.  It is a water based poly and is very user friendly.  Sprays very well undiluted and an easy cleanup. 

[firefighter ontheside]

Have you used it on a dining table where it will be exposed to water and cups?  I've yet to use a water based finish that I trust for a dining table.  With abot 6 coats of oil based, I can leave a sweating cup on the table and it not stain.  

While sanding the cut ends of table top to get ready for finishing I found a bullet.  I'm gonna ask the customer, but what do you all think?  Conversation piece or remove it and fill the hole?

 

[Old Greenhorn]

No doubt, you HAVE to leave it in and add 5% on the price for getting it to show. :D
 Yeah, I have never tried water base on anything that will either see high humidity or liquid spills. I don't have that kind of courage. ;D ;D
 That walnut is killer stuff with the finish on it!

[firefighter ontheside]

I texted my customer, who happens to be a firefighter that I worked with for many years, but he moved on to another department.  He agreed that leaving it in there would be neat, so it stays.

[doc henderson]

i have used the general wipe on/brush on and wipe off finish.  less amber color.  if I use spar poly, I often brush a few coats to fill the grain,  sand with 320, then spray the same from a can and get that final flat top finish.