taking the weight out of walnut

[tule peak timber]

Lots of beautiful tables here on FF , and here is may take on another one. End grain English Walnut 54X120. The start with basic orchard logs.

 
   These are all short, metal filled little beauties that turned into cookies.


 
  Once the design is set the basic table shape starts taking form from the cookies.


  

  

  The last pic shows the dado groove that will hold inset steel later.


  After rabbeting ,glue is spread to inset plywood.
 

  

 
Once the bottom is set in we tip the whole mess upright and begin cleanup. Tomorrow -the start of the core.  Cheers  Rob
 

[Delawhere Jack]

Eagerly awaiting the progress on this one... I'm sure it will not disappoint.

[Ljohnsaw]

 

[Ox]

 :P

[Crusarius]

ooooh me likey. I am in for the ride...

[21incher]

 I can't wait to see this one finished.

[Hilltop366]

 

[tule peak timber]

The lighter weight core forming up today

  

  

 
Monday we will cut the veneers from cookie scraps .  Rob

[Kbeitz]

Just WOW...

[Banjo picker]

 smiley_clapping   Banjo

[scsmith42]

Rob, I love your posts!  Thanks for taking the time to share your unique projects and processes.

[jamesamd]

ditto  8)

[coalsmok]

Lots of imagination and hard work goes into what you build. I love to watch the progress on the tables you show us

[rasman57]

Wow.  To describe your vison and talent for one off pieces as creative and artistic is an understatement.  That Dado detail is going to be special!     We wait again.   Good stuff!

[21incher]

Hope you are safe and not in the path of any of the wildfires out there.

[tule peak timber]

Thanks,
  We are well south of the big fires but there are suspicious small fires breaking out all around us this week. Smoke is in the air as far as one can see.What is of curious interest is the 4 earthquakes here at 2 hour intervals yesterday. All quakes were centered a few hundred yards away and it was a little weird. I had one timber lift topple and a massive crack widen in the shop floor.......

[Weekend_Sawyer]

I really enjoy your projects.
Thanks for posting.
Jon

[rasman57]

Wow.  Mother nature really lets us know we are just a small part of the equation.  Fire and earthquakes will remind us we are not in charge of much no matter how settled we think we are.  Stay safe and hoping for the best out that way.

[Magicman]

Thank you Rob for the update.  I had been concerned.

[tule peak timber]

Thanks again,
       From our perch here in the ridge we can see a great distance and are always wary of fire ! Just a couple of shots of the table bottom with the steel band installed. The last pic is the shop floor crack which is about 20 feet long. 

  

  

  

 

[grouch]

Fantastic! Thanks for sharing this work!

How thick is that steel band? How are the ends connected?

[tule peak timber]

1/8 inch thick and flush end butt.

[samandothers]

Sorry your floor was damaged.  Your work is interesting and very attractive.

[tule peak timber]

Mating the center section of the table to the main body- lots of clamps !
   

  

 
  A white oak table receiving it's leg set that will ship next week.
   

 
  Still plowing away on my wife's cabinets !  Cheers  Rob

[tule peak timber]

Router work today...

 

[Kbeitz]

Nice routor plane.

[woodworker9]

You need to find a mudjacker to raise your floor back up to level.

[btulloh]

Had a floor like that mudjacked. Worked well. Money well spent. (Not that much money.)

[tule peak timber]

I had to look up the term ,,,actually we are doing the exact opposite.

[woodworker9]

I had to look up the term ,,,actually we are doing the exact opposite.

You're replacing it?

[tule peak timber]

You've lost me !

[tule peak timber]

My apologizes,  I didn't realize the mudjacking comments were about the expanding floor. My focus has been on cranking out the wood.
   On the floor ,,,,,neither replace or repair. In the last 30 days there have been 80+ quakes a couple of hundred yards from the edge of my front yard. A big Ka-boom 5 minutes ago ,,,3 additional today so far. I refer to this as "ranch growing". Seriously, it is really creepy laying in bed wondering if the massive beams in my house will terminate my family's life before the next hour is up. It is out of my hands... Rob

 

[WLC]

Awesome table!  I always enjoy your posts, you do some amazing stuff.

What fault line are you on?  Up here in AK we get shakes regularly too.  Can be un-nerving at times.

[tule peak timber]

Hi WLC, I don't know the name of the fault line- but it sure is active. We had a pretty jolt an hour ago. Funny you mentioned AK as the wife and I are looking for something in SE.I havn't been as far north as where you live but did do some commercial fishing in SE years ago. I met my wife in a marina and the ocean is calling us back !

[tule peak timber]

A pic of the sanded top ready to start coating. We will look things over very carefully before first coat for any flaws.

 
    A few pics of the next jobs starting tomorrow , canyon live oak table , white oak counter tops and a walnut island....Rob


  

  

 

[btulloh]

I really appreciate you posting these pictures.  Can't wait to see the table with the finish applied.

[tule peak timber]

Headed to Utah tomorrow morning. White oak table and bench.

  

  

 

[WLC]

WOW, just WOW!!!

[Savannahdan]

That's really nice.  What's the sizes of the table?

[tule peak timber]

The White Oak table is 44 X 100 or so. The new owners were very happy when they picked it up this morning. Some pics   of the house siding we supplied for their home in Utah.  Rob

  

 

[btulloh]

Interesting house.

Is there a stretcher on the bench?  How are the legs fastened?

Really nice.

[tule peak timber]

We have done quite a bit of work on trim pieces and furniture for the customers retirement house in Utah.They are part of the mass exodus from California.
  The bench has a piece of curved natural edge for a stretcher and the structure  uses  blind dowels . The legs on the bench are select pieces of slab that are slightly triangular shaped.To make the legs on the table match, I cut a pie shaped wedge out of the center of two "straight" slabs and glued them back together more narrow at the top-wider at the bottom.Pics of another table with "modified " leg slabs. I think it makes natural edge furniture look less clunky. Rob

  

  

 
  I put the mismatched grain to the inside of the legs hopefully !

[btulloh]

Good solutions.  You've got a good eye.  Making the legs that way helps the appearance as well as stability.  Nice grain on that.  Glad you showed us a closeup.  Feel free to post as many pictures as you like!

That little wedge on the stretcher is interesting.  Is that temporary or permanent?  Normally I'd expect a tusk tenon there, but that has better visual appeal.  What is actually holding the stretcher?   

[tule peak timber]

The strength is in a glued joint with the little branch as decoration.

 
  A more traditional connection....

[tule peak timber]

Sunday afternoon - in pursuit of perfection.  Rob

 

[69bronco]

  smiley_eek_dropjaw

[tule peak timber]

Fantastic! Thanks for sharing this work!

How thick is that steel band? How are the ends connected?

A pic of the zero clearance, flush butt joint on the 2 in wide steel band.

    

[WLC]

  smiley_eek_dropjaw

What he said ^^^^!!!  WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!!!

What is the painters tape for?  marking imperfections?  What are you doing to the finish in the pic??  I wish I had your skills.  My wife doesn't need to be shown any more of your work that's for sure.  She was amazed too.

[tule peak timber]

The tape on the sides is to prevent any epoxy from filling the the little groove between the steel and the dado in the wood. The little strips of tape mark any sort of imperfection in the super clear/glossy epoxy which acts like a magnifying glass. Today we sand back almost all of the epoxy , rout the edge and get ready for final coating. In the picture I am using tweezers and a wire to burst any micro bubbles that got by inspection in the first two coats. It is hard to see in the pic , but I also drill tiny holes to get at things I don't like.  Rob

 

[nativewolf]

Rob,

Love the project but am curious as to the two statements: 

going to sand almost all the epoxy off....and you are removing all the micro bubbles,etc. 

You don't sand it off then remove anything that is a flaw?  Just seems odd process wise but I'm a forester at best and a poor woodworker. 

Wish I could send you some of our walnut off crooks, corners, elbows and such.  Maybe I'll make up a tractor trailer load and send it out to you. 

[YellowHammer]

Stunning!  Wow.

[tule peak timber]

Rob,

Love the project but am curious as to the two statements: 

going to sand almost all the epoxy off....and you are removing all the micro bubbles,etc. 

You don't sand it off then remove anything that is a flaw?  Just seems odd process wise but I'm a forester at best and a poor woodworker. 

Wish I could send you some of our walnut off crooks, corners, elbows and such.  Maybe I'll make up a tractor trailer load and send it out to you.

This beautiful crystal clear, almost perfect coat of epoxy is actually the primer for the final coat. We build it up fairly thick and should have caught the bubbles in the first 2 coats. There's actually a fair amount of technique to getting end grain wood sealed up and bubble free. We will sand aggressively and pull away probably 90% of the finish thickness and then final coat with another material.
On your walnut crooks and off cuts, I bet they would make fun artistic material to work with!
Rob

[Magicman]

I had to do some catching up with your project.  While I was paying and playing, looks like you were doing quiet the opposite. 

Great innovation and Beautiful work. 

[WLC]

How is the steel band attached??

[tule peak timber]

After building a jig to get the bends accurate I welded 3/8's nuts every 18 inches to the inside of the steel band. The nuts are seated into blind pockets drilled into the solid sides. Tony , my shop foreman hand lapped the the butt joints with a file to get the joint perfect. After dry fit we pressed it all together with epoxy putty.The pic below is from another project (same customer) showing welded screws on the inside of the band. I switched to welded nuts on this build and assembly was a lot easier. Rob

 

[Magicman]

Hey, I also like that makeshift backpack for the LP bottle.   ;D

[tule peak timber]

I used to own an organic farm and the propane setup is one of the legal weed abatement options allowed.

[WLC]

Thanks for the explanation!  I really like your projects and admire your skills. 

[tule peak timber]

The last major sanding before coating.Visibly no flaws....

 

[Magicman]

Oh My, what a monster!  I never realized how large it is.   

[tule peak timber]

 Final top coating, number two of three. Getting closer....

 

[tule peak timber]

After three top coats and a day of fine buffing , we are ready to ship.Very hard to get a decent photo due to glare so below are some pics of the next two bartops in line and some natural edge trim going to another job.The bartops are White oak and the trim is Ponderosa pine. We use the lifts to hold while spraying, move to a drying area, then scoop up another set for finishing. Cheers  Rob

  

 

[Timbercreekfarm]

Some awesome stuff!

[Brad_bb]

Does the walnut lose it 's chocolate color over time and get lighter?  I've seen that before especially in a house where the wood was exposed to sunlight.  Will any of the top coats stop it?   Does the epoxy yellow over time?

[tule peak timber]

Brad, I don't have enough years experience to comment on the walnut losing color.Yes , generally epoxy will yellow in sunlight over time, depending. Yes there are top coats that will lessen or prevent sun caused deterioration.On this top we used AwlCraft 2000 to protect it as well as provide the best finish possible.  Rob

[Magicman]

It does not matter the wood species, type of finish, nor whether it is ever exposed to direct sunlight.


 
Here is a table top in our "sunroom" that never sees direct sunlight, only some ambient.  The center always has a centerpiece and the ring is obvious where the uncovered wood/finish has lightened during the past ~10 years.  The picture makes the center portion much redder than it actually is.  Now the question is whether the uncovered portion lightened or the covered portion darkened?? 

[Larry]

Brad, I can tell you without doubt that walnut gets lighter with exposure to UV.  Under the same conditions cherry gets darker and a much richer color.  A lot of tropical woods go brown as does osage orange.  Dad was a woodworker and made walnut clocks...some were exposed to sunlight and others were in dark rooms.  That is my source of experience.

The last few years I've been using a lot of SW cab acrylic lacquer.  A couple of reasons.  It goes on crystal clear and does not yellow over time.  It also has UV absorber in it.  I've used it on osage orange, purple heart, bloodwood, and some other samples to test.  One sample is exposed to light while the other is in a envelope.  Only been a couple of years but it seems to slow the color change.  I think with enough time/UV the change is inevitable no matter what is used.

 

[Kbeitz]

In my experience walnut logs gets much darker laying on the ground for years.

[tule peak timber]

well,,,, a parting pic from today, and I hope the final picture....The customer kicked this table back  to us two  weeks before Christmas and we have been wet sanding/polishing/ buffing since that day. The customer detected small imperfections in the finish and asked me to correct all to a  perfect finish.This has not been an easy or inexpensive thing to accomplish. Supposedly this UV resistant coating I am using here will withstand the test of time given the level of work in this piece. I have spent a GREAT deal of time and money trying to find the best coatings possible in the last year or two. Not an easy or inexpensive venture - we shall see .

 

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Kick it back to me....I'll take it. Beautiful work!

[YellowHammer]

When you say imperfections, are they tiny air bubbles or waves or ?  Seems like getting "perfection" in a wood finish would be an impossible task, especially after as much fastidious work as you guys have invested in it.

[PA_Walnut]

Wow...*DanG customers!  :-\

Getting a "perfect" finish on a large table/slab is a dance of technique, patience and air quality control.

Outgassing of the wood also causes constant pin holes until you have it sealed. I've discovered that multiple, if not many, seal coats are necessary on a slab PRIOR to putting on a finish coat. ALL pinholes must be sealed first.

Having end-grain up on a semi ring-porous species would seem like a REAL difficult task in controlling the outgassing during finish. Have you tried spraying a fast-drying seal coat like shellac (both sides) prior to beginning your finish?

I'm not at expert on this, by any means...just spitballing with some things I've experienced.  8)

[PA_Walnut]

Oh, by the way...what a labor of love! Cool table.
Are you able to share hours invested and/or what a table like that fetches on the retail market?
I'm supposing if you actually got paid for the hours invested in would be an astounding cost! 
Nice work!

[Kbeitz]

The way I gey my best finishes is sanding sealer or cheap varnish.
I use the cheap stuff for the first 3-4 coats Then the good stuff for
the last coats. There is a big difference in price between the good
stuff and the cheap stuff.

[Crusarius]

I had a customer one time that wanted a super high gloss white conference table 12' long 6' wide. It was made out of corian. We spent more money on the stupid table than we made on the entire job. I hate high gloss finishes for that reason.

[21incher]

Looks like you have accomplished the impossible. Thanks for sharing.  smiley_clapping smiley_clapping smiley_clapping

[tule peak timber]

I don't know what the customer is getting for this piece on his resale end, but I do know we spent 6 months and in the end out of pocket about 2500$. Sometimes you get the peanut-sometimes you end up with the shell :D :D :D

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Sometimes you get the peanut.......

But this is Walnut. 

[customsawyer]

Truly impressive work.