claro walnut slab tables

finishing up a couple of claro walnut slab projects next week.  above is the slab we started with for a dining table that will go in a half round room about 10' in diameter ... the drawing is below.  

click the photos to enlarge them ...

here's the finished table .. the story is below

typically before i actually purchase the slab, i will crop it to size in photoshop and often, can erase the dimensions with the 'rubber stamp' tool ... that gives us and the client and idea of the final shape.  in this case, i actually made a full size cardboard template for then to try in the room for a while ... here's the drawing ...

and the model below, with a new base design

painted mdf base, 1" = 1' scale .. picture of the slab glued to the mdf top

the base only ...

the base rectangles are actually welded now ...

and the slab is filled and has its first coat of finish .. 

the steel will have our 'bronzy' patina when it is finished

the base is welded up now .. ready for patina
 

before the final cut to length

we use aero marine clear epoxy fill, #300/21.  scroll down on the epoxy page .. we outline the cracks with a couple layers of tape and then fill to the top of the tape, which after a tiny bit of settling, allows us to
scrape it to a level filled finish.

the second, (and there is actually a third shown briefly in this post) is a largeish coffee table, 

about 46" wide by 66 " long by 15.5" high .. same process ..

first a drawing with the cropped slab photo ...

in this case, we made a full size painted mdf mockup to confirm the proportions ..

 5/2 .. all in all done .. good to go.

it'll be off to providence next week or the week after ... 

more on the '3rd' project as it progresses ... it is being made from slab cts#23

and it has some cracks, but also some seriously dramatic crotch figure ... the first stage

of the clear fill is hardened and we are awaiting delivery of another batch on monday ... 

New Mahogany Table

We started a new table this week. It's a custom version of the one above (shown on my website here) that we first made in 2004 for a client in New Jersey. The one we're working on this week is slightly larger ( 50 x 72 closed) and will be all mahogany, without the black paint, curly maple apron or edge inlay ... We had a great piece of mahogany on hand, 23" wide by 157" long and we were just able to get the whole top out of that one board. It took a little planning, but because it is all one board the glue joints are virtually invisible ... Click the photos to enlarge them ..

The Cad drawing, adpted from another version from 2005. I think, in total, this is the sixth edition of this table, each one being slightly different ... It's a great design because the pedestal is heavy enough to support the open table and leaves leaves without the pedestal splitting or the use of drop down legs. With the central pedestal, the chairs can be placed anywhere too ...

You can see in this photo how we split the first cut (so it matches as halves when the table is closed), and cut the two 2" arcs we needed to make the additional width before we cut the remainder of the board in half ... pretty clever thinking by the boys in the shop ...

Glued up halves with the arcs added

Trevor, handscraping the individual halves before drilling for the alignment pins ...

The extension runners are installed and the aprons are glued up on the table, but slightly askew from their final locations ...

In this photo,, Will has turned the 'flying saucer' feet, has stacked the ply parts of the base, and is adding the edge veneers .. We don't use solid wood on this part as it has to support a lot of weight and the short grain of the curves at the ends of the 'propellers' might be apt to fail over time ... When it's done, it will look like solid wood ... The hollow central column parts are cut and ready to glue up tomorrow .. All for now ...