a big ash table

we are coming down the home stretch on an ash table that is based on the design below that we completed about a year ago ... the base is welded 3 x 3" steel tubing and it has a clear, natural finish ... the top started out as 12/4 (3" thick) which we flattened and planed to 2 and 3/8 ths" thick. it has breadboard ends, secured with splines and 4" timberlock screws, which are covered with end grain white oak 3/4" plugs ... fairly straightforward, except for the size and weight, with a clean contemporary look. in the photo above, you are actually seeing the bottom of the table top which will be flipped and final coated tomorrow ... ready to ship to martha's vineyard later this week ... click the photos to enlarge them ...
we made the base for this recycled spruce slab top last december ...
this table is 54" wide and 9' long ... the finished slab top weighs about 250 - 300 lbs ...
above you can see the breadboards before trimming ... we mortise and fit the plugs while the breadboard end is off the table, flush up the pegs, knock them out from the other side, trim the ends and reinstall with the bolts and the plugs ...
since the top is so thick, we installed the splines above center and the bolts pass through the breadboard and into the solid wood. typically, in a thinner table, the bolts or screws have to be long enough to go through the breadboard and half the 1" spline in the table top .
the spline slot is stopped in both the table end and the breadboard, making it invisible when the table is finished. the splines are about 3" wide and are glued only into the table top with the grain of the spline wood oriented in the same direction as the grain of the table top to eliminate any problems with cross grain expansion and contraction ...
the bit used to cut the splines ... 1/4" x 1/2" deep slot
the base tubing has caps welded on the bottoms of the verticals and the 'aprons' are 3" x 3 X 3/16ths angle iron ... plenty stiff enough to support the top ...
a couple close ups of the finish on the steel ....
one more photo coming when it's finished ...