what kind of steel base can i have on my slab top table?

ok .. blast from the past, 2013 ... this was about the time we 

got rolling on the claro slab tables ... this post is originally

from 2013 and has been viewed about 35,000 times ...

so here it is again today ... enjoy! 

there is a slide show of these tables at this link ... 

invariably, after the question 'how much does a slab top table cost?', the next question is, 'are there other kinds of table bases i should consider?'  there are.  the legs shown above are our most popular style.  based on a shaker design, below, they are cut (wastefully, i admit), from a slab of 1.5" thick steel on a waterjet, at a local steel fabricators shop.  the process is extremely accurate, but slow going through the thick, solid steel, so the individual cut pieces are expensive even before we grind, polish, drill, tap and assemble them.  they are beautiful though, and extremely rigid, and give the heavy slabs a lighter, sort of 'floating', familiar, yet contemporary look.  click the photos to enlarge them. 

each section consists of the main vertical, a 10" 'wing' for stability and a 2.375 x .375 bar  to tie the whole thing together.  we offer 'natural', top and below, rainbow, a dark browny, bronzy, patina, and black.  these finishes are then top coated to stabilize them.

we can also easily alter their shape as our cnc uses the same programming as the waterjet.  if you can draw it, they can probably cut it.

a flattened version for a smaller table

we also offer fabricated metal bases in a variety of styles.  above and below are our 'trapezoid' bases.  also offered in various finishes, they can be fabricated in any size and can accommodate a design change to allow for a drawer.

more information on this piece at this link.

with the square or rectangular tubing, we can offer a variety of shapes, including squares and xs, shown below.  these bases can be polished and patinated, or left more or less 'as is', like above, for a sort of industrial look.

the restaurant tables below we re fun.  randomly space 5/8ths rebar was welded between two steel plates, randomly painted and randomly rusted.  given that these were 42" high, tghey were bolted to the wood floor, but shortened to traditional dining table height, i'm sure they would make for an interesting look.

wood and rebar combination

we also use plasma cut tapered legs on some of our dining and console tables.

or, our 'bridges' base could also be adapted somehow to a larger, taller scale table.

then we have the 'wood and steel' combinations ...

the 'nakashima inspired' welded steel bases ...

coffee tables ...

and your imagination .. we're open and happy to discuss your designs, either for a slab top you already own, or for a whole table we can design and build for you.  in general, prices for custom steel bases start around $1500. for the welded tubing designs and go up to $5500. to $6000. for the waterjet cut, thick, 'shaker style' patinated steel bases.

 

to see a slide show of  our live edge work over the last 30 years

try this link

a live edge, book matched elm slab table

                                         our client purchased these bookmatched english elm

slabs from Berkshire Products in sheffield massachusetts

the table went to williamstown, mass, and now has a nice view

of mount greylock !

pretty nice pair

 

 The steel base pieces are factory made and the client purchased them from a store in Pittsfield.  

we picked them up on our way home from picking up the slabs

beautiful grain ... 

there were two small bark inclusions that we filled with clear epoxe

with approximate dimensions

•  

great wood, great house, great location!

to see more live edges pieces that we have 

made over the last 30 years

try this link

(another) custom walnut dining table

 well, it's saturday, it is snowing pretty hard, the music is good,

 and i am thinking of having a beer .. 

i'm on a roll with the blog posting, two so far, so here's another ...

i've got my beer now .. here we go ...

there is our inspoiration photo from the client, and our first mockup 

using the tooling for the apron we had on hand. the apron knife i used 

was one i had made previously for big cove moldings and pencil trays ..

not perfect!  we had to have a custom knife cut based on a section of an angled oval ...

once the knife arrived, we ran em ... no problemo

we used some nice walnut from irion lumber,

5/4, 6/4, and 16/4 for the legs ... a couple thousand $$ of it .. 

54 x 88 with one 18" leaf ... pretty big table!

next we used what we refer to as our 'holes and pins' jig ... 

it never fails to line everything up

drill bushings from mcmaster-carr

center aligned ... good up to 6' diameter tables

drill one half one way, the other, the other way .. 

one of my handiest jigs ever ...

where was i?  oh yeah, attaching the legs ...

we devised a sort of complicated pair of corner blocks, 

for each corner, pocket screwed to the 6/4 aprons ...

the top and bottom blockes were, in the end, connected with pieces

of 3/4 ply that were later screwed to the vertical square tenon on

the top of the leg. we also included a 2.5" #12 wood screw 

down through the center of the top block.  a very rugged connection

considering the deisgn ...

kristian ran the fluted details on the cnc using a 1/2" round nose bit,

many passes, on 1/16th" centers perpendicular to the center line of the legs

hard to describe til you see it happen .. 

it took about 6 minutes per flute, four flutes per leg

it took 3 tries to get the leg design approved .. i think if you blow this one up

you can see the tool paths on the poplar test piece

so there you have it, upside down, and ....

 right side up ... headed to tampa sometime in early 2022 ...

anothe challenge, for sure!

a reclaimed chestnut and steel dining table

we finished this one a while back, but we are going to use the base design
in a couple of new projects coming up soon ... 

the table base is essentially 2.5" square tubing, with welded caps on the bottom to
accept small adjustable levelers .. the original design was wood, but
the clients for the matched tables above wanted to incorporate some of sam's steel work.

cad drawing for the chestnut table .. very straightforward ...

base alone .. tubing plus angle iron

we'll be making a curly maple table about 34 x 78, and probably at the same time,
 a base for this new mahogany plank that arrived recently from
our friends at irion lumber 
  ... +/- 42 x 120 .. and available .. will cut to suit

nice one!

beginning of the smoothing process .. looks kind of cool like this, actually