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steve_g
11-03-2015, 01:07 AM
Latest project…

Our customer ordered a “harvest table” Whatever that is… He’s liked our other projects with welded metal legs in the past, so we used 3” X 3” square tubing on this one.

The wood is Hackberry, live edges all around. Hackberry is very prone to spalting and blue stain (from fungus) and this wood exhibits plenty of it!

The tree this wood came from was storm damaged and laid on the ground for 3-4 months before it was milled… The cracks, splits and checks that were present when we put the wood in the kiln only got worse as it dried… we needed to use a lot of bowtie inserts to stabilize it!

The table legs are mounted to the top with piano hinge and fold flat against the top… Don’t get the idea that the folding legs make it “portable”… it weighs a ton!

We surface our slabs on the bot with an Amana carbide insert bit and cut both the male and the female bowties on the bot. We clean up edges with a King Arthur’s tools, Lancelot “chain saw tooth” disk.
http://www.katools.com/shop/carving-tools-lancelot-c-21_30.html

In the end, I’m very pleased with the way the project turned out, but naturally I see things I’ll chance on ver. 2… i.e., I think that the 3X3 tube legs on the benches look too “heavy”, I’ll make them from 2X2 next time!

SG

dmidkiff
11-03-2015, 06:28 AM
Great job, just the kind of thing I like. Nature's beauty brought to life.

scottp55
11-03-2015, 07:02 AM
Beautiful Steve!! :)
Was the wood punky at all?
What finish? Tung?
What wood bowties?
We're always our worse critics, and a good craftsman Always sees a way to do it better Next time:)
Well done on some super funky wood! (had to look it up:)
scott

steve_g
11-03-2015, 10:38 AM
Scott…

The wood was sound, no punk. The finish is five coats of Helmsmen spar varnish… Glass smooth!

Since I highlight Texas woods, I was debating on making the bowties from Mesquite or Texas Black Walnut… I had a more appropriate piece of Black Walnut leaning against the wall by the bot, so that’s what I used!

Hackberry isn’t one of your top ten trees… the only ones I see are in fence lines or other places where nobody bothered to cut them down!
SG

scottp55
11-03-2015, 11:39 AM
Thanks Steve:)