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Jack, the best thickness depends on what you intend to put on the table.. for a standard dinner table 1/2 to 3/4 is more than adequate. If it were me, I would rough cut it at an appropriate thickness to plane and sand it to 3/4. That will be plenty sturdy to hold up any pot roast.. So to directly answer what I would do, I would go thinner unless you have a customer that wants a mega heavy table.
I consider limb wood to be useless for anything but truely tiny projects as the wood retains the "memory" of the weight of the branch and keep trying to curl to support it. Even with laminations this remains a problem.
When I keep limb wood I keep it short and try to use if for veneer or other applications where the curl can be controlled by the substrate.
D
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In regards to table top thickness: a thin top on a large table will support the weight of plates etc., but will look out of proportion in relation to length and width. It will also look cheap.
If you are going to build a dining table from solid wood, without an apron to enhance the appearance of thickness, you should make that top at least 1.25" thick for a standard (8 chair) size table. A larger table will require a thicker top in order to maintain proportion, in my opinion (of course, much depends on the design of the base).
You should allow at least .25" on each side for flattening after drying.
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Dana,
I was not aware of the issue with limb wood that is good to know. I will post puictures when it's dry or cut.
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Jack- the correct term for limb wood is "reaction wood". Look it up, its an informative read, as the issue is larger than limbs, for instance if the trunk grows at an angle, that part of the trunk is reaction wood also.
D
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I have just been given several 3 inch thick end grain ovals cut from a medium size walnut tree that are destined for firewood or some nice 3D animals hanging on cabin walls. These are small enough that I am thinking they could go in my ovan for drying. Any suggestions for a drying procedure. Or should I just add them to the firewood pile?
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If you dry them, weigh them first, then dry them a day at 150 degrees. Weigh them again, and as the weight comes down increase the temp to 180-190.
If you plot the weights in excel you will see the %water start to level out. The remaining water can be calculated from the weights, or measured with a moisture meter.
I have oven dried small blocks wood before using a convection oven, thats how I have done it. It's no big deal if the oven can hold the wood.
Good luck-
D
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I have a portable sawmill but I'm a long way from MN. Check Craig's list or similar to see if you have someone near you who could help. I think Norwood (www.norwoodindustries.com) or Wood Mizer (www.woodmizer.com) could tell you if there is someone in your area or you can ask around. It's a whole lot faster, cheaper (saves wood too!) and cleaner than a chainsaw.
A rip chain is a definite if you decide to do it yourself. My Stihl dealer carries it but your guy should be able to order it.
Mike
P.S. I am still carrying around some black walnut that the local judge cut down back when I was in High School (Class of '71). My daddy was a woodcarver and a fellow Rotarian with the judge and I inherited all of his leftovers. My favorite carving wood by far!
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Let me tell you about a experience i had in drying that was unintentional. I went out to my friend who has the sawmill. He cut me up some nice ambrosia maple and i loaded several slabs into the van brought them home and left them in the van for about a week or more because i had no where to put them and had other stuff to do.
Well a week or 2 later when i opened the van up all the windows were full of condensation where it had evaporated out of the wood.
You would think the wood might have twisted all up but it stayed pretty straight.
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I just milled about 1000 BFT of white pine using a hydaulic WoodMiser. In my area, there is only 1 fellow who will move his portable mill to the property.
A large section of pine fell a few weeks ago, so I had the rest taken down and milled.
Need to stack, sticker and paint the ends tonight!
