Table build thread - lots of pics

ETBee

I picked up my large Egg on Craigslist and it came with a table already made. Unfortunately, it was made of 1x4 untreated pine, so I figured it would not last long exposed to the elements on my deck. I'm a weekend woodworker, so naturally I had to undertake the project of building a table. Hopefully some of you will enjoy following my progress.

I headed off to the local lumber yard to pick up some rough sawn cypress.

Jointing all of these boards to assure I had a flat surface generated a lot of saw dust!

The planer generated an even larger pile of sawdust!

But when I was done I had some nice looking cypress.

I glued together the nicest looking boards for the table top, then ran them through the sander to make sure everything was smooth and flat.

Three boards laminated together make up the legs.  I've been using Titebond III waterproof glue so it should be OK outside.

I decided to dress up the basic table with some gentle curves. Here's the jig for cutting a curve at the ends of the table top.

After curving both ends of the table top, I used a table edge bit to put a finished edge all around.

Now it was time to cut the opening for the large Egg to fit through.  I made several passes with the circle cutting jig, cutting a little deeper each time.

Eventually, it cut all the way through and I had a perfect 21 inch diameter hole.

I planned to recess an 18x18 inch tile in the top so it set just barely above the wood surface.  I had to hog out the recess with a router to get a flat bottom for the tile to rest in.

Many many passes of the router later, the place for the tile was done.

And with that, the table top was done.

So that is where I am so far.  I have lots of work left to do and with football season coming up, open weekends could get hard to find.  But I'll try to update this thread as I make more progress.

Brownie

Looks like Hapster figured you out!  )  Looks fantastic.

Onegrecook

Please keep us updated...very nice!!!

lakewade

So that's what all those tools do!  

Looking good man.  Please keep the updates coming.

Supercilious_In_5280

That is awesome

ETBee

20+ years of accumulating tools and before you know it your shop is jammed.  With no more room for power tools I figured a BGE would be a great way to keep my bank account empty.  Now I can go to the shop and turn expensive wood into worthless sawdust or I can go out on the deck and turn prime cuts of meat into tasteless charcoal.  Life is all about choices!

Monday through Friday I am an IT project manager.

 

GaryLange

Very nice work making that fine looking table top. You are an accomplished woodworker.

BuckeyeBob

Just awesome. I can't wait to see how this turns out. Outstanding!

maintenanceman

very nice work, i like the way you routed out the top to inlay the tile. Keep us posted on the progress

 

XLBalco

lookin pretty awesome so far!  definitely one i'm gonna bookmark!

MrCookingNurse

=P~

That's all I've got. But have to comment on "weekend woodworker"..... Thought I was one cause I have refinished some old furniture. You put weekend warriors to shame!!!

newegg13

=P~ That's all I've got. But have to comment on "weekend woodworker"..... Thought I was one cause I have refinished some old furniture. You put weekend warriors to shame!!!

Same here. Very nice work.

nolaegghead

Lookin' good! 

If there's any chance of the table getting rained on, I'd drill some drain holes in the recess.  Maybe a gutter directing the water to them.  Or cut out the center. I was smoking pastrami today and my table got soaked by the rain....and I'm under a cover.

I have a monolithic pecky cypress top on mine - keep it covered when I'm not using it, but I coated the top with West epoxy and 3 coats of spar varnish.

Aviator

Nice... Very nice. I will have to start my build soon, was waiting on the temps to fall. Now, the itch is back

lowlightbw

awesome work!

cortguitarman

Looking good. You, my friend, need a dust collector. Seriously, I bought the unit from Harbor Freight. Normally I hate anything from HF, but their collector is solid. Add a 1 Micron filter from Wynn Environmental and you have a machine that rivals much more expensive models. Good choice on the ridgid planer. I've got the same one. I'm jealous of the wide belt sander. Haven't gotten that far with my woodworking budget.

ccpoulin1

20+ years of accumulating tools and before you know it your shop is jammed.  With no more room for power tools I figured a BGE would be a great way to keep my bank account empty. 

 

 

 

+1.........

)

dlk7

Very nice!  I wish I had your tools and the space to put them in.

lilwooty

@ETBee Where did you get that circle jig? I have been looking for one to attach to my Porter Cable plunge router, but everything I have seen online looks pretty flimsy and has a lot of negative reviews. Your looks pretty solid. I want one!

nolaegghead

Looks like it's the Rockler Ellipse/Circle Router Jig

Vitaman

Wow, looks fantastic so far.  I'm a weekend woodworking and made a table this weekend.  I'm ready to throw it in the trash after seeing yours .

Jeff

ccpoulin1

I got mine from Rockler

@ETBee Where did you get that circle jig? I have been looking for one to attach to my Porter Cable plunge router, but everything I have seen online looks pretty flimsy and has a lot of negative reviews. Your looks pretty solid. I want one!

dweebs0r

Wow!  Great work and absolutely beautiful thus far.  Cant wait to see this thing come together.

yellowdogbbq

+1 on the dust collection and get a remote switch

nolaegghead

Here's my low-tech circle cutting jig...

ETBee

Yes, the circle/ellipse cutting jig is from Rockler. It's pricey for cutting circles, which can be done with nolaegghead's jig, but I bought it originally to cut an oval table top.

I have a Jet dust collector.  It's connected to the big stationary tools but not to the hand-held tools like the router.

nolaregghead - good point about drainage under the recess for the tile.  This is my first "outdoor" project so I need to address issues like that.  I have a BGE cover for the table, but that won't help me if it rains during a low-and-slow.  I've thought about sealing the edges with silicone caulk.  Another option is to get a piece of Corian and machine the edges so it sits in the recess but overlaps the edges.

 

ETBee

I just realized the dust collection comments were inspired by the pics of the piles of sawdust.  The jointer doesn't even have a dust chute to connect to.  The planer does, but I was having some problems with it clogging up that day so I just disconnected the dust collection and swept up the mess.

nolaegghead

@ETBee - I wouldn't sweat the edges too much.  End grain is like a sponge for paint, and on the top, bottom shelf and skirts, the end grain will shed water.  Silicone doesn't penetrate. 

I sealed all sides of all the components on my table before assembly to mitigate water absorption. 

Another thing to consider is, since you have a monolithic top rather than a series of "deck boards" like most tables, you need to secure the top to the base in such a way expansion and contraction of the wood in the cross-grain direction doesn't cause the top to bulge or separate.  I dealt with that by securing one side of the top on sliding brackets, the other side was fixed.  Soft woods outdoors like to expand and contract with temp and humidity changes. 

Looks like you're off to an excellent start, and I'll be following your progress.  I'm a woodworking geek, and I love this stuff.

ETBee

I don't spend a lot of time in the shop during the week, so it's a good time to glue boards together and let the glue dry overnight.  This is going to become the lower shelf of the table.

nolaegghead

Is that open wall space!?  What I'd do for that in my shop.  Every square inch has stuff stored on it. 

COegger

I think there might be some space just to the right of the clock!

What an amazing, colorful place!