New Cedar Egg Table

hsh750

That is a nice table, by far one of the best I have seen. What is this "SketchUp" program? And where is it availble for free?

Driving Hamster

The table is holding up well with some minor exceptions.  The one thing I wish I did before weighting the table with the egg is put 1/2 inch wide by 4 inch long metal strap brackets under the table where the angle boards that make up the sides meet the middle square that the egg and stone sits on.  The wood did separate on me at this joint by about 1 mm.  Not much but it annoyed me.  I have the brackets in place now and it hasn't moved since.  If I could do it all over again I would of put glue blocks behind these joints or notched out the bottom to seat the brackets into.  As they are now you cannot see them but there is always room for improvement.

The table has been out in winds that topped out at 62 mph.  Didn't even budge but that might have to do more with good brakes on the polyurethane wheels.

I keep it covered when not in use so the finish has held up somewhat decent.  I've made some cutting boards recently and have some "salad bowl" finish around that I will treat the table with in the spring when the weather breaks.

I even installed a outdoor GFCI extension cord (it's about 18 inches long) under the top.  I just plug it in with an extension cord when I need power to run my DigiQ fan for long smokes.  I also mounted two small speakers under the table with a plug to pop an MP3 player onto.  Now I can listen to music while I am drinking beer, err ah I mean cooking.  What's nice is that you would never know any of this is under there unless you got on your head to look up at it, yet it's easy to plug things in.  I will grab a pic of it next time I think of it.

Oh and don't accidentally set the table on fire with "cold" ashes like I did.  It tends to mare the nice finish ;-)

Driving Hamster

SketchUp is google's free drafting style program.  Go to sketchup.google.com to get started.  It seems a little daunting at first but it's easy to get to know once you start playing with it.

Mike8it

Damn that's nice!!!!! Sweet table

Driving Hamster

Some more recent pics, including one of me cooking in rain (remnants of a hurricane no less).  I made a trivet out of a travertine tile (bought for $3.00 at a surplus supply store and I glued some rubber feet on the bottom.  Now I am not afraid to put anything on it, hot or cold.  If it breaks I scrap off the rubber feet and make a new one.

MaskedMarvel

Wow!  You have REALLY done some work in the yard!!

Deckchef

Deckchef February 22 Quote Edit
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jbates67

Fantastic looking table, great job!!!! Beautiful, wish I would have seen this design a month ago before building mine.

frankc623

great table, the umbrella makes it even better, go steelers!

bumpye

Truly awesome table. I'm embarrassed to show mine (which I think came out pretty good IMHO). I read about your "fire" in an earlier post...I would have done a nose dive off one of your deck posts onto that big boulder in your back yard if that happened to me!!! Great job!

rib rangler

nice table.. and the dog isawsome as well!!

NightwingXP

OMG! I loved your table but jeesh that umbrella is AWSOME!!! ( Really sweet setup DH!! ) Steel Curtain Baby!

EZEGG

Wowsers!  Glad this got bumped so I got to see it...  Beautiful work on that table.

Driving Hamster

Thank you everyone for the positive comments.  I am considering designs for table number two.  Trying to go for a combination of art and function.

cortguitarman

Where are you at in southeastern, PA? I'm from the Hershey area. A great supplier for exotic lumber like ipe, mahogany, etc. is Middletown Lumber out of Middletown, PA. A bit pricey, but they know their wood and the quality is top notch.

tgkleman

You have made a beautiful table.  I also used sketchup for my build, however my table is cypress.  A part of my table design was not to have a monolithic top.  I purposely left an 1/8" space between them to allow for seasonal movement when the humidity changes.  I can't tell how you fixed the top to your table, but you may want to consider slotted holes (if you haven't already did this) to let the top expand and contract without splitting.

Great job.

Driving Hamster

My take on this table with the expansion across the grain issue was a wait and see approach, perhaps foolishly. I was hoping the the huge cut out in the middle would help take the stress out from the expansion. I kept a close eye on it through some humid summer days and cold winter cookouts and for whatever reason it seemed to hold it's own and didn't split or crack. I usually use the angled clips into a routed grove on the inside of the apron when I make desks but I gambled a bit here.

I live between Reading and Allentown. I recently found a place called Fleetwood Lumbar that is 3 miles from my house. They have a decent amount of rough stock. There is also a place in Reading called Industrial Plywood that has a some choices of rough stock and excellent choices in high grade plywood. There is also Hearnes Hardwood (Oxford, PA) that has just about anything you can think of. I'll have to keep Middletown Lumbar in mind too.

Driving Hamster

Cooking ribs today in 35+ mph winds and a heavy snow squall.  Everything was snow covered except for the egg.  Good times.

When the snow melted I crouched down under the table to get a pic of the electrical set up.  I got this little GFCI adapter from Lowe's I believe.  I clipped it up under the table and secured the two ends so they are easy to get to but cannot be seen when standing next to the egg.  When I am done I just unplug the extension cord that I used to plug it into the wall.

You can also see one of the little mini speakers that I secured up inside the table.  The only thing I could get them to stick with was gorilla glue.  They haven't budged in 9 months since I put them up there.

cortguitarman

Kutztown University grad. Very familiar with the area.

tnbarbq

I think that is the best looking table I've seen!  Very, very nice.

Hi54putty

Very very impressive. That whole backyard setup is RIDIC!

RunninBombtech

What is the bar going across the middle, just below the BGE?

Driving Hamster

It is a stainless steel bar that I hang towels on and I mainly use it to move the egg table around the patio if I need to. I bolted it through the wood to the other side with stainless steel bolts so it wouldn't tear out of the wood.

Chubbs

Whole setup is solid. Thanks for sharing.

Rzeancak

You set the BAR my friend, high; Very HIgh!

RunninBombtech

I've checked L0we's and HmeDpot and I haven't been able to locate a bar like that.  Did you get it at a pool supply store?  It looks like it might be the handrails you'd see getting out of a hot tub. 

Driving Hamster

I bought mine online from one of the faucet places, efaucets.com I think.  I did a search for stainless steel bath bar to find it.  They come in different lengths but mount the same way for the most part.

 

- brian

ttexxan

I really want to build or have this table built.  Any plans out there??

GK59

I need to get my creative mind working. Some great tables being built.

Looks like one-upmanship on tables.

Again nice job,Bill

JeffM

Beautifully handcrafted table, but I do not like the way that dog is eyeing it and positioning himself close to it.....Just saying...