Oak auction 4

I finally had some time to glue up the two front legs. The table is still moving so I had to relieve the edges to make the legs fit. I think it will tweak and move for some time but as long as it stays straight and flat I'm happy.

Gluing up the front legs

The legs are glued in with epoxy and clamped in place.

Deadline...

It was a very interesting week but I will not bore you with my work related circus drama. With that said I didn't get the 2 front legs glued up but I managed to install the thin long one. I've got all the coats of finish on the top so it's ready for the small front legs to be glued up and I still need to seal the bottom. I missed the deadline on dropping this thing off at school for a catalog description but Mel talked to the front desk and bought me some time. I have to work all weekend so nothing will get done until next week. Man time flies... Here are some pictures of not much:

I glued up the thin leg and finished the top with Four coats of synthetic drying oils.

Close up of the cut edge.

A picture of the live edge with the finished top.

Oak auction 3

Today I had a whole day to work on the table. Max and Mel went to lunch and then to 2 birthday parties.
Tomorrow it's my turn. Max and I are going to a golfing birthday. That will be a first for both of us and it sounds fun. Hopefully in the morning I'll be able to get the legs glued up and apply another coat of finish. We'll see how it goes. Here's what I got accomplished today:

Finally all the cracks are filled with epoxy and sanded flush.

Time to trim the legs to size.

When I first started working on this project I initially planned on a single leg in the center front but after playing around with some different positions I was glad I made an extra leg. This is something Evan Smith taught me while working with him in San Diego. He is a good friend and a great woodworker! Afterhours we drank good beers, talked shop and designed furniture. I learned a lot from him and really miss those days...

Dado jig for the long base leg. Nice tight fit.

I installed the jig with a few brads and did a few passes here. The total depth is 1 inch.

Finished dado 1 inch deep.

Now I have to chisel out the round corners so the leg will fit.

Now that is a nice tight fit.

I located the center point of the slab and ran 45° lines out to the legs but they looked to close together. I moved them around until they looked right. Another thing I learned from Evan: Distance yourself from stock measurements and standard practices...

Leg jig.

Chisel out he corners...

...and it's a perfect fit.

Time to clean the live edge. First I use a file brush to get rid of the leftover bark and then clean up with a torch. 

Finally it's time for finish! This top has been filled and sanded and filled and sanded and filled and sanded and sanded and sanded... The last sand was with 220. The finish on this will be a fast drying synthetic oil that has been formulated to enhance the natural look of wood. The dry film is also non-toxic, alcohol resistant and FDA approved for food contact. With multiple coats it gives a wonderful satin finish. 

First coat.

Fantastic color! No stain or dye. All natural white oak end grain. That has character.

Oak auction 2

Now it's Tuesday already and I'm still sealing this top. I can't believe how much epoxy it's soaked up. I think it's close to saturated. I hope! I've also sealed the finished base parts with lacquer so they are ready for install as soon as I get this top done. Aside from the epoxy it still needs a lot of TLC. The live edge needs a good clean up, the whole thing needs sanding and a clear top coat. Always more work than I think it is.
Here some pictures.

I had to Bondo the bottom because the tape didn't hold the weight of all the epoxy and I had a major leak! 

 

The bottom filled and sanded. Notice the large black epoxy pool?

...and another fill. I haven't even gotten to the small cracks.

Figured Teak base and legs sealed.

Oak auction

Well it's been a while since the last post. We've been busy with the house remodel and the holidays. My parents were here for Christmas and New Years. It was wonderful to see them again and they really enjoyed Max. Ed moved back to Puerto Rico because he couldn't find a job! Tough times.
Other than that things are the same and time flies by as always.
So here to the new project: Every year Max's school has an annual auction party where the families donate everything from Opera tickets to iPhones. This year I decided to build something instead of buying another kindel or concert ticket. When the school recently completed a brand new state of the art addition including a full theater and gymnasium they had to cut down a huge 200 year old white oak tree! I was fortunate to stumble across a slice of this tree one day while volunteering at the school. I contacted the office, explained my plans and got the approval to create something for the auction. That was 6 months ago and now it needs to be done by Valentines Day for the catalog! There is no sugar coating it! My dad is right. I am a procrasinator. I think some people just don't get it. I think I'm one of them...
Anyway, I started last night, worked all day today and got a good amount accomplished.

This is the small part of the slice that broke off and I won't use due to lots of rot. Here you see how thick this thing is... and it's heavy!

Here I made a quick flattening jig out of left over plywood. Next time I'll make the sides on the actual jig at least 3" tall for less sag.

Set up and ready to go.

That's a lot of wood to remove!

First pass...

...and second.

It took me an hour to clean up the dust and wood chips from flattening this piece!

One side done. Still a little high but dry...

Ready to cut the rot side.

I haven't decided on a base design yet. Still playing around with ideas...

Milling part of the base.

The other part...

Here I'm prepping for the veneering process. The base I'm using is an old 1 inch pine board that Ed brought on board when he stayed with us and a few old 4x4's I have kicking around. The veneer is quarter sawn figured teak.

Veneering the base.

Now it's time to prep for the epoxy to fill the cracks.

I use West System Epoxy from West Marine. This stuff is great and it has the nifty pump dispensers but it's also very pricey.

Jesus... this is going to take more Epoxy than anticipated! I might have to make another run to West Marine. But not tomorrow because the Niners are going to win the Superbowl:-P Homebrews, ribs and wings. I can't wait. Now it's off to Sushi and let this stuff kick.