Slab table completed

Well, it's finally done...I think it came out pretty well! I plan to write a lengthy blog post about the project (with better pictures) and will share that when it is done.

The top is a pair of book matched Chinese Chestnut slabs.
The bow ties are walnut that I had lying around.
Finish is simple: ~8 coats of semi-gloss poly.
The base is mostly 2" square tubing.
Final dimensions are 90" x 36"-44" x 29.5" (although height might eventually change a bit, depending upon chair selection).

Thanks again to all of the advice from everyone throughout this project.

Attachment 291066Attachment 291068

The legs curve. How do you bend 2" square steel tubing?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jamie Buxton

The legs curve. How do you bend 2" square steel tubing?

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With the right equipment it can be done pretty easily, but I found that it can be hard to find someone who can do it. It turns out that bending square tubing is pretty straight-forward if you have the right dies for the bender. However, to get this large of a radius (50" for these S-curves) you need to use a thicker sidewall than normal (evidently a smaller radius is much easier).

In this case we used 1/8" thickness tube and it torqued the end product a bit, which had to be corrected afterward. The guy said if we'd used 3/16" or 1/4" thickness that it would have come up perfectly.

FWIW, my insistence on this bend in the legs added a lot to the cost and build time for the base, but I thought it was worth it in the end.

Beautiful.

Great looking table.....

Great looking table,lovely looking wood.Now you just need to make the chairs.:)
Thanks for sharing with us . Aj

Thanks everyone - and, sorry for placing it into the wrong forum category!

Looks great from here! One thought, I read somewhere and have since followed the advice than when using multiple coats of poly on something like a table top, use gloss for all but the last coat or two, and then use the semi. That way the surface isn't shiny, but is less likely to have a cloudiness that can build with many coats of semi. Just something to consider. Maybe it makes little difference - I've never done a side by side test, but the concept made perfect sense as semi just has the the particles added to it.

Really like the slab top Joe. It's beautiful!

My curiosity has gotten the better of me. What did you use to join the slabs together?

Thanks in advance,
Cody

Business travel takes me to remote, but interesting locations.

Recently - few trips of a week or so each to SE Louisana - pulled a classic Yates American A-62, the workhorse of planer mills, and replaced it with a modern 240 LFPM molder. All of this right in the middle of crawfish season. 2 - 3 times per week, 4 - 6 lb per meal.

Which brings me to the actual point:

A trash receptacle of some sort, placed under the gap in the table top, and you have a high-class crawfish-eating table. They sell 'em at the local hardware, made out of cheap plastic, etc., but there must be a market with the high-end folks.

Other than that...........very nice. Very, Very nice. I like the curves in the legs. They seem "just right" - not too aggressive, not too timid.

I'm impressed with this table! The slab looks great and the execution is perfect. The metal legs complement well with the wood and it made the table more elegant and expensive!