Burl Book-match Table - Thinking out loud

[Brian Kent]

Dear Design Geniuses (and otherwise clever people),

I have been working with a fun piece of walnut burl. Yesterday I used the drum sander to get the bandsaw marks off. It is now .22" thick (22 caliber walnut???). The double book-matched piece is 20" x 36" if I square off the ends, or 20" x 48" from point to point.

I am leaning towards making a coffee table or sofa table. I think I'll rule out a cabinet with Krenov style base, because .22" is too thin to stand alone as doors and I do not have enough to cover both sides of a substrate. (Stop me if I say something stupid - a lot of this is new ground for me).

I am thinking of using some MDF for substrate. I have some .2" mdf on hand, but I could get thicker mdf or baltic birch ply if that is better. For this thickness, I plan on using regular Titebond glue.

What base design would you picture with this piece? Smooth jointed like simplistic version of Maloof? Stickley style joints? Something else?

And then my biggest question is about trim.
I could easily trim it as a rectangular piece with walnut or a contrasting lighter wood.
I can't figure out how to take advantage of that live edge on the ends, since a substrate would show through. I could glue it to walnut and cut it to match the live edge, but the moisture / movement could be all over the place.
An oval trim might be nice. I would need to learn how to use templates to get the outer edge of the burl to match the inner edge of the trim. I'm sure that's possible but I don't know the technique.

Finally, I plan to seal any cracks with epoxy/sawdust paste or with super glue, seal with a few coats of de-waxed shellac, top with several coats of wipe-on poly, and then wax.

I am sharing all of these ideas because I seek your creativity, critique, and correction. I hope to sell it at a church scholarship auction and I want to get as much as possible for the kids.

Thanks

Brian

[Jamie Buxton]

That is a pretty piece of wood.

The shape of the burl does suggest an oval coffee table. (Mind you, not an elliptical table. Ellipses are too pointy, IMHO. I'd be working toward a shape which is still oval, but has squarer shoulders, kinda like your veneer.) And yes, it will turn into an exercise in templates.

Unless you have some very strong reason to use that thin .2" MDF, I'd go to something considerably more substantial -- like 3/4" plywood, or even 1". It'll give the table some nice heft, and it will better resist any bending forces from the veneer trying to expand or contract. There's no reason to go to baltic birch type plywoods; softwood-interior ones will work just fine.

[Brian Kent]

Both of your suggestions sound right. Thicker plywood substrate and oval (not elliptical) shape.

As I look around I like the shape of Maloof's pedestal table bases.

The biggest unknown at the moment is that router template set that allows the inner piece and the edges to match perfectly.

[Jamie Buxton]

For the templates, there's a technique shown in router books. It uses a master template, and a straight bit equipped with two different top bearings to make two working templates. With one bearing, the outside edge of the bit is at the same position as the inside edge of the bit with the other bearing. One bearing cuts one of the working templates, and the other bearing cuts the other working template. Those working templates are used with a pattern-cutting bit to cut the mating curved faces --- say, the joint between the hardwood edging on your table, and the panel it encloses.

[Brian Kent]

I knew there was a magic trick somewhere. I'll start flippin' the pages in the Router Book to get the parts right. Thanks!

[Jamie Buxton]

Many big router vendors offer bearings in many diameters, for instance http://eagleamerica.com/bearings--ru...rs/p/196-0400/

[Brian Kent]

But I can do the same thing with the collar bushings, right?

[Jamie Buxton]

But I can do the same thing with the collar bushings, right?

I think so. I've only done it with bearings. I think you get more options with bearings.

[Brian Kent]

Thanks for helping me on the finishing forum, too, Jamie.

I am pretty sure I have the template thing in my head and on paper now.

I make one template slightly undersized, use the router trick to make an inside and outside template that fit each other perfectly. Then I cut the burl and the rim using the inside and outside templates. 3 templates total.

I am gluing up the burl on plywood now. Boy does that stuff want to curl. I have been doing this since noon, clamping several of layers of plywood over it, checking a couple hours later. Re-clamping the loose spots. Repeat 2 hours later. I think I'm on the last round of that. Everything seems to have bonded.

[Jamie Buxton]

3 templates total.

And you may want one more to do the outside edge of the rim.

[Brian Kent]

And you may want one more to do the outside edge of the rim.

You think templates grow on trees?

Oh, wait…

[Brian Kent]

1) The grain & shape of this burl is really jumping out as I sand and shellac. I am considering an edge alternative.

Would it work to follow the grain in a more complex curve on the band saw, and then use edge banding instead of cutting a 1" edge trim?

I could use walnut trim (pre-made) or use leftover strips from the same burl if it can be dry / wet / steam bent?

The tightest parts of the curve would be 2" to 3" diameter, depending on how I cut it.

2) There is one bubble in the middle that feels thin, soft and unattached. It is about a square inch. Is my best bet to cut a small slit on the seam to fill it with Super Glue?

[Jamie Buxton]

This is a "now you tell me" suggestion, but maybe...

Maybe you edgeband only the substrate. This would have been easier before you glued the veneer to the substrate, but may still be feasible. To do it now, you bandsaw the panel roughly to shape. Then you flip the panel upside down. With a router set to the substrate thickness, you remove the substrate near the edge, cutting it back to a straight line. Then you glue a piece of solid lumber to replace the routered-out substrate. An important thing is that the joint between the substrate and the lumber is that straight line, and it is really the only thing holding the substrate and the lumber together; you can't count on the veneer for any structural strength. You glue on multiple pieces of lumber until you've completely surrounded the plywood. Now you flip the panel right side up and saw/sand to final shape. What you see is burl on the top surface and the top .2" of the sides, and lumber below that.

[Brian Kent]

I like the way you think. This piece of wood is worth trying. Besides, will it be that much harder than the 4 templates?

[Brian Kent]

That is a pretty piece of wood.

The shape of the burl does suggest an oval coffee table. (Mind you, not an elliptical table. Ellipses are too pointy, IMHO. I'd be working toward a shape which is still oval, but has squarer shoulders, kinda like your veneer.) And yes, it will turn into an exercise in templates.

I have been working on the main burl and an additional shield-shaped piece. Jon Van der Linden pointed me to a routing technique for irregular edges. That set me free to cut the burls according to the grain rather than according to a geometric shape.

The shield may go on the front of the stand. Jon also pointed me to Ruhlman's work and Ruhlman's work started a little creative process in me.

Here are the Burls (the shield has been flattened with 60 grit on the drum sander. The large burl has received several coats of de-waxed shellac so I could see it better and to help strengthen and protect it. The sketch shows the front view concept and placement of the medallion.