Nakashema style Desk

[Glenn Kotnik]

Last year I bought 2 flitch cut slabs of Jatoba which I plan to use for a Nakashema style desk. The slabs would of course be the top. The slabs are 2.5" thick, 91" long, and the width is 27" at one end and tapers down to 17" at the other end. They are bookmatched and I plan to arrange them side by side with wide and narrow ends together to form a somewhat rectangular desk top. They were supposedly air dried for 8 years. I've had them planed and sanded smooth on both sides.

So far, so good. The problem is that each weighs over 250 pounds and moving such a top upstairs to my study would be almost impossible. My thought is to hollow out the underside of each leaving a full thickness lip around all sides for about 3". I would hollow each out so that the thickness of the top surface would be 1". I would use a large 1.5 or 2" forstner bit to do the hollowing. I could produce a honeycomb pattern with about 1/4" between each hole. After I get the holes drilled, I could use a chisel and router to completely hollow the area inside the 3" rim. This would definately reduce the weight, hopefully by at least 1/3. I could also leave it with just the honeycombs and not completely hollow it. My concern is that once hollowed the slab would be unstable and warp. I think the honeycomb pattern would be less likely to warp. Has anyone tried this. What do the wood gurus think about this idea?
Thanks

[Phil Thien]

I don't think I'd try to hollow them out. Too much of a chance they'd move on you.

I'd be inclined to build the desk, and then hire someone (piano movers) to move it for you.

[joe milana]

I don't think I'd try to hollow them out. Too much of a chance they'd move on you.

I'd be inclined to build the desk, and then hire someone (piano movers) to move it for you.

+1 I'd leave 'em and deal with the weight. At most, maybe plane them down to 2" & save 50# or so. Nah..I wouldn't even do that.

[Damon Stathatos]

I understand that different pieces of wood of the same species vary from piece to piece, but if you're going to straight edge the taper side on both and 'bookmatch' them, then each piece should come in at around 150 pounds each (for Jatoba.) Then, after you rectangle-it-off, you'll lose even more weight. If they are, in fact, 250 pounds each, you may have something other than Jatoba.

If I were you, I'd try to figure out some innovative way to join the two pieces so that I could take them apart whenever I wanted (say, if I had to move it again.) No way would I hollow out the bottom, but that's just me. As far as I'm concerned, the bigger and heavier the piece, the better. If the wood moves in the future, then you could always go back to the wide belt sander, flatten again, and then permanently join them if necessary. My first thoughts would be a heavy tongue and groove or perhaps a channel-type locking (think two interlocking dados) with some sort of connectors on the bottom (similar to extendable dinning room tables). Tonight I'd go to sleep with 'The Soul of a Tree' sprawled out on my chest, imagining and dreaming of what Nakashima might do, and hopefully come up with some other idea(s). He would probably (or maybe) try to accentuate the joint, show off the fact that they are independent pieces. Most of the time, I need to actually see the raw pieces as a 'seed' for ideas. If you get a chance, post some pics of your slabs.

[Jamie Buxton]

I once built a Nakashima-style dining table. The top was two bookmatched slabs of walnut 2 1/2" thick by 20" wide by 9 feet long. The destination was on the ninth floor of a condo building, and a complete top would not fit into the elevator. I designed the table so that the two slabs separate for transport. Do you know what a "joint fastener" is? Pic below.

kv0516.jpg

The joint fastener is used to pull together two pieces of kitchen countertop -- usually 3/4" thick.

For the slab table, I used something like that, but scaled up to work well on 2 1/2" thick lumber. The bolts were 3/8" threaded rod. I milled the pockets with a plunge router, making a rectangular pocket so the nuts had a flat surface to land on.

[Glenn Kotnik]

It looks like we have a consensus on hollowing out the underside- Better not do it!
I like the idea of using underside fasteners to join the 2 halves of the top. I'm sure I could fabricate a heavy duty fastener like the one Jamie recomended. This could be used in conjunction with interlocking dados or tongue and groove. I also like Damon's idea of finding an imaginative way of using the joint as a decorative or design element. I'l see what I can come up with. I don't have any photos of the slabs but I'll try to take a few and post them tomorrow.
Thanks everyone for your help.