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