Oak Skinny Table

[Zuye Zheng]

Started a couple months back, but took some time off work recently for some de-stressing in the shop. Skinny table (don't know if there is a fancy real name for it, wife liked a table with similar dimensions) made from "rustic" red oak. We found a board with still some bark and a large knot so decided to build around those features.

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Getting more comfortable with half blinds.
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Pretty simple joinery, sliding dovetailed dividers and drawbored legs, both of which I still need some practice. I didn't offset the drawbores for the first set of legs enough and it actually pushed the legs out of the mortise a little, only visible from the bottom though.
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Stabilized the bark with epoxy. First time trying to fill a large void with epoxy and attempted in one go which turned out pretty bad with bubbling and the heat separating the tape holding it in...
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[Jim Koepke]

Very nice, I like the wrap around effect of the bark on the end.

jtk

[Mike Cherry]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing, I might have to borrow this idea for later.

[Brian Holcombe]

Very nice work Zuye. Similar in function to an altar table (in contemporary use).

[Lenore Epstein]

Very nice! I'd call it a console table. Pieces like that are often set behind sofas (thus becoming "sofa tables"), but I've used a similarly shaped table in an odd-shaped entranceway.

[Frederick Skelly]

Very nice Zuye! I too like what you've done with the bark.

[Reinis Kanders]

Looks good. I like those legs. How wide is it?

[Pat Barry]

Stabilized the bark with epoxy. First time trying to fill a large void with epoxy and attempted in one go which turned out pretty bad with bubbling and the heat separating the tape holding it in...

I do like the overall look of this piece and the proportions, grain matching, etc are all very well done, but I'd be afraid of the bark layer as you termed it flaking off at some point. Do you think the epoxy penetrated enough to secure the adhesion of the bark to the wood?

[Zuye Zheng]

Thanks guys!

Looks good. I like those legs. How wide is it?

Around 6.5".

I do like the overall look of this piece and the proportions, grain matching, etc are all very well done, but I'd be afraid of the bark layer as you termed it flaking off at some point. Do you think the epoxy penetrated enough to secure the adhesion of the bark to the wood?

Bark or sapwood? I thought sapwood would be lighter so thought it might be bark? Not sure how permanent it will be, I used West Systems slow epoxy which takes 12+ hours to cure I believe and actually required 2 layers in much of it since so much was absorbed and I wanted to fill the pores to get a smooth finish. Hopefully it settled in enough to keep things where they are, the boundaries are much thinner so hopefully it is stronger there.

[Kees Heiden]

That's very nice! I like how you used the natural "deficiencies" of the wood.

[Prashun Patel]

Zuye-

I wish you lived out here (or me out there) I'm enjoying your pieces and would like to see them in person.

You have a design aesthetic that really resonates with me. I think the treatment of the bark is wonderful; My prejudice and instinct is to remove the bark and orient white oak as quarterly sawn as possible. This piece challenges that, and I'm appreciating the flatsawn outer region. Clever.

I don't mean to sound pretentious, but I'm forever searching for unique ways to display wood in ways that people don't think of. It's difficult to make something original and good.

Thumbs up.

[Zuye Zheng]

Zuye-

I wish you lived out here (or me out there) I'm enjoying your pieces and would like to see them in person.

You have a design aesthetic that really resonates with me. I think the treatment of the bark is wonderful; My prejudice and instinct is to remove the bark and orient white oak as quarterly sawn as possible. This piece challenges that, and I'm appreciating the flatsawn outer region. Clever.

I don't mean to sound pretentious, but I'm forever searching for unique ways to display wood in ways that people don't think of. It's difficult to make something original and good.

Thumbs up.

Thanks, that means a lot! To be honest, a lot of it just came from looking for cheap interesting wood to practice on and it somehow just came together.

[Prashun Patel]

Wrong answer: You're supposed to say the vision came to you while strolling through Muir woods or perched atop a cliff in Big Sur and contemplating the magnificence of nature.

[Stew Denton]

Zuye,

Nice indeed! Count another +1 on the way the bark wraps around the end......extremely nice use of alternating colors. I too really like that.

Stew