Expert: Jamie Yocono - 1/23/2008

Question
QUESTION: I read your answer regarding wide pieces of wood as table tops ( narrow is better) which gave me the idea to ask your advise. I have a piece of Mahogany that is at least 45 years old that my grandfather brought back from Guatemala when he was in the service there. The piece is 70.5"X 23.5" X 3". I had originally thought to have it re-sawed to 3 pieces 3/4" thick and keep the width and length to make a dinning room table top with it. I now know that ripping it into strips that are closer to 4" wide and alternating the rings would be better but I was really hoping to be able to "preserve" some of the uniqueness of the piece since I have never seen a piece of wood this big before. Could you offer me some of your expert advise as to what might be the "best" use of a piece like this considering the fact that it is more than just a piece of wood to me and I would like the end result to be something my family can pass down for a long time. Could you also comment as to which is better , boards running the length of a table or running the width?? Thank you for your time.
Merlin

ANSWER: Hi Merlin,

What a great question, and a fantastic piece of wood.  Really awesome, you really have something there. I'll try to help with some ideas.

First, with a board that size, you really do need to decide what you want it to "be" - it's crying out to be used in some 3 dimensional use, like a relief carving, or even a sculpture. It's possible you could find a carver, or do it yourself, and take advantage of the wood's thickness. See, there just aren't boards that size anymore. So on one hand, I appreciate the wood for what it is, and would want to try and keep it in it's original state.

On the other hand, you'll probably get a lot more use out of the wood if it was used in a table top. And frankly, as a furniture maker, that's what I would want to do with it.

Re-sawing, in traditional way, will not work.  See, if you resaw it into 3 pieces, roughly 3/4 thick, you're creating an imbalance in the moisture content of the wood. Sure, it's old and is probably very dry, but trust me, the inside layer will have a higher moisture content than the outer two layers. You're setting yourself up for cupping, warping, and expansion/contraction problems.

Also, there are technical problems, like who has a saw big enough to resaw a 23" wide board? And even if you can get it resawn, 3 boards that end up at 3/4" is too thin for a nice quality table top.  I like my table tops to net out at about one inch, so that means resawing them to 1 1/4". Which will leave you with waste.

There is a better way, and frankly, to my eye, it will give you a better grain pattern.  THIS is the only way I would make a top with this piece of wood...

I would find a place to plane the board, or run it though a wide board sander, which would be even better. It needs to be as flat as possible. No snipe. If you can't find a planer wide enough, you could also rip it into 3 or 4 narrower rips  that will be easier to machine flat.

Then, take the board and rip it into full thickness rips -1 1/4" wide.  You're going to be ripping through the full 3 inch thickness, so I would use a rip blade. It's really best for ripping, better than a combo blade. A smaller kerf, and designed to expel the sawdust and heat that build up.


Anyway, as you cut off each rip, take it and lay it down flat, so now you have a 3" wide board. Try to keep them in order, possibly numbering them. If I'm doing the math correctly, you're going to get a top roughly 48" wide.  I came to that by calculating that you'll get 16 rips which measure 3" wide.

Also- the best part is that the grain you're going to see is going to be (if I'm picturing this correctly in my head) is going to be tangental grain, with fine tight lines. Talk to a hundred woodworkers and I think you'll agree that this is prime grain.

I like the fact that the rips are long, rather than cutting the board in half and making shorter rips. If you made a tabletop with the grain running in the short direction, you would have more expansion and contraction. The wider the board, more it will swell and shrink with seasonal movement. Definitely something to think about.

OK, I hope this helps! Would love pics of your eventual project. Send them to jamie@wooditis.com when you get a chance. And write back if you have any other questions, comments or concerns.

Good luck,

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com
My woodworking blog: www.wooditis.blogspot.com


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION:  Thank you for the imput and I must say I agree with you a table is best for this especially since I do not nor will I have the decor for a carving that size.Would you plane the ripped pieces before joining or wait and plane the finished top, additionally I spoke with a local unfinished furniture man about it and he said that a simple glue join ( nothing fancy) would hold it just fine. How would you join the ripped pieces. I don't have any expirience with this type of wood work so I will be enlisting some help here locally to do the actual joinery. Finally I had thought to simply remove a top from a table that has a solid base but a bad ( press board) top and the table in question has a total lenght , leaf included of 72". I have since descided to forego the leaf and keep the length of the boards, espcially in light of your comments about the quality of grain. Would you use the existing base or make a new one and if it a new one where could I find wood that would match what I have. Part of my plan was to inlay a 1/4" or so border around the edge of the table in the same color wood as the base. I appreciate your expertise and would value yopur input furthe on this. I am not going to do anything in a hurry becasue I want to make sure I have planned well each step of whatever it is I end up doing. Thanks again!
Merlin

Answer
Merlin,

It's good to hear you're really thinking out how you plan on using your piece of wood; it's far too valuable (and sentimental) of a piece to simply throw something together with it.

I'll try to address all your questions - first off, yes, a simple butted glue joint is fine. It's actually a very strong bond, and there isn't any reason to add anything to it (like dowels or biscuits) unless you feel like you have some alignment issues that could be a problem. And if that's the case, might I suggest gluing up just a few pieces at a time, like 3 or 4 boards, so that it's easier to get the table top perfectly flat. If you glue up 4 sections at a time, let them dry, and then glue up 4 more, you'll eventually  have 4 sections to join into the final size of your top. It's an easy way to (hopefully) get a perfectly flat glued up panel.

Use lots of clamps, like one every 10 inches or so, and make sure you don't tighten them too much, or you can starve the joint. That means- don't squeeze out all the glue!

Whatever you do, DO NOT plane the pieces before you glue them together. This is a waste of your time, but more importantly, it's a waste of material. You want to have a thick top, and if you plane it in the beginning, then glue it and plane it again, you will be taking off twice as much material as necessary. This is a HUGE beginner's mistake. The only machining you should be doing is to the surfaces that will be glued, making sure they're flat and mostly chip free. A slightly rough gluing surface will give your glue more holding power, so don't make the surface ultra smooth- just clean and flat is good.

I'm glad you've decided to forego the leaf. If you have the space for a 6' table, I think that's the best way to use all the material and make a stunning table.

Finally, about that base and the table design itself. You haven't mentioned where you're located, but I am guessing there is Mahogany available to you. I would ABSOLUTELY build a new base, no doubt about it.  You are making a family heirloom, I hope you understand that. Your base can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. And certainly if you don't want to go to the trouble of completely building the base from scratch, you can buy components out there to simplify things. Check out www.tablelegs.com for some nice table legs and apron kits.  Also, check out www.osbornewood.com, or www.adamswoodproducts.com or (my favorite) www.mockett.com. The last one carries very modern stuff, I'm not sure what your style is, but I love their components.

Understand this- these components can be pricey, and you will be able to save a lot if you simply make the parts yourself. Honestly, you could get away with 4 legs and 4 aprons, and it wouldn't be too tough to manage, even with limited skills and tools. As a former teacher, I recommend sitting with a sketchbook, and drawing out about a dozen or so quick sketches.  Keep refining one drawing into the next one, until you see something you like- the shape of an apron, a small detail, whatever. Simple mortise and tenon joints will suffice, and be sure you use table top clips or wooden blocks for attachment, do not simply screw the top into the aprons. You will get cracking that way, it's not the appropriate method for connecting the top. You need to use clips that allow for seasonal movement.

Can you tell tables are my specialty?

Finally, about that inlay. I am a purist and don't like details like that. Why? Over time, as your tops moves with the seasons, the inlay will crack and/or move. It can fall out, I've seen it happen over and over. If anything, just inlay the two long edges, where the movement will be minimal. But inlaying all 4 edges is setting yourself up for disaster.  If you're looking to "dress up" the top a bit, or to tie it in with the base, try to think of better ways to do it, like with a similar routed edge detail, or possible some sort of carving detail. Less is more for this piece.

Oh- one more thing- please please please - when you're done, try to sign your piece. Preferable, under the tabletop, in a corner, with a quick carving of your initials and the date. It doesn't have to be anything major. But someday, your family will peek under there and marvel at your attention to detail. They will be extremely proud.

Cheers,

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com
My woodworking blog: www.wooditis.blogspot.com