Dinner table and benches

[scottcox]

Here is a table I recently completed using basically just a biscuit joiner and the shopbot. I jointed the board edges for the wider pieces on the shopbot using a temporary fence. I biscuit joined them, planed the whole thing with a surfacing bit, then cut out the shapes.


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[fleinbach]

Great job Scott!

[donchapman]

I really like the pegged through tenons and the curved sides and ends of the table and bench tops.

[harryball]

Very nice, was this a contract job or just some personal indulgence?

What's the finish?

Robert

[myxpykalix]

Very nice Scott. Did you have some plans you worked from was this design your own? I like the finish. It's a step up from those "hatches" you were making before. Good job.

[scottcox]

Thanks for the compliments. This was built to replace our too small, well-worn dinner table.

I took the basic trestle design and drew my own shapes in TurboCad being careful to avoid biscuits. The simple arc shapes mirrored well to each piece so I went with it. Since both the mortices and tenons were cut on the 'bot, they were very accurate. I simply rounded the edges of the tenons by hand to match the rounded mortice corners and hand cut the tenons' shoulders. It's a very nice fit.

I finished it with 5 coats of quick-dry poly ('cause I don't know any better). It seems to hold up well to my kids climbing on it (so far).

Jack, those hatches are actually "viewports" and they help pay the bills, so I enjoy making those too. ;-)


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[henrik_o]

Great work, Scott.

I have a table of the same basic principle, followed the family through at least five generations.

Good to see some new developments to this old concept.

[Brady Watson]

Nice work Scott! I like it. What type of lumber did you use?

-B

[scottcox]

Thanks Brady.

It's a "white" cedar of unknown origins. I was at my local lumber yard and the guy wanted to get rid of about a thousand bf for "cheap". I had about $400 in my pocket and was ready to pay that, but I pressured him for a price. He said $150 and I said SOLD!!

I still have plenty of it.

[scottcox]

Here's another shot of that same cedar.....


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[harryball]

You got 1000bf of cedar for $150!!!!

[scottcox]

Yep. Almost broke my arm pattin' myself on the back.

But then Murphy's law took over and they dropped the ball on my next two orders, costing me about $200.

[myxpykalix]

Good deal for you scott! Here is something i do when i need lumber. Rather than pay the high prices for kiln dried lumber, I go to a sawmill and buy a whole tree for about $30.00 and have the guy saw it up for me and i take it and "sticker" it behind my shop under a roof but let the air get to it. Go find someone with a sawmill and make him a sign and you'd be surprised how much money you can save. It helps to have friends where you need them.

[scottcox]

It also helps to have a sawmill when you need one. I bought one of the Granberg Alaskan sawmills (from http://www.granberg.com ) earlier this year and have used it to cut lumber for several projects. I've also been stockpiling lumber for future projects.


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[ron_varela]

One I made a few years back, made with 7 different types of wood.
Took 4 days to make and is 228 lbs


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[fleinbach]

Ron

Apsolutly increadable looking work!

[scottcox]

Wow! That's awesome Ron!

Can you share how you used the shopbot on that? Maybe post a picture of the legs and aprons?

[ron_varela]

This was made with all 2 inch scrap material lying around and as you can see can be used to make things for your home or for sale.
This took me 4 days because I wanted to use some other material I was going to have left over on other jobs I was doing, total time to make one would be 6 hours or less if you cheat and use other tools, Planner-Minor Saw. 10 to 12 hours using a shopbot
Just lay your material on your shopbot and plain to any size you like.
Turn material on their sides and make dado cuts for some biscuits, I used solid oak for the biscuits.
Cut a sheet of ¾ plywood to the size you want your table to be, and then just use your imagination to lay out a design.
You can use straight pieces, long short or and shape you want, here I used 45 degree angles.
Biscuit and glue the ends together and clamp, then from underneath screw from the bottom up into your material, you only need 3 screws for 8 foot pieces, or 1 screw for 12X12 pieces.
After your top is complete cut your side trim to match the material and ¾ plywood.
Flip over the table top and use any material to make a 2x6 beam 6 foot long.
Drill ¼ inch holes thru the 2x6 1 every 12 inches.
Place the 2x6 in the center of the table top and use ¼ inch bolts 6 ½ inch long to secure to table top.
Now just make any style legs you want using 2x6 or other material and secure to the tabletop.
Sand all areas and apply any stain to bring out the desired look, seal with a varnish or any sealant you prefer and let dry.
The material shown if bought would be around 800.00 but you can make one from 2x6 white or yellow pine and just use different stains to get the desired look of the wood, the cost would be under 35.00 not counting the stains.
I made 27 tables using 2x6 yellow and white pine and sold for $300.00 and 9 tables using scrape material like oak –walnut –cherry- mahogany and other fine woods for $1000.00 per table.
If you were to buy fine material to make a table for sale add cost of material + $65.00 an hour for labor and machine time.
The chairs legs were cut on on shopbot

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[john_l]

Very nice tables! Well done.

[thkoutsidthebox]

Thats fantastic. I really like the legs on the benches for the first one, and the style and finish on the second one. Great!

[ron_varela]

It is just something my grandkids like to play on.

Ron