Custom Project

Teaser

Behold...Potential:

No, not the various countertop sections, Im talking about the slabs o tree currently in the garage.

I stopped by a new (to me) hardwood dealer the other day to pick up some material for a new coffee table Im going to build.  I suspect that most of their business comes from commercial customers, but they are also open to the public.  Their selection of hardwood was pretty basic but the prices were excellent .  The lumber came surfaced-two-faces (s2f) which has its pros and cons.  Its nice because you can get a better idea of what the finished surface will look like, but you also dont quite get as much material for your buck; thicknesses are nominal and tend to be on the thin side for what you get charged.

For the table I was thinking contrasting wood: dark tabletop and legs with a light apron.  They had a ton of red oak so I got that for the dark.  That monster slab on the bottom of the stack is 6/4 thick and 15" wide: probably the heaviest single piece of wood Ive ever bought.  Above that, in the middle of the stack, is some more red oak: 7/4 thick and 9" wide...another beast.  Im thinking Ill use this for the legs.

The last piece is some wormy maple (or "ambrosia maple" if youre a furniture dealer).  I thought that this would be interesting material for the apron.  The challenge will be figuring out where to cut it so that the off-colors arent on edges...should be interesting.  The maple was also dirt cheap: $1.63/board foot.  Cheapo white pine is $1.00/bdft at Home Depot, so thats a pretty good price for decorative hardwood.

That last piece on the left is some leftover walnut from the bookcase project.  Who knows, maybe a little inlay work on the tabletop: Ive always liked Fibonacci squares.