Kitchen table in progress

[Steve Smith]

For the last four and a half months I've been working building a new deck and had no time for new furniture projects, but with fall coming up and Unibond's inability to be usable below 70 degrees I had to get the kitchen table started as it has already gotten blow freezing at night.

I bought this 21" wide quilted bubinga some years ago and I suspect it would be difficult to find more like it. The border is Macassar ebony from tehwoods.com. I liked the look of lacquer more than waterbourne poly on a test strip so that's what I'm going with. The legs, when I get the stock will be made from sapele. Top is 45 x 79.

 

[daniscool]

That will be a beautiful table. Are you not worried, that the ebony will stop seasonal movement in the bubinga and cause cracking?

Bubinga is quite stable when dry so it will probably work.

 

[sprucegum]

Now that's my kind of table top , solid bacon .

 

[Nature Man]

For the last four and a half months I've been working building a new deck and had no time for new furniture projects, but with fall coming up and Unibond's inability to be usable below 70 degrees I had to get the kitchen table started as it has already gotten blow freezing at night.

I bought this 21" wide quilted bubinga some years ago and I suspect it would be difficult to find more like it. The border is Macassar ebony from tehwoods.com. I liked the look of lacquer more than waterbourne poly on a test strip so that's what I'm going with. The legs, when I get the stock will be made from sapele. Top is 45 x 79.

View attachment 293805

Wood is enchanting! Will be a masterpiece table. Can’t wait to see it completed. Chuck

 

[Webb]

That will be a beautiful table. Are you not worried, that the ebony will stop seasonal movement in the bubinga and cause cracking?

Bubinga is quite stable when dry so it will probably work.

The wood is striking. I share the same concern about the top splitting. The top on this walnut table moves and I can feel the changes on the breadboard ends and table sides at different times of the year.

I found some old pictures when it was being built. The ends are held with dowel pins and they float.

Regardless of how you decide, it will be a really nice kitchen table.

 

[Steve Smith]

That will be a beautiful table. Are you not worried, that the ebony will stop seasonal movement in the bubinga and cause cracking?

Bubinga is quite stable when dry so it will probably work.

It's not solid bubinga but is veneered to plywood so I expect it will be pretty stable over time.

 

[Webb]

It's not solid bubinga but is veneered to plywood so I expect it will be pretty stable over time.

Then you should be ok. I want to be a fly on the wall when someone in the family puts the first dent in the top (since it’s a kitchen table) and hear your words.

 

[Steve Smith]

The wood is striking. I share the same concern about the top splitting. The top on this walnut table moves and I can feel the changes on the breadboard ends and table sides at different times of the year.

I found some old pictures when it was being built. The ends are held with dowel pins and they float.

Regardless of how you decide, it will be a really nice kitchen table.

View attachment 293806 View attachment 293807

Then you should be ok. I want to be a fly on the wall when someone in the family puts the first dent in the top (since it’s a kitchen table) and hear your words.

I'm looking into the cost of a glass top for it

 

[daniscool]

I'm looking into the cost of a glass top for it

That is a good investment. They aren’t cheap though. Especially if you have to get them cnc’d or precision cut (cnc is older and less accurate but still extremely expensive)

 

[Webb]

Part of the legacy of a kitchen table is the patina that comes from what happens around and on it. It’s one of the work horses in the house and not meant to be a fine piece of furniture only to be looked at, not used, and tells stories as it ages. The wood talks to me as I touch it. It’s warm and inviting. Glass is cold and says go away so I vote no on a glass top.