28 foot table, 32 foot shop

[Stretch]

My current project at work is a ginormous conference table. The dimensions are 28' long by 6' wide. It's built in three sections. The primary wood is black walnut with a 5" wide alder border. I figured I'd post some pics of it. It was actually hard to get a good pic that shows a true perspective of how big this thing is.

The three top sections:







and a pic of one of the three bases:

[lexrex]

Wow. awesome table. Will the sections be fastened together somehow?

[Stretch]

May 21, 2010 20:29:58 GMT -6 lexrex said:

Wow. awesome table. Will the sections be fastened together somehow?

Yes. There are metal fasteners attached to the bottom that hold it together and align it. They're not fastened in these pics because I just put the sections together to do a final sanding and snap the pics.

[TDHofstetter]

Boy, that IS one big FUT, ain't it? Betcha' it's ridiculously heavy fully assembled, too. Top is 8/4 or something near that? Or just the rim?

That'll be French polished, right?

[Stretch]

May 21, 2010 21:36:21 GMT -6 TDHofstetter said:

Boy, that IS one big FUT, ain't it? Betcha' it's ridiculously heavy fully assembled, too. Top is 8/4 or something near that? Or just the rim?

That'll be French polished, right?

It's heavy but not terribly so. The tops are shop sawn veneer over plywood with a 2" solid alder border. Now the bases are veneer over MDF and are quite heavy. Luckily we'll move it in pieces. The top will be getting a lacquer finish. The client wants a satin finish so the plan is an off the gun finish. That's a bit iffy though on a piece of this size, so we may have to rub it out to a satin sheen with steel wool. That will not be fun on this thing. I can barely reach the middle of each section.

[TDHofstetter]

I don't envy you the job. How 'bout tilting the sections toward you so they're standing near-vertical on one long edge? Even at that, we're talking about a LOT of scrubbing with steel wool.

[admin]

May 21, 2010 21:41:37 GMT -6 Stretch said:

I can barely reach the middle of each section.

And that's you, a long tall drink of water. I'd have to stick the steel wool to my shoes and drag my feet walking back and forth for a month.

Do you have access to a orbital sander? I'm looking at a huge amount of sanding, something equal to a good sized floor. As much as I hate seeing power tool domination, for this one, I'm betting it'll be a great help.

Or, knee pads and steel wool it on your hnds and knees. Either would work.

Still, get some help to load those sections for delivery. Looks like the bases alone are enough to throw your back out. Back problems don't go away with time.

[Stretch]

May 21, 2010 21:47:58 GMT -6 TDHofstetter said:

I don't envy you the job. How 'bout tilting the sections toward you so they're standing near-vertical on one long edge? Even at that, we're talking about a LOT of scrubbing with steel wool.

You nailed it. We actually have the sections temporarily mounted on heavy duty door hinges so we can tilt them vertical. This should allow us to get an even off the gun finish on the tables.

[elizabeth]

Mark,
Are you sure it's a table? Looks like the perfect dance floor to me. ;D ;D

It's absolutely gorgeous!

[boodrow]

Stretch that is a beautiful piece of work , man I dont envy the sanding or puttin the finish on it , but cant to see it finished.
Boodrow

[Jim Brown]

That walnut sapwood is purdy. Wow. Can't wait to see it finished.

[gomer]

I have an idea of the weight of these things. I move em all the time. That my friend is a masterpiece. Absolutely gonna be a fine piece for years to come.

[deepsplinter]

Looks like one heck of a project.

So are you about done, 'cept the finishing?

I'd like to hear more 'bout the "shop sawn veneer".

[Stretch]

May 24, 2010 6:34:21 GMT -6 deepsplinter said:

Looks like one heck of a project.

So are you about done, 'cept the finishing?

I'd like to hear more 'bout the "shop sawn veneer".

On this table, I resawed the walnut to about 3/16" then I ran it through the drum sander to get a consistent thickness. The plywood subtops were cut to the proper shape. The we glued the walnut planks to the subtops in a large vacuum bag using regular old yellow glue.