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How did you attach the legs to the top .
not seeing joints in the top . It is a glue up ???
The top is 2 slabs cut in sequence from the same tree laminated together and the legs are the off cuts from each slab.
The legs are fastened by an 18" x 6-1/2" x 7/8" lose tenon glued with west system epoxy.
I finished it last night. I brushed on the epoxy primer and gave it a couple of days to fully cure then I sanded it and sprayed the catalyzed polyurethane topcoat. It was really difficult to spray. The material is very temperature and humidity sensitive. It either dried before it could flow out or if I turned up the fluid it ran with nothing in between. The manufacturer recommends using HVLP turbine but running 2 lengths of air hose with one coiled up in a tub of ice water to keep the material cool and let it flow out. I had a minor problem with blush. It could be the wood, it's dry but really resinous and is hard in some areas and soft in others. The soft areas really soak up the finish.
It'll be interesting to see how it holds up through the winter. I'm going to do some mahogany chairs and benches later this summer when I get the time. I used mahogany for the butterflies and the finish looks beautiful on them. I think a lot of the finishing problems will go away using Mahogany.
I was thinking the top needs to be able to expand and contract on the base .did you allow for this .
heck of a piece of wood . The top does look like one wide hunk .very impressive .
You put a lot into that finish .
wow that took forever to up load .the octagon wiggles ,needs more done on the base .had to get it done for anniversary gift, I have a full week in it already . i will fix later .The other table was done for a neighbor .Did not take to long .used domino tenons to secure legs to the skirt .used the domino to make slots in blocks for use in holding top down .the idea being the screws used to hold to can move in the slots .yeah -needs a picture .All stuff I had around .Top was at 8-9 % but i bet it will not shrink much at all in the room it is in .
I was thinking the top needs to be able to expand and contract on the base .did you allow for this .
I think so. It's free to move along the length. Same species, finished identically across the width and about 1/2 the span free to move. I was hoping the legs would help hold joint in the slabs together. I also only had so much material in the 2 slabs so my design options were limited. I am counting on the epoxy primer to work as design and minimize the moisture getting to the wood
heck of a piece of wood . The top does look like one wide hunk .very impressive .
You put a lot into that finish .
Other than the blush I'm happy with the way it turned out. The pictures don't give the figure and colour of the wood justice. The couple who want one built are coming over for pizza tonight. Their's is going to be a dining room table with a live edge slab on top and a conventional base with apron rails and 4 tapered legs so it should be much easier to design and finish. They are thinking along the lines of cherry or walnut, depending on the cost and quality of the slabs we can find.
I love the look of the octagon table. That's a lot of mitres and no way to fudge them. Do you have a pic of the underside of the table? I'm just curious how you're supporting the top.
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