Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Got Wood?

Wait, you have a chicken coop? I was sure that post was a set up for some elaborate joke.

New shop:



Annit only costed $115.

I'm not as handy or active in wood working as some of the other wood nymphs on the forums, but i dabble now and again.
Had to redo the Big Green Egg table top because of problems with extreme weather conditions which were in part responsible for the degradation of the old one.

The edging came out much better this time but damned if it isn't the hardest thing to find; wood veneer trim that isn't pre-glued.
I had to order from eBay unless i wanted a 500 foot roll, which i don't.

You meant for that edge to look like the saw got away from you when when you were cutting it, right?

Very funny but yes. There was intention or i would have put out some money for the best tool to make perfectly smooth cuts.
I don't have a router. No one i know has a router.
I'm not a fan of renting from Home Depot b/c you never know what you will get (e.g. a really dull or bent blade for example...i had a no so great experience before with another tool).
I've been contemplating a band saw for awhile but need to find a place for storage and need to find more uses for it before i can justify buying it.

With that being said, i had only a trusty jigsaw for this job. However, it is an outdoor table top and it gives the wood a more rough cut look so i'm not bothered by it. The wife is perfectly happy with it which is what matters most.
The finishing job helps at least.

1/2 inch Birch plywood with burled maple veneer edging adhered with Titebond III wood glue, sanded to 400 grit and 3 coats of clear semi-gloss spar urethane (oil based).

It does look really good. I like unsquare edges in the right circumstance.

Two additional images of the non rectangular table top idea.
I think i still would have preferred a bit more smoothness in the curves myself but hell, if this top survives better in the extreme elements than the last one, i'll be thrilled.
FYI, a hot direct sun, standing moisture from rain, water based exterior urethane and the vinyl coating often used for water proofing bbq covers is a BAD chemistry mix.

Chess. I'm pretty sure you could have greatly improve those curves with a pencil and spokeshave. Power tools are great, but never overlook the utility of a good and inexpensive hand tool.

I did actually use a small planer for taking off rough cuts and sanded down some of the edging from there but it is still plywood and the more you 'pick' at it on the long edge, the more chewed it can get too. I had to rush the piece somewhat because of scheduling and impending cold weather (i only had the outdoors to do the urethane finishing).

I'm far happier with the refinishing job on the stair railings and balusters.

Christmas Present / Semester Break Basement Project #2. In addition to working on a room in the basement for music purposes, my middle son wanted to make skateboards for himself and his sister. So we did some research and ordered some stuff and here is some of the process...

First a foam shape.


Then layers of maple veneer glued together - 9 in total, but we laid them up in 2-2-2-3 fashion.


Then vacuum bag to squeeze them together with 8-16h of time between sets.


Then jig saw and sanding for final shape.