The term "scrap" is relative

[Crazyraceguy]

I started a table project with one of the office guys at work a few weeks ago. Just messing around in some spare time, we glued up some drop that we had from a job a while back.
He bought some metal legs and stiffener C-channel and we decided on 36 x 72.
I glued it up last week and trimmed it to length yesterday. This was the heaviest use of the TS60 yet.
It cut through this 1 3/4" Oak full-depth in one pass, like butter. There is a definite difference to the TS55. It could have done this, either at a slower pace, or two passes.
I routed the C channels in, but forgot to take a pic before turning it back over.
Surface prep and Rubio pure next week.

 

[mike_aa]

[member=58857]Crazyraceguy[/member]  Nice looking top.  What a great way to make use of some leftovers!  The variety of grains and colors gives it a very interesting look.  What did you use to fabricate the finger jointed ends?

Thanks!  Mike A.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

[member=30413]mike_aa[/member] I didn't do any of the finger-jointing. The pieces I used were rips off of some "factory made" top slabs that were supplied by the client. They started out as 24" x 144" and we cut them into the parts needed for benches in a couple of locker rooms. The off-cuts were different sizes and ended up as a two-step glue-up. This was 6 pieces, three pairs on the first stage.

 

[72anthony]

What size C channels did you use?

I have a slab that is 7/8-inch thick and wondering if a 1/2-inch C channel would be too deep.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

What size C channels did you use?

I have a slab that is 7/8-inch thick and wondering if a 1/2-inch C channel would be too deep.

They were 1/2" x 26" and the top itself is just over 36 inches wide.

For a 7/8" thick top, that might be a bit much? The legs are 1/2" alone, then another 1/16" or so to set the thickness of the wide part below the surface too. At that point, you are only 5/16" from the top. It's possible, and likely your only choice? I don't recall seeing any with shorter sides.

 

[Lincoln]

What size C channels did you use?

I have a slab that is 7/8-inch thick and wondering if a 1/2-inch C channel would be too deep.

What do you want the C channel for? To attach the legs?

 

[Crazyraceguy]

[member=69760]Lincoln[/member] I can't speak for 72anthony, but in my case, it was for two reasons.
First and foremost, it's mostly because people expect it. Since this was built to sell, you sort of have to accommodate that.
Second was stiffness. Believe it or not, a top that wide, made from so many narrow pieces has quite a bit of flex. On a traditional table, the aprons that would hold the legs together, also stiffen the whole assembly. As it is, if you pick up on this from the edges (at the ends) you can feel/see it bow a little.
I could imagine that it would feel the same way if you pushed down on it, while only supported by the legs. The C channel solves this.
I might have overlooked the expectations part, if the flex wasn't there.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

We got some finish on it today. Been busy with other things and it's just been sitting. The guy I am working with on this was amazed by how far the Rubio goes. He said "no way that little bit is going to cover the whole bottom." Well, it did and the edges too. The buffing pad really moves it around a lot.
We did the back/sides, went to lunch for a while, flipped it over and did the front. That stuff sure smells good.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Final shots with the legs installed.

 

[bobtskutter]

Gee wizz!  If that's what counts as scrap then I'm doomed.

(Very nice job)

Regards
bob

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Bob, that's the joke of "scrap is relative". [smile]
The pieces were indeed off-cuts from a company job. There were originally 20 "factory-made" slabs of finger-jointed material. They were 24"x 144". I cut them up and added Dominos to the joining locations, for the lay-out in the locker room.
This was a glue-up of a few narrow strips that came from doing that. There will likely be more of these. I have quite a few more pieces of this stock.

The funny thing is that the original bench tops will be coming back to us this month.....for repairs.
The contractor/client/customer refused to listen to our advice regarding finishing. They insisted on using simple butcherblock oil. [eek] uh.... no. This was explained to them. So, now is going to cost waaay more than it would have to do it right the first time. At this point, they have to be stripped and covered with a conversion varnish. All it took was someone spilling something on one of them, which caused a big stain.

 

[LazyGretlWoodWorks]

Personally, I get tired of seeing "scrap wood [insert project name here]". If you're using it, it's not scrap wood. It's just left over, off cuts, unused, etc. Scrap wood is too small, too messed up, too fragile, too... whatever... to use. "Scrap wood cutting boards" that people are selling for like $300 is just insulting, really.  [popcorn]

 

[luvmytoolz]

For me scrap means less than an inch square, but even then I agonise over tossing it in the rubbish!

 

[Cheese]

I know I've mentioned this before on the forum, but my best (since deceased) friend fashioned a roll-top desk from fir scraps that were culled from the Andersen Window production facility in Stillwater. At least 90% of the fir pieces were less than 2"-3" in length, the reason being that the "drop" was cut short to be used to heat the Andersen Window facility.

It truly was a years-long work in process gluing all those short wood segments to one another. The final result was absolutely stunning and I'm not a "scrap wood guy".

I thought the project was goofy, I thought the time commitment was goofy, I thought Don was goofy, however, I thought the finished product was incredible.  [thumbs up] [thumbs up] [thumbs up]

 

[LazyGretlWoodWorks]

Surprises me you had that much flex in it. I wonder if some of the finger jointing wasn't offset enough if the bigger factory builds or something. That's pretty unusual. Sorry you had to use more mechanical means. I don't generally buy into the whole c-channel-to-prevent-cupping thing, but if it helps support the weight of this thing in the longer runs because of how it was pieced together, I guess that's a good thing.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Personally, I get tired of seeing "scrap wood [insert project name here]". If you're using it, it's not scrap wood. It's just left over, off cuts, unused, etc. Scrap wood is too small, too messed up, too fragile, too... whatever... to use. "Scrap wood cutting boards" that people are selling for like $300 is just insulting, really.  [popcorn]

The whole point of the term "scrap" was a joke. These we off-cuts (we usually use the term "drop")
and as-such the client never sees them. It's like any other thing where you have to buy a whole sheet  of plywood, veneer, MDF, etc. no matter how little of it actually get used.
In this big industrial shop though, we can't hold onto everything. It would get overwhelming...quickly.
You would be stunned by the things we throw away. I do have a few hidey-holes for some special stuff, but even then, I have to cull it occasionally.
We pitch chunks of solid surface that people pay hundreds of dollars for, every day, and the amount of drop that gets saved is substantial. I have built 2 different storage racks for the off-cuts back there.

 

[LazyGretlWoodWorks]

Oh, for sure. I know. But out in the world, people are actually (trying to?) selling "Scrap wood [project]" with, apparently, some level of success. It's pretty weird.