aggierailroad
Well-known member
Wife wanted a table she saw in a home magazine. Listed at nearly $800 
Went to the local steel yard and got some "less-than-prime" rusted relics for a little less than half price. 24 feet of 3/4" bar and 20 feet of 3/4"x1.25" bar.
The floor model at the store was made of solid legs and tubing bottoms. I have about $50 into the steel.
I got the steel cut up using my dry cut saw - Northern tool brand, cut through it like a hot knife in butter.
I used a saw stop to cut everything. Cobbled it together with some plywood. Worked perfectly - the table came out square within 1/32".
Here's a shot of the cut ends:
Welded her up - outside dimensions are 24"x24"x26" tall.
Vertical-Up weld with the Millermatic 211. I think I had the voltage on 7 or 8 with the wire speed around 50ipm; 0.030 wire diameter with 75/25% gas at 15cfm on 110V line input. I didn't bevel it quite enough - which I think is causing the raised edges. All in all, the welder handled the thicker stuff better than I thought it would.
Finally went down to the lumber yard and after hours of looking with the wife she finally settled on walnut. My pick was wormy chestnut, but I have to admit, the walnut looks fantastic. The other debate was to use a parquet style top or just planks.
Another shot of them ripped and squared on the jointer.
Here it is being test "fit" to check the grain orientation and overall look. The boards will be inset into the top - the trick will be to have an even expansion area around the wood to allow for the crazy humidity down here.
Tabs are to be welded in once I have the final top size cut out.
Picture of the glue spread over the edge. I have started using a silicone brush to spread it around and have really enjoyed not getting the glue all over my hands!
Here's a shot of the board edges and cauls used during tonight's glue-up. I used Gorilla Wood Glue because it's waterproof - an important thing for a side table. Typically I would use Titebond, but didn't have any of the level II kind on hand.
It's a good tip to alternate the cup of the boards. This means you should try to orient them with the grain curling up (like a smiley face) then next to it should be one with the grain curling down (like a frowney face). This helps the whole thing from curling up like a Pringles chip down the road. Sometimes it's unavoidable to get the grain how you want it, but try to do it when you can.
The cauls (board strips clamped above and below the walnut) are clamped on first. They stop the big clamps from lifting the boards and making it want to bow. They also help to keep everything flat. Use wax paper or slick tape to keep the cauls from being glued to your work due to the glue squeeze out.
Here's the whole thing clamped up.
I still could use some more clamps...
Another trick is to leave the ends wild. This basically means that you shoudl cut your boards a little long and glue them up fairly straight but without too much worry. If you cut them to length and then try to glue them up it will be nearly impossible to align them. The glue acts like ice and the boards want to slip when you start squeezing on the clamps. We'll trim them up square after the glue is dry. Also have to make sure, because the glue wants to make the boards slip, is to not accidentally glue the top into a parallelogram...
Let it sit for a day and start un-clamping.
That's where I'm at as of right now. Any questions or comments I'm here to help! Thanks for reading.
Went to the local steel yard and got some "less-than-prime" rusted relics for a little less than half price. 24 feet of 3/4" bar and 20 feet of 3/4"x1.25" bar.
The floor model at the store was made of solid legs and tubing bottoms. I have about $50 into the steel.
I got the steel cut up using my dry cut saw - Northern tool brand, cut through it like a hot knife in butter.
I used a saw stop to cut everything. Cobbled it together with some plywood. Worked perfectly - the table came out square within 1/32".
Here's a shot of the cut ends:
Welded her up - outside dimensions are 24"x24"x26" tall.
Vertical-Up weld with the Millermatic 211. I think I had the voltage on 7 or 8 with the wire speed around 50ipm; 0.030 wire diameter with 75/25% gas at 15cfm on 110V line input. I didn't bevel it quite enough - which I think is causing the raised edges. All in all, the welder handled the thicker stuff better than I thought it would.
Finally went down to the lumber yard and after hours of looking with the wife she finally settled on walnut. My pick was wormy chestnut, but I have to admit, the walnut looks fantastic. The other debate was to use a parquet style top or just planks.
Another shot of them ripped and squared on the jointer.
Here it is being test "fit" to check the grain orientation and overall look. The boards will be inset into the top - the trick will be to have an even expansion area around the wood to allow for the crazy humidity down here.
Tabs are to be welded in once I have the final top size cut out.
Picture of the glue spread over the edge. I have started using a silicone brush to spread it around and have really enjoyed not getting the glue all over my hands!
Here's a shot of the board edges and cauls used during tonight's glue-up. I used Gorilla Wood Glue because it's waterproof - an important thing for a side table. Typically I would use Titebond, but didn't have any of the level II kind on hand.
It's a good tip to alternate the cup of the boards. This means you should try to orient them with the grain curling up (like a smiley face) then next to it should be one with the grain curling down (like a frowney face). This helps the whole thing from curling up like a Pringles chip down the road. Sometimes it's unavoidable to get the grain how you want it, but try to do it when you can.
The cauls (board strips clamped above and below the walnut) are clamped on first. They stop the big clamps from lifting the boards and making it want to bow. They also help to keep everything flat. Use wax paper or slick tape to keep the cauls from being glued to your work due to the glue squeeze out.
Here's the whole thing clamped up.
I still could use some more clamps...
Another trick is to leave the ends wild. This basically means that you shoudl cut your boards a little long and glue them up fairly straight but without too much worry. If you cut them to length and then try to glue them up it will be nearly impossible to align them. The glue acts like ice and the boards want to slip when you start squeezing on the clamps. We'll trim them up square after the glue is dry. Also have to make sure, because the glue wants to make the boards slip, is to not accidentally glue the top into a parallelogram...
Let it sit for a day and start un-clamping.
That's where I'm at as of right now. Any questions or comments I'm here to help! Thanks for reading.
Before I get crucified by the "finish purist" this brand does have wax in it. The wax apparently can cloud up over time but we have never had it do that on the metal or painted surfaces. Perhaps the woods porosity lends the shellac to clouding...Im not sure
