That's the making of of our new dining table. I planned to make it one day, ideally from Jarrah. However, Jarrah turned out to be quite expensive and the Corona Virus lock-down was looming at the time. I really didn't want to sit at home doing nothing, so I thought about alternatives that are not too expensive and easy to get in a short time.
Pine has been the wood of choice for most of my projects so far but for a dining table it would be too soft. I buy Pine at Bunnings, because they are the only one to import Baltic Pine which is of much better quality than the Australian pine (Australian pine grows way too fast and is much softer as a result). So, what else can you get at Bunnings? Merbau. They sell Merbau boards for deckings and some other smaller stuff as well. Merbau is a dark brown hardwood quite suitable for a table. But making the table exclusively from Merbau would be almost as expensive as from Jarrah. So why not combining hard and soft wood? Shrinking of Pine and Merbau is very similar, so it should work. Combining these kinds of wood can be considered an experiment. The good news is, the table is still very stable and in good shape after a few weeks. Looks like it worked!
Pine has been the wood of choice for most of my projects so far but for a dining table it would be too soft. I buy Pine at Bunnings, because they are the only one to import Baltic Pine which is of much better quality than the Australian pine (Australian pine grows way too fast and is much softer as a result). So, what else can you get at Bunnings? Merbau. They sell Merbau boards for deckings and some other smaller stuff as well. Merbau is a dark brown hardwood quite suitable for a table. But making the table exclusively from Merbau would be almost as expensive as from Jarrah. So why not combining hard and soft wood? Shrinking of Pine and Merbau is very similar, so it should work. Combining these kinds of wood can be considered an experiment. The good news is, the table is still very stable and in good shape after a few weeks. Looks like it worked!
Preparation of the components (frame, legs, etc)
All outside parts will be Merbau; inside Pine for stability
I made Merbau/Pine strips first that got then glued together to make the table-top
The table has a classic design - dove-tailed rails keep the table-top straight
When the table top grows or shrinks, it'll move along the rails without being deformed
Merbau is almost knot-free
Making of the mortices for the table frame
The cuts give the legs some more detail
The legs are 80x80 mm in size
And tapered towards the lower end on the inside
The tenons on the table frames
First assembly
Glueing the frame together, long side first
followed by the short side
The dowels are man made from Merbau and secure the legs to the frames
Between the table frame sit the rails for the drawers
After treatment with linseed oil
There are no knobs or handles on the drawers
Just a groove at the bottom
Dove tails keep the drawer together
The drawers are insanely long - but why waste space?
We love it!
