Apple coffee table

Dodgy Loner · May 03, 2007, 12:33:05 PM

Hey y'all, just thought I'd share a picture of the coffee table that I built for my grandfather for Christmas this year. It's made from an apple tree that he planted 40 years ago. It had quit producing apples, so he decided to cut it down and let me have the log for lumber. I designed the table around the idea of using a natural-edge slab as the top, and I'm pretty pleased with the results. All of the joinery is hand-cut, and I included a close-up of the through-wedged tenon that holds the legs to the stretcher. The aprons are lap-jointed into the legs. The finish is hand-rubbed polyurethane. (Sorry about the poor quality of the pictures, this is my first time posting a pic and it appears I haven't gotten all the kinks worked out yet)

Special thanks to WDH for sawing the tree into lumber for me!

The table:

And the through-wedged tenon:

OneWithWood · May 03, 2007, 03:42:00 PM

Very, very nice. 8)

Jeff · May 03, 2007, 03:42:46 PM

Can I have one? ;)

Thats a beaut. I really like it.

Fla._Deadheader · May 03, 2007, 04:09:34 PM

Only thing wrong with those pics is, I can't see the grain detail in that table top. Bee you tee full job 8) 8) 8)

metalspinner · May 03, 2007, 06:12:34 PM

Very nice. That was a big apple tree! Do you think that bark will hold together? Didi you do anything special to the bark to keep it in place?

Burlkraft · May 03, 2007, 06:14:11 PM

Outstanding........ ;D ;D ;) ;)

DWM II · May 03, 2007, 06:31:41 PM

Thats mighty nice. Can you get one more pic to show the grain on top? I love all the contrast with the heart and sap wood with the bark on as well. Thanks for sharing.

Dodgy Loner · May 03, 2007, 09:02:59 PM

Thanks for the comments, guys. I'm glad you like it!

Jeff B: I've got just enough wood to make one more table, but I'm afraid I'm gonna keep it for myself ;D

Metalspinner: the log was harvested in early January, so the sap was down and the bark ain't coming off. The only trick to keeping the bark on a natural-edge slab is to harvest it in the winter. It helps that apple has very smooth bark -- a flaky-barked tree like cherry or birch probably wouldn't work as well.

Fla._Deadheader and DWM II: I'll try to post a better picture of the grain tomorrow. I don't know if the picture will do it justice, though. The wood is subtlely curled throughout.

WDH · May 03, 2007, 10:00:10 PM

I remember sawing that log ;D. That is a fine table. I know that WT is proud. Like DWM II, I like all the color in the piece. The wedged through tenon is a nice touch and shows off the craftsmanship ;). You should post some of you bowls, too.

Here is one Dodgy made for me out of some walnut that I gave him.

getoverit · May 04, 2007, 12:11:19 AM

Beautiful woodwork !

sawguy21 · May 04, 2007, 09:06:09 AM

Great choice of wood, that is beautiful work. I would sure like to see the smile on grandpa's face.

TexasTimbers · May 08, 2007, 03:27:33 PM

Dodgy that's beautiful wood, nice design, and excellent execution.
I gather all the slab info I can.. When you say January do you mean Jan of 06?
Reason I am asking is I want to be able to put my slabs in service as soon as possible.
Frame design and finish used are large determiniing factors I know.

Do you mind giving a brief (really I mean highly detailed but I am too shy to ask ;D ) description of your timeline and steps/processes applied ???

Dodgy Loner · May 08, 2007, 04:17:39 PM

Well, I finally got a few more photos of the coffee table. Hopefully, they'll show off the grain a little bit better.

Kevjay, you're right, the tree was sawn in January, '06. It was sawn into 6/4 slabs, and stickered with lots of heavy lumber on top to prevent warping for 3 or 4 months. I then restacked the pile without stickers and let it sit until late November, so the slabs had about 10 months total to dry. The biggest factors in determining when your slabs will be dry are their thickness and the species. I found the wood to be very similar to cherry, which would explain the quick drying rate--4/4 cherry is usually ready to go within three to four months, and lumber twice as thick will take twice as long to dry. White oak, on the other hand, takes at least a year. You just have to have experience with the wood that you're drying to know how long it will take. The best thing you could do would be to get a wood moisture meter. Once the wood is down to 10-12% (measured in the center of the slab), it's ready to go, unless you live in a dry climate, in which case 8% would be about right.

Not sure if you wanted any details into my building proces, but since you said "highly detailed", I guess I'll indulge you ;) Since the slabs were too wide for my planer and WAY too wide for my jointer, I used a simple router jig to flatten them. It'd be very difficult to describe, so if you're interested in seeing it, just let me know and I'll take a picture. The legs and the decorative details on the aprons (which are difficult to see in my pictures) were roughed out with a jigsaw and trimmed with a pattern-trimming bit in my router. After that, it was a simple matter of cutting the joints with a Japanese handsaw and some chisels. The angles would have been way too tricky to cut them with a machine. The tabletop is held on with pocket screws. The top is 30 coats of hand-rubbed polyurethane--the rest of the table only got 5 coats.

The black streack on the wood is from a nail that had been driven into the tree years ago. Fortunately, it had completely deteriorated before WDH sawed it up!

This shows what kind of shine you can get from 30 coats of polyurethane. A little obsessive, perhaps, but there won't be any rings from errant glasses of sweet tea on this table! ;D ;D ;D

Norm · May 08, 2007, 04:49:14 PM

Beautiful table!

TexasTimbers · May 08, 2007, 05:28:59 PM

Thanks for the details!

Fla._Deadheader · May 08, 2007, 05:58:22 PM

Love the looks of that grain. Thanks for the additional photos.

ohsoloco · May 08, 2007, 07:49:57 PM

I've milled cherry slabs from logs that were cut in the fall (it was still really warm when the trees were cut), and the bark held on just fine after air drying and going to the kiln. Walnut bark doesn't like to stick at all, and usually shrinks significantly after drying. Had to take some ash crotches to the kiln cuz the PPB's were having a feast on it :( Any signs of bugs on that apple Dodgy ??? All of the apple firewood I've ever had was littered with bug holes.

Oh, BTW, sweet table 8)

Mooseherder · May 08, 2007, 07:56:18 PM

That is a real gem! 8)
Thanks For sharing.

Dodgy Loner · May 08, 2007, 08:15:43 PM

Ohsoloco: I did have some bugs get into the inner bark, but not into the wood. They didn't cause any real damage, just left a few trails.

SwampDonkey · June 11, 2007, 06:49:37 PM

Very nice table. I cut down an old orchard in the back yard. The trees were too old and rotten to make any boards from though. You did a really good job. You think ya have enough poly on her though? ;D ;)

I'll take one to please.

Well, I thought I'd put my foot in the door anyway in case there is that rare chance. ;)

mike_van · June 13, 2007, 05:22:40 PM

Nice looking table -

I've done a few apple projects, it's nice wood to work, smells good too!

SwampDonkey · June 13, 2007, 06:02:08 PM

I like the smell of apple wood too. Unfortunately, most of the times I smelled it, my chain saw was passing down through it, bucking firewood. Or bonfire wood, makes a hot bonfire when the limbs are dried good.

Dodgy Loner · June 14, 2007, 10:46:01 AM

Glad you like it, SD. I've got just enough lumber to build one more, but I'm afraid I'm gonna keep it for myself

. Other that woodworking, my favorite thing to do with applewood is to smoke meat digin1. Actually, it goes hand-in-hand with woodworking, because I can stick the shavings from my tools right into the smoker!