Oil on the base

There is just a little work left on the top so we can go ahead and start to oil the base parts. 

The walnut has a rich color and grain, it will be a great contrast to the top. 

A solid look for the support of the table.

Prepping the top

Cracks and "defects" are part of the juniper planks, they reveal the age and stresses these magnificent   trees endure during their life, they tell part of the story. To keep them functional as a table top I fill the cracks with clear epoxy, letting us see through the gaps but keeping out the bread crumbs.

Inspiration

 There is always overlap in my shop, one piece flows into another.

I like having a piece on the bench, a design on the drawing table 

and finished furniture to deliver.

Its a good flow.

You gotta fit in a little sharpening......

 and hiking....... 

to find inspiration

New table, old planks

This new dining table is inspired by the last one I made, only it has some different elements. The overall size is bigger and will use these two magnificent planks I've had in my collection for years. They have some core wood that is over 500 years old. Juniper grows very slowly here in the southwest, producing boards of tremedous color and beautiful grain, as well as growth rings so very close together they show a dendro chronology ring sample that covers nearly 500 years. These trees are only harvested when they are dead and down, and then they get custom milled. 

How about that for a planer!

Here is the lumber for the base, solid 2" thick planks of walnut that come for the midwest.

Fitting the top, making magic.

Now its time to take these two planks and make some sense of them.

Fitting them together to make a visually interesting and functional top is the goal. Why not a nice little serpentine, increasingly curved line between the two, to blend them and get rid of the rough outer edges, leave the nicer book matched edges exposed. 

All the while taking the book math pattern and flipping it so the wider ends meet the narrow ends, thus using a book match set in a unique way, leaving a more rectangular table from two uneven planks. 

Sounds easy, no? Its only magic.....

Fitting the base to the top

Putting together the base trestle ends.

Now that the base is close, I can adjust it to fit the top planks. The ends will accept the two stretchers and determine the length of the base and the wedge system to hold the trestle base together.

Dining table in Walnut and Juniper

Juniper top with a walnut trestle base, beautiful combo........ table top wood is full of grain patterns form a bookmatched set of three boards, one each facing together and one with center cut grain, making the whole top balanced and rich with opposing swirls and knots. Mother nature made such a nice tree and I feel very lucky to be able to recycle these planks into a lasting piece of furniture. The tree is one of the most recycling things on the planet, they take CO2 and give up O2, then they shade us and make the place look terrific. After they die, of course in nature they would produce homes for animals and decomposed plant matter. But when I get the chance to intervene and use this material for a piece of art. I'm thrilled, so is the client.....

A little oil

I really like oil finish, its best for the wood, for the environment and looks terrific....

Mesquite coffee table

This table is the second of this design have produced, it incorporates the mesquite mosaic top and the two levels of table top, the two top surfaces pull out and make the table larger when needed and allows access to the under glass display area. Its a really cool table and quite and engineering challenge.

Adding some carving to the table leg