Coffee, anyone?

[realysm42]

The York Gum 'burl' coffee table. Burls are knotty growths in trees that are more mutations than anything, this is what causes the beautiful, random grain, instead of your usual concentric rings. Sanded progressively from 60 to 1500 grit and finished with 5 coats of Tung oil.

Final touches will be to add some oil to the legs to give them some 'lustre'.

In the detail shots you can see where I filled in the holes and splits, then had to stain the filler to match the wood!
The legs were liberated from a recycling centre, they were originally full length table legs that we liked (And are solid wood). They were cut to size, stripped and then stained with a mixture of the colours to stain the rest of the wood. They were then dowel jointed and glued into place. They need sanding around the connection point because Jessie and I had to be 'creative' in applying the glue (Hence no shots of the underneath, it's a mess!). To be sanded, re-stained and oiled.
Messed up so many times with this thing and had to restart. Learnt a heap. Namely preparation is key and patience is a virtue.

Happy with it as a first project.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q153/realysm42/table3_zpswzniii1p.jpg (http://s135.photobucket.com/user/realysm42/media/table3_zpswzniii1p.jpg.html)

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q153/realysm42/table2_zpsdunp7ols.jpg (http://s135.photobucket.com/user/realysm42/media/table2_zpsdunp7ols.jpg.html)

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q153/realysm42/table1_zpsyj33kixt.jpg (http://s135.photobucket.com/user/realysm42/media/table1_zpsyj33kixt.jpg.html)

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q153/realysm42/table5_zpsdx49xiql.jpg (http://s135.photobucket.com/user/realysm42/media/table5_zpsdx49xiql.jpg.html)

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q153/realysm42/table4_zpsx1qpiar8.jpg (http://s135.photobucket.com/user/realysm42/media/table4_zpsx1qpiar8.jpg.html)

[struth]

Thats a suoer job Martin and cracker of a piece of wood. :clapclapclap:

[Anthony K]

:clap: That is lovely, almost volcanic ( if that makes sense ) - Well done Sir

[Gordon Steadman]

Nice piece of wood that. I search the countryside for burls. Most tend to be a bit small but I managed a few nice bowls of late.

Nice job.

[Audio Al]

Coffee, anyone? :scratch:

I nearly didn't bother reading this post , I think you need 2 add TABLE in the title

Looks stunning , wood can be so gorgeous :)

I have a pile of burls some so big I can't lift them :eek: , Also burr slabs 2 mtrs high and 1 mtr wide by 21cm thick , cut from a complete tree

need 2 work out what 2 do with it all :eyebrows:

[archiesdad]

WOW,stunning.

[Marco]

Stunning stuff, Martin, and recycling at its best! You must be proud of what you've created. Nice one :thumbsup:

Hope you've got some decent coffee (and biccies) to serve on top of it! ;)

Marco.

[Tim]

Nice one Martin, how goes it down there?

I'm moving to that side of the globe early next year, so I'll pop down for a coffee (3,500 miles north of you!) :D

[realysm42]

Thanks gents. It was a fun project for the most part, could be hugely frustrating at times, when i messed up would have to sand back to bare and start again. Thinking about making some wooden place mats next.

Its going well now thanks Tim. Finally got a decent job (after 8 months of data entry death boredom) in a company providing support for vulnerable and people with disabilities. The quality of life is so much better than England I almost feel guilty. Almost ;)

Whereabouts are you moving to mate? Furthest north I've been is Karijini national park/cape range (which were both amazing and beautiful, highly recommended!).

Got my nutty cousin in Darwin, will oay him a visit soon :)

[struth]

Thought it odd that a guy in London had access to Gum Burl :lol: so you've moved to Australia Martin. Lucky beggar :) you will need to update your location mate. and keep us up to date on those place mats. I for one love woodwork

[goraman]

Very nice looking burl.
In the 70's burl coffee tables where all the rage here in California.
My Dad spent big bucks on one, after a few months we started noticing small piles of sawdust under the coffee table.
The problem got progressively worse until one night a bug came out of it right in front of us.
It was infested with some odd little beatles.
That table became firewood.
Better luck with yours.

These guys http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodboring_beetle

[hifilover]

That's gorgeous!

I feel I need one for my office/man-den!

[Tim]

Whereabouts are you moving to mate?
China, still a ways away from you, but on the same side of the globe at least! You are in Perth right? Get up to the Ningaloo Coast when the whale sharks are around, awe inspiring.

[realysm42]

Blimey Tim, big change there - what factors inspired you?

Jessie's brother is a Buddhist monk(!) living in Hong Kong and is flying out to see him soon. We're going to do a tour of Asia while we're still in this end of the woods. Perhaps we could meet for a tea eh?