Reclaimed Table

New guy here. This shall serve as an introduction as well as a project thread. If I’m posting in the wrong place, someone let me know or feel free to move it.

So this table was built for a friend using materials that were not only recycled, but also sustainable. The table was to be set in a small kitchen which called for a small (3’x4’), but functional size. The legs are galvanized steel pipe, joined by the appropriate pipe fittings. The four legs are 1" pipes, while the cross braces pieces are 3/4". The table was joined together by pegs, dowels, and titebond II wood glue.

Pics.


You can see how the wood is reclaimed in this picture. I pulled out quite a few nails, staples and screws. The goal was to keep the reclaimed look, but also be a nice, solid table. I put the rubber feet on the bottom of the pipe because I didn’t want to scratch up the floor. And they look quite nice if I do say so myself.

Sanding the wood flat proved to be a bit of a challenge. You can tell that pieces 2,5, and 7 (from the right) were different from all of the other pieces of wood.

Pipe fittings are a little bit expensive. Unless you get a deal on them :smiley:

More pictures in the next post.

What joinery are you using for the 2 boards that are perpendicular to the other 10 boards? Sliding tenon?

For those unaware, wood expands and contracts perpendicular to the grain. As a rule of thumb, 1/16" of movement for every 12". If this is 48" wide, that means 1/4" of movement.

No screw in the world can stop that movement from happening. If a sliding tenon was not used on those two perpendicular boards, something has got to give. If it was made in the summer when the wood swells, the 10 boards will contract in the winter, the 2 on the end will became detached from the other 8 when they start hitting up against the 2 perpendicular boards. If it was made in the winter, when it swells in the summer, you will get a 1/8" gap between the 2 end boards and the 2 perpendicular boards.

A sliding tenon was used, and it was pegged together. The rest of the pieces are put together not only with glue, but also dowels. Wood swell was taken into account. The wood was also sealed to prevent the wood from swelling too much.