Wood Movement Nightmare

I realy don´t think that is a big problem on the stools
even thow each end of the stool turn 90 degree
every wedge is nearly running the same graindirection as the neigbor wedge

the top of the table is another thing
but if you make it the same way as they made the doors on the countrysite
in the old days here in Denmark it shuolden bee a problem

but since it is round I wuold make one big panel and just put four screws in the mittle
of the postcross to hold the top in place and the moovement wuold slice on the cross

Dennis

Dennis,

Thats what I was thinking for the table top, jut crew it would the center line ad let it move as it likes. I cant help thinking Ive missed something in the design of the stools though. Seem to easy which always makes me nervous. (I say easy but I know making these things is going to be …...interesting)

-- Im more succesfull at making sawdust than I am at making furniture

I would be less concerned with movement and more concerned with finding ten men and a boy to move those stools….............Ipe = very heavy

-- "Good artists borrow, great artists steal”…..Picasso

you cuold make the stools and table hollow and no bottom

I’ve done quite a bit of work with ipe and I can confirm that ipe is very heavy and I can also confirm that it moves.

ipe has a specific gravity of about 1.2. You could calculate the volume of the stools, determine how much that volume of water would weigh and multiply by 1.2. That’s how much the stools will weight.

I think you will find that those stools will weigh about 100 pounds (don’t know the metric equivalent). You could reduce the weight by hollowing them out. If not, I would suggest that you make some handholds on the sides so people have something to grab when lifting them. Another option would be casters on the bottom so they can be rolled instead of lifted.

I would not be concerned about movement in the stools but I would be concerned about it on the table top, but I think you have that figured out.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

sorry chaps, it was always my intention to make the stools hollow. I guess I was in that zone where you have spent so much time on a design you presume everyone thinks of it the same way you do!

-- Im more succesfull at making sawdust than I am at making furniture

Let me advise you that ipe is very hard on tools, especially drills and router bits. It does not appear to be as hard on saw blades. If you are going to use drill bits or router bits be prepared to sharpen often. I’ve never run ipe through a planer or jointer so I can’t comment on those tools.

Wear a dust mask whenever you are sanding. The dust is a little toxic.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

Back to the wood movement on the top .All you have to do is use slotted holes in your cross pieces allowing for wood movement . It looks as if two the supports will be centered with the grain where wood movement won’t be a problem.

-- https://www.artisticwoodstudio.com/videos

Rich,

I can confirm Ipe is not much fun to run through a jointer. I just finished a large storage chest for the same customer which was made of Ipe and the wood is so hard it almost bounces of the jointer blades! I am fortunate enough to own a Felder combination machine however so was able to tame it in the end. Its no problem to put through the planer, although I think that is more to do with the quality of the machine.

Jim,

I may well take your advice on the slotted holes. I think that’s a great idea

-- Im more succesfull at making sawdust than I am at making furniture