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Forum topic by ArmchairLinebacker | posted 05-13-2018 11:37 PM | 1740 views | 1 time favorited | 34 replies | ![]() |
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05-13-2018 11:37 PM |
Topic tags/keywords: outdoor furniture finnish hardwood deck patio question Hi, Relative newbie here. I want to build an outdoor dining tale for my backyard. I saw an amazing teak table and chairs at Costco for about $2800 that is kind of my inspiration. I did some quick math and figured I could build the table out of teak for about $900 (90 board feet). Im not sure if thats accurate now or not. But I went home and whipped up a design on Sketchup based on 2X6 construction. I have watched woodworking videos for years starting with pretty much every New Yankee Workshop episode and more recently YouTube videos by Jon Peters etc. In December I finally moved to a place where I could set up my own shop. I have a Delta 36-725 table saw, an old Hitachi 6.5 miter saw and just bought a 10” craftsman Radial arm saw. I am wondering if i should A) Make this table out of construction grade softwood and deck stain? Like a picnic bench B) Try to source teak in 2X6 C) Make a solid hardwood top I don’t know about the top being either slats with gaps or without or maybe a solid top with an epoxy finish. Just don’t know about what is necessary or realistic for outdoor furniture. |
34 replies so far
#1 posted 05-13-2018 11:40 PM |
I want to know where you are going to be getting 8/4 teak for $10/bdft. 4/4 is $28/bdft here. -- The quality of one's woodworking is directly related to the amount of flannel worn. |
#2 posted 05-13-2018 11:58 PM |
I’m building something similar in the near future. Planning on using Menards’ rough sawn cedar. It’s about $2.2 bft. My only concern is the moisture content which is about 11%. Does anyone know if this is too high to start an outdoor table? -- Kjell - Eau Claire WI |
#3 posted 05-14-2018 12:45 AM |
Unless you’re made of money, I’d never build anything meant for outdoors out of expensive wood. The sun does a number on wood, even wood that is taken care of with stain, paint, or clear finishes. I’d use cedar or something similar. It’s relatively cheap and it holds up as well as anything outside. Use an exterior stain or clear finish and plan on reapplying often (yearly, most likely). |
#4 posted 05-14-2018 12:55 AM |
since you are relatively new to woodworking, why don’t you build a table . . -- I started out with nothing in life ~ and still have most of it left. |
#5 posted 05-14-2018 02:03 AM |
You guys are awesome, thanks I think i’ll take your advice and use construction grade softwood with a seal/stain. Should I make the feet, or legs, or entire bottom out of pressure treated? Or is that not necessary? Table will be on an uncovered concrete patio. Also as far as the top goes, should i leve room between the wooden slats, butt them up against each other, or attempt a glue-up to make a solid top? |
#6 posted 05-14-2018 02:44 AM |
My suggestion would be to keep this 1st project bare bones simple. Use pressure treated for entire project. 2×6 for top butted with small gaps. (these will open over the years with the weather and drying process) That done finish as you like and enjoy. As the years go by you will see where improvements can be made. -- Live to tell the stories, they sound better that way. |
#7 posted 05-14-2018 02:56 AM |
This is good advice. Your first piece will not be your best piece no matter how prepared you feel. There are plenty of rot resistant woods like white oak, mahogany, teak, walnut, cedar and cypress heartwood (must be heartwood), and many others you can google. Look at what is used for decking in your area. I’m not crazy about your design either. I would want the battens turned on edge and connected directly to the legs. -- Rick M, http://thewoodknack.blogspot.com/ |
#8 posted 05-14-2018 02:57 AM |
I made my outdoor table out of cedar about 5 years ago…cost me about $400 for the materials to make a behemoth 4 ‘x 12’ table. -- Brian Famous :: Charlotte, NC :: http://www.FamousArtisan.com |
#9 posted 05-14-2018 03:30 AM |
I’d make the whole thing out of cedar instead of pressure treated, personally. Leave room between the slats for water to drain. If you really want to make it to last, put some epoxy on the bottom of the legs and anything touching the ground. -- The quality of one's woodworking is directly related to the amount of flannel worn. |
#10 posted 05-14-2018 04:05 AM |
I would definitely make mine out of ebony. -- Half of what we read or hear about finishing is right. We just don’t know which half! — Bob Flexner |
#11 posted 05-14-2018 01:49 PM |
-- Aj |
#12 posted 05-14-2018 02:35 PM |
I would go with cedar or cypress. Keep in mind with cedar the sapwood will rot. -- Everything is a prototype thats why its one of a kind!! |
#13 posted 05-14-2018 03:10 PM |
I have an outdoor table and benches lined up for my next project. I really wanted to do cedar but it just wasn’t in the budget so I wound up with pressure treated southern yellow pine. I don’t like that I have to work with chemically treated material, and yes, you don’t want to eat food that comes in contact with the stuff either. But, it will last a long time, it’s cheap, and I figure a good opaque stain will be a good enough barrier to be safe to sit around and eat at. Plus, when was the last time you ate potato salad directly off the table top? We’ll be using plates. And we will probably use it a couple times a week for only a few months a year. I’m pretty sure it will be fine. I bought the lumber last year. I got KDAT (kiln dried after treatment) wood, but it was still sopping wet. I put it on stickers on the lumber rack last summer, so it will have been almost a full year now when I start working with it. You probably don’t need to wait that long, but I got busy and now I’m sure it will be as dry as needed. Some of it did twist, especially the 4×4’s I got. Not sure how I’m going to deal with that yet, but I’m glad it’s dry at least. |
#14 posted 05-14-2018 03:18 PM |
I would not make a table I intend for people to eat off of out of pressure treated lumber. If you must, you can make the base out of it, but the top should be something nontoxic. Even modern pressure treating uses foul chemicals (although no arsenic, so progress) that you absolutely do not want to come into direct contact with. If you’re going the big box SPF route, just get some regular 1×5 stock to make the top out of. |
#15 posted 05-14-2018 03:45 PM |
if you are going to The Big Box store, I would just use the Redwood |
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