Incidental Fermat Projects #2: New and plain

Wow Gene…that is one gorgeous table. I can’t imagine all the work that went into something so big and so
beautiful. The bookmarking is wonderful as is the aluminum inlay. Great job!

-- gbear, Carmichael, CA

Great looking table from a lot of sweat and craftsmanship. If you charged for the table like they charge for
their real estate, you could buy the land, and build the house in all the time you do not have left over thanks
to projects like this. Thank you for sharing.

-- As ever, Gus-the 80 yr young apprentice carpenter

This may be the most fascinating project I have ever seen on LJ. Thank you vipond for sharing it.

I especially like the rotisserie you created for making the pedestals Brilliant.

A couple questions if you don’t mind:

Could you speak a little about the aluminum trim in the edging?

How is the aluminum adhered to the pedestal? Was it preformed in some way?

Thanks again for letting us have this glimpse of a beautiful piece wrapped in shop genius.

Kindly,

Lee

-- "...in his brain, which is as dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage, he hath strange places cramm'd with observation, the which he vents in mangled forms." --Shakespeare, "As You Like It"

Wow: how does one ever obtain this much talent and expertise??

Holy Moly. That is one big-__ table! And, a beauty to boot.

-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Keep your dust collector fed. [email protected]

As I stumble around in my little shop, trying to figure out simple problems like getting two corners square, I find it vital to stumble upon projects like this one. “If our reach does not exceed our grasp, what are the stars for?”

-- From such crooked wood as that which man is made of, nothing straight can be fashioned. Immanuel Kant

Nice work, but I think I would have suggested cut down 55 gallon drums with a pearl auto lacquer finish.

-- Clint Searl....Ya can no more do what ya don't know how than ya can git back from where ya ain't been

Dang. That is a whole different world than the one I live it.

Gene, that is just wonderful. What a clever dude you are.
Steve

-- -- I'm no rocket surgeon

Am I the only one that believes SPalm to be vipond33’s twin??

Anyways, nice work Gene, you may not care for it, but it the customer wants…
How did you level the aluminum to the table top?

-- Sneaking up on the line....

Lee, the material is Octolam laid down with 3M’s water based contact cement. Both are beautiful products though expensive.

We had a choice at plan stage between pure aluminum sheets or phenolic backed. I was concerned about broad based kinking because of the cone shape (which could never be corrected), so we opted for the laminate. It had its own problem in that the extra stiffness always working on the tight top radius might spring loose the joint over time.

The original plan called for invisible joints, discarded, which was changed to a 1/8” x 1/8” walnut inlay, put in slightly proud with micro radiused edges (as in, who’s ever going to notice). Flooded with Titebond, semi rigid clamped and cleaned up. I sold the designer by saying it would look like seamed stockings.

The inlay at edge is anodized 1/8” x 3/16” cut down for two from 1/2”. Veneer edges were routed prior to fit up then cleaned to perfect depth after gluing on solid edges with a router plane.
Cones are tough.

Thanks everyone for your interest and nice words.
gene

-- [email protected] : dovetail free since '53, critiques always welcome.

@Chopnhack . The bases are on levelers with a 1” x 36” BB plate fastened above, double notched for the solid wood laminate clad beam. There is a 1/2” full width and length sub top over that, tension screwed into the veneered board.
The table is level and straight though not at its very best as it sits on an engineered floor.
gene

-- [email protected] : dovetail free since '53, critiques always welcome.

Hey Gene, Can’t say I’m crazy about the table but the workmanship is top notch.

Gene 10 /10 :-) Excellent

Designer 3 /10 :-( Sorry, no soul.

-- Paul M ..............the early bird may get the worm but it’s the second mouse that gets the cheese! http://thecanadianschooloffrenchmarquetry.com/

This piece seems to be way outside the box of your personal projects, which are marked by simplicity and refinement. I find this table to be a garish jumble of uncomplementary design elements. I think fellow LJ’s would be interested in your view.

-- Clint Searl....Ya can no more do what ya don't know how than ya can git back from where ya ain't been

Yes I would be interested in your view also . Please tell me your view . Please tell ,do tell , I so want to know . I would have done the whole thing in Octolam and then trimmed it with walnut . It would have reflected all the natural and florescent light in a hideous and garish way that is not found outside of roadside diners and commercial kitchens ,......perfect for the boardroom . Temporary blindness is unavoidable in business dealings ..The thing I like about big tables is the amount of stuff you can set on them in a horizontal fashion ; that is a big plus . : ) Nice job , literally .

Clint, I quite agree with you, yet bear in mind – it is not my design. Here’s the story and my view.

A “designer” that sometimes employs us saw a picture of a table like this in a design / architectural magazine. She copied it and gave us her drawing. We (I) were technically appalled (aesthetically too, but mute) and forced some changes. The bases were much too small (unstable), the ends were half-assed racetrack (unlovely), and the inlay was 3/8” wide as spec’d (un-doable). All else we lived with save the base seams as mentioned above.

As built, it is as good as it gets for the scale involved – the 82” centre seams and all solid joints are flawless. Dead smooth with no blemishes or marks (not a one) and a uniform finish too. I’d say that’s pretty good shooting for close to 200 square feet of difficult material.

In the end the “designer” was thrilled (naturally), the client was ecstatic and I made about $6k. So what’s not to like here seeing as no one else is involved in its view save LJ’s? For the average LJ it’s little more than an insight that I offer into what small custom shops do on a scale that they would probably never face. Interesting but plain, just like the title says. Technically challenging too.
If it had been my design I think I would have inlaid a six foot dollar sign in the top and also had dollar signs partially protruding from the bases with LED chasers – just to remind them why they were sitting there.

Why then did I build it? Well, “temporary blindness is unavoidable in business dealings” nu?
gene

-- [email protected] : dovetail free since '53, critiques always welcome.