Part One - material prep, initial gluing and clamping.

I saw a patio table made from reclaimed lumber on the net a while ago and thought it was a good idea.  I've made a couple of small patio tables in the past, one that folds up. 

  This time the table will be round and the top is going to made with wedges.

  At least, that is the plan.  I began with a small pile of lumber from two pallets I found dumped in a parking lot a while ago.

  The first part of this project was material preparation.   

pieces cut with parallel sides

cutting stop set up to cut the pieces to length,
note the stop is Jig Red.

 The next challenge(nightmare) is the edge gluing and clamping of the pieces.  

  This part of the build is one were I needed lots of clamps and gallons of patience.   I ran out of both before all the pieces were glued up.  I have four wedges to glue into a section before  all sections can  glued together.  

  

   If I were planning to make more than one of these I would create a clamping table that would hold the whole thing in place and then weigh the middle down with lead.  As it is I plan to put a frame on the under side to support the edge gluing.  I would like the top to show no fasteners but I am okay with nailing it from the underside.

  With the preparation you can see I did not plane the boards.  My plan is to use a disk sander/grinder and create a finish with dark stain in the swirls and clear varnish on top. 

  Tomorrow I will see how successful the edge gluing has been.

cheers, ianw

not yet, but soon.!