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Thread: Rimu Coffee table
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5th March 2009, 08:50 PM #1Intermediate Member
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Rimu Coffee table
After much hinting from SWMBO , and some suspiciously placed furniture catalogs, I eventually pushed the boat to the side of the garage, and started digging through my pile of rimu.
The task was to replace the hideous coffee table we inherited some years ago, that I have been "getting round" to for almost as many years.
Table is 1400x 750x400, made from recycled rimu.
All doweled and glued.
The table body is now complete. Tonight i have been testing the dovetails ready for making the drawers.
I have been testing some finishes, and I'm still undecided.
I'm thinking an oil finish, Teak or Danish. My test piece has not weathered well, with watermarks from very brief water contact. How long should I leave the oil before I start using the table?
Cheers
Dave
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6th March 2009, 12:07 PM #2Intermediate Member
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- Jun 2008
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Wow that is some gorgeous timber you've got there. Can't wait to see it finished...
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28th March 2009, 09:40 AM #3Intermediate Member
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Well the table body is done. The drawer body's are done, and now I am just oiling the drawer fronts, and have ordered the handles.
There are a few small imperfections, but overall it turned out quite well.
I dont understand why some of the panels have split now. The timber is quite old, and has been flat packed for quite some time. The panels have been machined and joined, and only now when I started to oil things, cracks appeared / worsened. Too late now!
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28th March 2009, 04:51 PM #4
I love Rimu, get to work with it everyday at work. Its the only timber I have worked with that has such a large color variation in the heart timber. Your table has some lovely colors in it. Shame it developed some cracks in it.
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28th March 2009, 05:01 PM #5
thet's sweet es bro!
Sharp is Best!
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28th March 2009, 05:13 PM #6Intermediate Member
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Yeah, im developing a bit of a obsession with rimu. Im collecting it at every chance.
Where do you get your timber from Kordes?
Im picking up most of mine 2nd hand, recycling it as required.
I dont like the distressed look though, so the recycling involves plugging holes, and cutting around defects!
Planks are getting hard to find, im considering getting a bandsaw so that i can do some re-sawing of easier to come by 8x2 and 10x2 beams.
Cheers
Dave
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28th March 2009, 07:46 PM #7
99% of my stuff in my garage I got off trademe and the rest are offcuts I get from work. Most of the stuff I have at home is demo/recycled rimu. You wouldnt believe how much new rimu is per cube. Boss pays well over $5-6000/cube for clear color. And you'd be even more shocked at some of the off cuts he throws away as we cant use those sizes.
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28th March 2009, 08:31 PM #8andrey vm Guest
Hello! Your coffee table is very interesting work. Beautifully and functionally. I very much like idea with boxes. A tail of a swallow in thorns it is reliable.
Rimu - never heard about this tree (wood). At us in Europe it is not present.Such furniture it is good to paint tung oil
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28th March 2009, 09:21 PM #9
Rimu is a native to New Zealand and is part of the podocarp family. NZ rimu stands out with its rich colors it produces from its heartwood. Theres something in the soil that rimu trees absorb that gives it these unique color variations. Rimu heartwood color can produce yellows, reds, greens, oranges, and browns while the sap wood is distinctly straw, light brown, grey in color.
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29th March 2009, 10:55 AM #10
Hi I was just looking at your photos and it looks as if you haven't allowed the top any room to move with the way that you have attached it to the carcass. From the photo's it looks like it is dowelled and glued. If this is the case that could certainly cause the problems with the top. Then again I might just be looking at the photos wrong.
Ben
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29th March 2009, 03:31 PM #11Intermediate Member
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- Jan 2009
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- Auckland
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Hi Ben
You are quite right, there is no allowance to move.
I also realised today, that i have the ends of the table with the grain running horizontaly, whilst the table top goes lengthways. So they are fighting each other during humidity changes.
Lesson learnt
Cheers
Dave