Edited
Discussion Forum
Get It All!
UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.
Start Your Free TrialCategories
Discussion Forum
Digital Plans Library
Member exclusive! – Plans for everyone – from beginners to experts – right at your fingertips.
Highlights
-
Shape Your Skills
when you sign up for our emails
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. -
Shop Talk Live Podcast
-
Our favorite articles and videos
-
E-Learning Courses from Fine Woodworking
-
-
Fine Woodworking New England Event
-
Replies
You could always use the wood from your futon. Nobody would notice a few extra stains.
................................................
Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.
~ Denis Diderot
“[Deleted]”
HEY WOTAN,
How's old girl been? Still hangin' in there? I've still got that photo you posted of her.
Man, what a catch!
You could always use the wood from your futon. Nobody would notice a few extra stains.
Ha Ha Ha!!!! That's exactly what I was thinking ;-)
Lee
Something that doesn't need a finish, would take a lot of abuse, and come up smiling for more.
This suggests a wood that is tough, will happily get manky looking with all sorts of stuff in addition to the beer, doesn't mind getting a good scrub down with hot water and detergent or vinegar every few days and will last a few years.
To my mind, one of the best for this is a European oak, eg, Quercus robur. Failing that being available, one of the American white oaks, although not quite as durable in such circumsatnces would do, eg, Quercus alba.
There are well established precedents for the use of unfinished furniture around food preparation areas, eg, kitchen tables in British kitchens during the period of say 1700 to 1920s or 30s, both large and small, usually made of things like beech and pine. I suspect many American homes of the same period had much the same set up using native species. Slainte.
Richard Jones Furniture
I would consider Beech or Soft Maple .
dusty
I was thinking maybe cypress.
................................................
Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.~ Denis Diderot
Hi d , Hey nice to hear from you , are you in on a day pass or is all good ?
I have never used or even seen Cypress in person , I have lived a sheltered life as you know , I'll go back into my hole now.
peace dusty
I think cypress would be way too soft, based upon the couple of times I've used it for small projects. You could carve your initials into the top with the utensil you used to eat your filled boxty! If I were on the West Coast I would consider Western (soft) maple. East Coast I would consider white oak, locust, hickory, beech or birch.Regards,Ron
Edited 1/20/2009 8:58 pm ET by RonInOttawa
Much too soft. Skip that one.
the obvious answer is any wood that does not change the flavor of the beer when it is spilled on the table thereby allowing the drinker to waste not a drop by licking it up...something that becomes a natural response after the third or fourth beer.
Beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy-- Ben Franklin
How about red oak then? When you spill your beer on the table, you can stagger to the end of the table, put your lips on the end-grain and drink up your mess!Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
I suspect that given the name of the one who posted it, the question probably had nothing to do with tables, but was a sick reference to the #### Beer Hall putsch that helped bring Hitler to power?
White oak.
mike
“[Deleted]”
OK so maybe it's time to lay off and cut you some slack. You can't be half bad if you're playing in a metal band. Original or cover tunes?
By the way, back to the original question:
As for beer hall tables, I would go the white oak route because they would seem to take the most abuse. But you mentioned picnic tables - I would use cypress for that as it takes the outdoor situations well and is cheaper than the oak. I haven't used white oak for an outside project but it is said to hold up to the elements well. Treated southern yellow pine is also an option but not very food safe (for a picnic table)
Lee
“[Deleted]”
Can't speak for the white oak. I do know cypress has some sort of natural oil (cypressine?) that impedes bug infestation. Down here in the south most of your outdoor furniture, swings, etc are made from it. It is soft, light, easy to work, and relatively inexpensive. Weathers to a light gray just like pine if left untreated.
Re grindcore: Back in the day I was a big Napalm Death fan and also a fan of Demolition Hammer, Death, Dark Angel, Kreator, Death Angel etc. I love anything heavy. Most of my stuff is on cassette tapes and is hard to find on CD.
Lee
So who deleted the beginning of this thread? Moderator or posters? I guess I'd like to think we were able to handle this one all on our own, thanks to Dgreen (even though he took it too far before getting an explanation). Anyway, Fight the Power, etc.Brian
Re grindcore: Back in the day I was a big Napalm Death fan and also a fan of Demolition Hammer, Death, Dark Angel, Kreator, Death Angel etc. I love anything heavy.
Lee
My son listens to this category of....I hate to call it music. When I walk into his room, I instantly get a headache, as if someone is sticking an ice pick in my ear. Is this the intended purpose of this category of music??
Jeff
When I walk into his room, I instantly get a headache, as if someone is sticking an ice pick in my ear. Is this the intended purpose of this category of music??
Well, yes! My parents felt the same way. But, they raised a kid that made it to the ripe old age of 38 (this past Thanksgiving) without nary a tattoo, piercing, or drug habit (ok, well, tool junkie doesn't count).
I know you have a good relationship with your kids, and they will turn out just fine. You should surprise the hell out of him and take him to one of these band's shows. Bring earplugs and don't stand right in front of the stage when the mosh pit kicks in :-) You'll be the coolest dad in freakin history.
My CD collection consists of about 400+ albums (I don't watch much TV). Let me know what he's into and if I have something he's interested in I can forward some copies to him. All my stuff's a little older (pre-'94 or so) I don't care much for any of the newer heavy music.
Take care,
Lee
Lee
That's a kind offer. I'll see if I can decipher what he likes.
Jeff
A lot of these barns you see in the east are built of white oak. Some of these barns date back to the 1880's or before and were never protected with paint.
"I'm just curious about building a picnic table. Shoot me."
As for the picnic table, consider ipe. That's what I'd use. Too heavy to steal and pretty impervious to weather as woods go.
As for shooting you, I think you and the other poster are misunderstanding each other. The OP in the original thread you refer to had posted under an inflamatory bigotted screen name and I believe that is what was referred to, not yours.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
You'll find that in many traditional beer halls (e.g. the massive tents at the Munich Oktoberfest) the tables are cheap pine. With some clear finish on, I would guess poly. You can not imagine the amount of abuse these tables go through in two weeks. The dings, scratches etc just add character. After a few beers you don't mind ! If you want them to be more durable but still "utilitarian" a wood like hickory or black locust or white oak should work out great (of course very refined work can be produced with most any kind of lumber)I think that something "unrefined" is very much in the spirit of the intended use. These are not Hepplewhite collector pieces after all !A silly song comes to mind. Not Heavy Metal, though. "These tables are made for drinking, and that's just what we'll do. On of these days I'm gonna spill beer all over you !" OK OK I'll stop now.
The OP in the original thread you refer to had posted under an inflamatory bigotted screen name and I believe that is what was referred to,
Will George get some folks upset in here..
Seems to me that all I have seen in Bavaria have been white oak. I don't recall whether they have had a finish on them or were just aged from beer spills over the years.
After all, tables in German beer halls get lots of stein banging and you need a true hard wood to stand up.
If one really wanted to put on a durable finish, probably nothing beats a pour-on epoxy. But, it's almost impossible to repair and really gets ugly looking with lots of abuse.
Another white oak suggestion... if they use it for wharf pilings and ships timbers... should cover the getting wet stand-point. And it is relatively dense making it hard.. which should stand the pounding of the bottom of beer bottles even though character is produced by doing so. We all need a little character.
Sarge..
You need a table to drink beer? Thought that was why you had pockets in yur shop apron....
-----------_o
---------_'-,>
-------(*)/ (*) http://www.EarthArtLandscape.com
I tried drinking beer out of my shop apron once..came out with alot of sawdust and that drill bit I'd been looking for all morning...the leather ones hold the beer alot better than the denim ones..
Neil
novice,
Better to drink from the bottom side of the cloth ones as it drips thru. Filters out the drill bits and set squares.
Ray
good point Ray...I assume one has to remove said garmet to achieve that angle...I'm just not that limber to get my neck under the top pocket......ya know, a glass wouldn't be a bad idea, assuming of course you placed it back down on a coaster
Never have seen recomendations for pouring the bottle into an apron before. Budwiper is Beechwood aged, so maybe ya got confused that your sawdust was gonna improve it. Guinny recomends a glass but thats another story... ;>) <!----><!----><!---->
-----------_o
---------_'-,>
-------(*)/ (*) http://www.EarthArtLandscape.com
good beer, like wine, should always be drunk from a glass..budwiper and its ilk can be served in any container since it is impossible to improve on something that is not there to begin with although your apron would certainly add something to the taste
Neil
HERE HERE!!! A hearty amen and I'll drink to that. Morgan <!----><!----><!---->
-----------_o
---------_'-,>
-------(*)/ (*) http://www.EarthArtLandscape.com
neil,
Stay away from that bud. As the fellow said drinking it is like making love in a rowboat. It's f'ing close to water.
Ray
Ray,Thanks for that - good way to start the day!Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com(soon to be http://www.flairwoodworks.com)
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
I used to tell Bud drinkers that Bud was what my kidneys put out after drinking a good Belgian or microbrew...then I got accused of being a beer snob...so now I stick my nose up in the air and affect a cultured British accent when I make that statement...snob my ####!
neil,
Now that Anhauser-Busch has been acquired by the Belgian firm, I wonder if the opposite would occur if you drank a Bud--maybe you'd get Stella Artois out the other end?
Ray
Have you tried the American Ale on tap....? You know it's acceptable and CHEAP! <!----><!----><!---->
-----------_o
---------_'-,>
-------(*)/ (*) http://www.EarthArtLandscape.com
did try it and agree with you that it is definitely drinkable..hope it does well thereby sending a message to the big brewers that Americans would like a little more taste in their beer...it has a long way to go to compete with Bells, Sierra Nevada, Anderson Valley, Digfish Head, Ommegang, Allagash,etc.
Neil
As a result many hours researching beer, it's affects on the body, etc.., there is one clear choice; piss elm.
Bill
Not white oak.. ash!
white oak has tannins in it that make licking up the beer a bitter experiance. Ash doesn't.
However if these tables are to be outside I change my statement.. just remember not to use regular steel.. oak will quickly cause it to corrode and the corrosion will cause the wood to rot. use either silicone bronze if you are bucks up or stainless steel..
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled