I have some old tongue and groove pine that was taken from a wall in its previous life. I want to use some of it for a small tabletop. would it make sense to use the tongue and groove and just put glue in the groove and clamp or would it make more sense to rip off the tongues and grooves and just glue as you would amy other board for a table top. I’m not talking about esthetics here. I’m just wondering what makes more sense for expansion and contraction of the wood…
Regards,
Buzzsaw
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Gil Bailie
Replies
I am just trying to move this to the list so I could maybe get a repy to it..
Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
I think it really is mostly an esthetic question. If you try to use the t & g, you will have visible joints between the boards, like a strip floor. The expansion and contraction can mostly involve widening and narrowing those joints. But if you rip off the t & g you can glue up the top, and account for any expansion and contraction by ensuring that movement is allowed as the top is attached to the table frame. Either way you can deal with wood movement, so the real choice is how you want it to look.
Steve,
I guess that makes sense but this table is going to be used in the same room as that has the teak flooring. So I thought it would be kind of neat to have the same tabletop as the floor. I think I'm going to try to glue into the groove and make it look like the floor. Then I will account for the expansion when attaching to the base. Thanks for your post...Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
Buzzsaw,
On the tounge and groove I have recycled in this way you prety well have to remove the shapes and go for a glue joint. The reason is that the tounge is usually not as long as the grove is deep, so that there is a 'pipe' visible from the end grain between each par of boards.
The aesthetic problem then is that the boards are then narrower that the floorboards Steve is trying to match.
Dave
Dave,
That is an excellent point. I never thought of what it would look like on the edges if I used the tongue and the groove. And I can't use any time of edge banding due to the expansion of the wood (maybe veneer though, but I've never done it). I guess I will rip them off then. You make an excellent point! I would've ended up gluing them and then seen the edges and would've wasted wood...Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
Buzzsaw,
Do you remember the scene when Carol Burnet, doing a spoff on 'Gone with the Wind', came down the stairs with the curtain rod still imbedded draperies....I still laugh when I think about it. I'd cut off th T&G....
Yes I remember that scene well! What a show that was...I think I'm showing my age. The only show I watch these days is "24" when it is on. Sports whenever it is on. Yes, I am going to cut off the T&G and it should work fine.Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
teak! Go for it!I'm gettin' old I thought ya posted Teak not pine....I guess that makes sense but this table is going to be used in the same room as that has the teak flooring.
Edited 11/18/2005 5:37 am by WillGeorge
I don't think expansion/contraction is an issue here.
So for my money, you could go either way -- depending on the look you want (and whether or not the tongues will easily fit into the grooves, which sometimes they won't if the wood has been salvaged).
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"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
Very cool - I came here to ask pretty much the same question and there is already a
thread devoted to it. I have left over ash T&G flooring, milled quite nicely. I too was
wondering about using it as a table top. Here is a link to the site where we
purchased the flooring and it just happens that the pic on their main site is exactly
what we have (NAYY). Probably much narrower than what you're discussing. I'm no
furniture maker so this could be very interesting. But great to know if I could use it.
http://www.vtpf.com/
anyone have any pictures of a table top made with T&G?
Buzz
I have been using a truckload of kauri floorboards for a year or so - for all sorts of different projects.
First thing I do is mark them out for length. Then I rip off a mm or so from the 'floor' side because these boards are well over 100 years old and just full of nails and staples and tacks and other metal. Then I rip off the ts and gs.
Then I make some decisions about useability!
Malcolm
Malcolm,
Thanks for the info. We had plenty of teak left over from the flooring we put in. I also was able to acquire some T&G pine that someone had pulled off of their walls and just left it in stacks on their front lawn for the trash guy to pick up. Buzzsaw, the trash guy, picked it up. By the way, the teak pieces are already pre-finished. I think I probably will have to sand them down after gluing rather than using the finish already on them. The reason being that I probably will have to sand down especially at the joints to make them even and I plan on doing a roundover on the edges and that will take the finish off anyway. So I might as well just sand off the finish and reapply. What do you think?Regards,
Buzzsaw
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
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