Replies

1. 
   ring | Feb 15, 2006 09:14am | #1

   Barry,

   I'm afraid you've got a serious heartache there.  The differences in expansion - contraction are going to keep the tabletop in rebellion.  It's a design that really should have been done in veneer.

   Is it possible to salvage? I don't know really.  You could consider breaking it up into sections (6,8?) and attaching them to a substrate or understructure that would allow each section to move independently.  There would have to be a gap or reveal of some kind between each section to take up the movement.

   Worst case - you put it on the wall as a monument to wood movement.

   Good luck,

   DR

1. 
   hydroman | Feb 16, 2006 08:00pm | #2

   thanks for your reply. What do you think if I rout the whole top down to 1/4 to 1/8 thick veneer and glue it to a plywood base. Will it be thick enough to cause cracking as it wants to expand and contract.

   Barry

1. 
   JohnWW | Feb 16, 2006 08:47pm | #3

   1/4 inch will act like solid wood, even 1/8 inch can cause problems and will stress whatever the substrate it is glued to.  You could probably make a new top out of shop cut veneer in considerably less time (and dust and noise) then it would take to router away 90% of the original top.

   If you cut your top at one point from the edge to the center it will flatten out, with the cut opening up an inch or two probably.  If you divide the top into a few pie shaped pieces, with some type of substructure to allow them to move with moisture changes, you can use the top in its full thickness, you'll just have to make the seams between the segments look like an intentional design element.

   John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine

2. 
   ring | Feb 17, 2006 12:00pm | #4

   From John's response he appears to see it as I do.  Break it up into segments and create a design element that will incorporate the reveals.

   DR

1. 
   hydroman | Feb 18, 2006 06:23pm | #5

   thanks guys

   I am going to cut it into 5 segments and loose dowel them together. I will send a photo when it is finished. There will be a bit of a delay because of my knee surgury on Monday. I appreciate the help.

   Barry

2. 
   hydroman | Apr 01, 2006 08:07pm | #6

   wood shrinkage in a round tabe

   thanks for the advice back in February. You may recall that my table top shrank and warped like a saucer. Here are some photos of the finished table. It turned  out fantastic. I divided it into 5 sections leaving a gap of 1/8 inch for expansion. The sections are loose doweled together. It even looks like I planned it that way.I hadn't used the Fine Woodworking forums before but glad I did this time.

   thanks again

   Barry

   
1. 
   ring | Apr 02, 2006 08:24am | #7

   Glad it worked out well, and thanks for taking the trouble to update us.DR

2. 
   HowardAcheson | Apr 03, 2006 03:53am | #8

   Good job, however, if you are going to post pictures, reduce them to no more than 50-60 kb.  Your pictures are slow to load and can not be viewed as a single pictureHowie.........