Outdoor table recommendations

[Lee Marrett]

Hi,

I'm just beginning to learn the craft. I've been doing a fair amount of reading and I decided a good starter project would be an outdoor table.

After some searching, the basic outdoor table found at ana white's blog

seems like a simple thing to make to get my confidence boosted.

Has anyone made this table before, or would there be a better one out there to start with?

many thanks

Lee

[Swingman]

reading and I decided a good starter project would be an outdoor table.

seems like a simple thing to make to get my confidence boosted.

start with?

Looks like an excellent project/place to start. It is relatively simple for someone with not much experience, and, better yet, a successful completion will give you the pride and confidence to up-the-ante on the next project.

I'd say a hearty "go for it".

[Lee Marrett]

thanks! feedback appreciated.

[tommyboy]

and I decided a good starter project would be an outdoor table.

seems like a simple thing to make to get my confidence boosted.

start with?

I'd keep looking until I found something a bit easier on the eye.

[RonB]

eading and I decided a good starter project would be an outdoor table.

seems = like a simple thing to make to get my confidence boosted.

re to start with?

That looks like a good starter project. What part of the country are you from? The reason I ask is the table in the photo looks like it might be made of redwood. If so, redwood will finish up beautifully without a lot of special finish training. But it can be pricy if you don't live in the western US region. I just built a couple of Adirondack chairs from redwood and they finished very nicely with a simple wiping varnish/oil mixture.

RonB

[RonB]

reading and I decided a good starter project would be an outdoor table.

seem= s like a simple thing to make to get my confidence boosted.

here to start with?

On closer inspection it is probably made of stained pine - construction grade 2x and 1x lumber? You could probably beef the legs up a little by laminating two 2x4's instead of the single shown. Messing with the plans is part of the fun of woodworking.

It would still look great in Redwood ;o)

RonB

[Lew Hodgett]

------------------------- Very doable first time project.

Patience is your friend with these projects.

If in doubt, wait till the next day before attempting the task at hand.

BTW, like Ron, I'd use two 2x4's laminated together for the legs.

Have fun,

Lew

[Dr. Deb]

Lee, RonB, asked a very important question - "What part of the country do you live in? That will determine a couple of very important things, 1) the wood you use, 2) the finish you use.

For instance, I am in South Central Alabama (not far enough south to worry about salt and not far enough north to worry about snow.). My choice is wood would be Cypress heart wood (I would buy the boards and remove any obvious sapwood prior to construction) Then I would finish with an very good grade of exterior oil (I usually use General Finishes, available at Woodcraft)

If you are further north, white oak would be an acceptable choice, as long as it is kiln dried. Again the exterior oil finish. Urethane works well, but I just like the oil for durability and ease of repair.

I mentioned the finish, if you are either in the South or South-west, you want something with a very high UV rating. Further north its not quite as important.

If you are on the West side of the country, redwood would be a great choice

If money is not object, mahogany, jarrah, Ipe, or various other exotics (read a lot more expensive) are good choices.

You are going to use this outside, I assume you will leave it outside. Therefore, Titbond III is about your best choice for glue. Use Stainless steel screws to join.

The advice for using two 2x4's glued together for the legs is an excellent idea. You will need the mass and its a good way to get it. But going with any of the woods I mentioned above, you are probably going to be limited to

4x4 stock (actually 3/4" if you are using wood from a Big Box store or a lumber yard) and will have to glue up the legs and then cut them down. Still you really need the mass on those legs as they will take a lot of stress, which a 3x3 leg will be able to handle. It will also look a lot better than a thinner leg.

WHAT EVER YOU DO - "DO NOT" - REPEAT, DO NOT, BUILD IT OUT OF PINE (most of which is fast grown and has a much shorter life than the more slowly grown pines). IT WILL GO AWAY IN NO MORE THAN TWO YEARS.

Deb

[Jack]

Tell that to the chair I built 30 plus years ago that has been living outside 24/7 the whole time. Built out of construction grade pine and finished with regular redwood stain. Pine is fantastic outside wood, just not in ground contact. No wood is really good in ground contact, even treated wood unless rated for it. If you plan on using it off ground, most any wood will work, pine is super because it is cheap.

The problem with outdoor wood is no finish will hold up long, so if you got the money, Redwood, Cedar, Teak are good choices because they look OK unfinished. If you finish it with oil, stain, paint, anything, plan on redoing it routinely or it will look like crap. This includes the fancy, expensive woods.

Here is a picture of the chair.

redwood stained chairs are identical, one made out of pine 30+ years ago, the other a couple of years ago. I can't tell from the picture which is the old one.

Here is a picture of pine railing I made for my pickup truck 46 years ago. It was painted once, and has been sitting outside at my brothers farm all 46 years. (My brother never throws anything away) It has some mold on it, but no rot anywhere other than the oak legs where they contact the ground.

thinking about it, the pine window frames on the wall have been there since the turn of LAST century, 112 or so years.

This is in Pgh. PA where the weather is not friendly to anything outside, not in winter or summer.