DIY: I did some

[John Rumm]

(probably not fully proof read yet - so don't expect it to make sense!)

However any suggestions etc welcome:

[spuorgelgoog]

Very nice. Will the hole in the centre be a bit reluctant to drain?

Owain

[T i m]

+1

And will it take the weight of the engine you are working on for the oil to drain out from. ;-)

Joking aside, would the top take the weight of say someone tripping and supporting themselves on the edge? Would the slats offer much in the way of strength?

Cheers, T i m

[John Rumm]

I will have to take a better photo of that... but:

There is an end grain walnut plug with a pillow style top that fills the centre hole.

[John Rumm]

There is a bit of "spring" in the ring, but the slats are strong. Oak is pretty stiff even when only 11mm thick, and each "edge" has a fair number of slats supporting it. The slat directly above the radial spars is also fully bonded to the spar below - so that stiffens those a bit more as well.

While building it I wondered if I would need a mid span inner ring under the slats to join them together - and force them to share load, but now its built I don't think it needs it (and it would be another moisture trap).

(I expect you are more likely to knock it over, than break it - although the weak part may be the wood pins that retain the top on the base)

[billyorange007]

[Graeme]

In message [e-mail]>, John Rumm [e-mail] writes

Barely breakfast time and I'm already depressed :-)

Great job, John.

[T i m]

<snip>

I don't quite follow that John. What I was thinking is that the slats aren't continuous strips across diameter of the table and so I'm not sure how they could offer strength (like a beam / cantilever), other than by relying on the joint / bond between central spars and the radials (and they would be trying to split the central cross along the grain)?

Yes, I can see how that would 'help', however, basically the design is like the canopy of a jellyfish (I'm not suggesting it's that 'floppy' by any means, or that it wouldn't do what is required perfectly, just trying to consider it mechanically). ;-)

I could see that working but only 'really well' if the central supports extended out to reach it.

Understood.

I guess my main fear would be that if it were mine I might be tempted to put things on it that it was never really designed for (like one end of a boat) or a heavy box full of stuff I was going to sort through ... or a lawnmower I needed to work on ... and then ruin all that good / neat work.

I guess that's partly why I tend to over-engineer stuff, [1] therefore making it more durable / utilitarian (c*** proof <weg>) than decorative? ;-(

I'm the same with clothes ... it doesn't matter if I am in my best suit (when I had one), if I have to get under the car or in somewhere dirty, I do (much to her consternation). ;-(

Cheers, T i m

[1] 'She' re-ground the valves on our kitcar cylinder head on the unsupported corner of our kitchen worktop (that I fitted) so it's not just me I have to cater for (it was on a newspaper). ;-)

[ss]

Yes John ought to stop doing these DIY projects unless he is going to hand out anti-depressent pills to the rest of us....its not fair :-)

[John Rumm]

They won't....

The slats are not radial, so in reality they are acting in torsion... you probably have 2"^2 of glue joint area per slat, and a dozen slats per side - so that's a fairly significant glue area. The shorter ones near the edge bring less to the party obviously.

Well it would attach to the radial supports - basically forming a square section with a strut at each diagonal.

Yup, this is definitely not a garden workbench! It needs to cope with a heavy meal at worst.

(I still have its plastic predecessor, so if I feel compelled to dump the strimmer on something while I re-line it, I can use that - I think I would be less keen spilling 2-stroke petrol on this one!)

Indeed, and I needed to fight the urge to over build it as well. Partly mindful of the desire to keep the balance right, and also oak is not cheap!

[Robin]

I suspect John's on a contract. But from whom? Pharmaceutical companies peddling anti-depressants seems a bit remote. Tool makers hoping I'm stupid enough to think "if only I bought those I could make that" unlikely with brand names few and not prominent. My money's on the Treasury looking for the savings on public expenditure when a pensioner tops himself :(

[John Rumm]

Perhaps I should get them to front me some new tools? Some of those tools are older than me... (the table saw was made in 1948, and the Delta planer, is probably of similar vintage)

In reality though, a saw of some kind, a router, and a jigsaw could get the job done if you bought your wood already prepared.

Yup that is it, I have been found out! After turning down the offer to be 006 and two thirds, and take out a major terrorist network, we settled on saving the NHS a couple of bob, and to interrupt a brexit argument between some some old guys on a newsgroup :-)

[John Rumm]

Its your fault, you encouraged me!

[Pamela]

Very impressive!

[dennis]

You should make YouTube videos, that would cause serious depression here by the sounds of it. It would get you some cash and maybe some tools.

[whisky-dave]

I doubt you'd get much from youtube vids. I thought it wasabout 1p per 1000 views, even less if yuo don;t have 1000 subscribers. Worth a try but then you get those ads come up.