Any woodworkers?

Yes building the boxes

 

I put off buying a jointer for over 20 years, just trying to get a perfect enough edge using my table saw and occasionally using a hand plane. It worked, but not very good. 3-4 years ago I picked up a cheap 4" jointer and got it adjusted. Used it a few times and when it worked, it was great, but very limited. so I sold that and upgraded to a 6" Jet jointer. That was much better, but must have had wear in the ways, it never stayed adjusted. I sold that and bought my current one. I got a great deal on a used 8" helical head Powermatic ($1,600). That thing is rock solid, and when I run the wood through slowly, it looks like a perfectly flat finish like you'd get from a sharp hand plane! It's now the most expensive piece of equipment I've ever bought for my workshop, but worth every cent! I'm blown away at how perfectly flat and square my wood is now. It makes everything else far easier.

 

So last night my wife piped up during dinner that it would be really nice to eat outside during the summer on a picnic table/outdoor dining table, and that I should build one in the spring. Ding Ding! With that kind of green light I'm all over it.
I live up in the Pacific Northwest (Vancouver Island specifically) and there are lots of local sawyers etc around. The majority of which sell Fir/Arbutus/Cedar and the odd bit of Maple.

I'm kind of leaning to building it all out of cedar, or the bare minimum the base out of cedar for the rot resistance and to save some weight if we have to move it around. I think the cedar for the top would be pretty dang soft, but it is just an outdoor table. Has anyone used a penetrating epoxy on cedar to kind of densify it?
Arbutus would be plenty tough, but I don't think it would hold up outside in the elements too well at all.

 

I like spar finish, its a bit thick but can be thinned. i havent used cedar but its really nice looking.

 

Teak is one of the hands down winners for all weather conditions. That being said…When I owned my landscape maintenance and construction company, I build cedar planters and decorative hand carved cedar bridges. I would use tung oil or Watco Danish Oil and then coated with Polyurethane. I also had a few that were tung oil only. These required reapplication as part of yearly maintenance but also stood up well to the elements if you wanted to skip the Poly. Western Red holds up much better than the yellow cedar you will get at the big box stores. I don’t know how far from Bremerton you are but there is a place there called Cedar Products Co. it’s on Chico Way.

 

@Pointeman Thanks! Ya Bremerton is a good half day commute away crossing the border and ferry off the island etc but good to know if I'm ever down there. I'm leaning more and more to Western Red Cedar. It should be nice. Whenever it dries out up here I'll get started and keep y'all in the loop.

 

Haha yep I now see you are from Nanaimo. I’m sure you have some great sources there as well. Have fun…sounds like a great project and hopefully one that will bring years of enjoyment.

 

Yup I'd go with the cedar too, bugs don't like it either. I'd use spar varnish as it's pretty tough and long lasting, cover all sides and then multiple coats on the end grain until it stops soaking in. I have a utility trail that sits outside all year long, rain, snow, or sun, and it's been 3 years and still doesn't show signs of needing a re coat.

All metal and inside of the trailer boards and the decking has 2 coats of rust oleum.

 

We'll see how it turns out.

 

Alright folks I have a question that I’m gonna toss out to you woodworkers

I’m putting a chair in my bedroom for a place to sit when watching TV and also a place to work from.

next to where the chair will be I’d like to put a small shelf for my cell phone and watch to charge on. But, I’d like that shelf to be mounted on a swing arm (the double hinged type or “z” arm) so that when I’m sitting in the chair I can swing it away from the wall and over top the chair to put my laptop.

I cannot find anything that mounts vertically on the wall and horizontally for a table/shelf but I also know I probably don’t have the terminology correct so my search results are only giving me monitor or tv mounts. Or the ones I have seen look like it belongs behind a hospital bed in a hospital.

anyone have either the correct terminology or know where I could get a mount like that that doesn’t look like it belongs in a hospital?

 

eBay says this is an “extension arm.” Is it in the ballpark for what you’re looking for?

 

they have these too

$133 Stander Wonder Tray, Adjustable Swivel Table, Large Laptop Stand, Couch Desk, Side Tables & Gaming Bench, TV-Trays for Eating on Couches, Chairs, Recliners, Black

https://www.amazon.com/Able-Life-Un...mzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0

 

This is the closest thing I can find but I don’t think the arms are long enough to reach

 

If that was wall mounted it would probably work.

I want it to look like a shelf until I need to pull it out as a table

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Amer-Net...538635810?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0

 

So could you build a small cabinet with a lift up front using folding shelf brackets hidden inside? I built a cardboard mock up. It’s rough but might give you the general idea. This would give you a top shelf for cell phone etc and and a nice table for work.
Closed:

Open:

Hinges:

They make hinges up to 16” so if your cabinet is 4” wide the hinges would extend an additional 12”. I would think that would support the weight of your laptop and the pressure from your forearms while working. Length of shelf would depend on placement of chair. I might consider a 12-16” wide shelf by 20-24” long. I would make it out of oak and stain it. You could make it out of poplar and paint to match the wall. Just thoughts. Good luck.

 

That’s most like what I’m looking for if I can find it a little more aesthetically pleasing.

That might work. I will have to re measure

 

A++ for making a 3D model

 

Autocad, manual version?