Hickory Log Table

bowman41

Been Around the Block
Well I built this table a while back. All of the wood is from a single log. I split the log with a chainsaw and used an electric hand planer to face the wood. All other work was done with hand tools (chisels, hammers, rasps etc.)There were no nails or screws or metal fasteners used. I used only wooden dowels and some glue. Enjoy the pictures.

All of the logs... and the one split with the chainsaw...



Split and stacked to dry out for a bit..



Working on cleaning up the table tops....





Recessed the support and secured with wooden dowels...



All finished up....






 
Nice! We had an old dead elm taken down and I got them to cut me a chunk of the trunk. Had it sliced into 2 inch thick slabs. Hoping to make a table or something out of it but for now the slabs are drying under my front porch well protected from moisture.

I think I have 3 slabs about the size of the one standing up. It's the smaller of the three and is currently just acting as my daughter's desktop.

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I've got about 8 more full size logs. I'm considering this table a practice project for future tables, chairs, and benches. That elm looks great Tim
 
One thing I've learned about elm is it stinks for a long time. Took weeks for the odor to dissipate indoors as the wood dried.
 
There is a guy online that has a youtube channel on mixing logs and metal fabrication. He does some pretty amazing work. I have been watching his videos for a while now. Hes a character but he seems to do pretty good work. You should check him out. He is out of colorado I believe his name is Mitchell Dillman.
 
bowman41 said:
There is a guy online that has a youtube channel on mixing logs and metal fabrication. He does some pretty amazing work. I have been watching his videos for a while now. Hes a character but he seems to do pretty good work. You should check him out. He is out of colorado I believe his name is Mitchell Dillman.
Thanks for sharing that! Love what he does.

Table you did looks awesome too!
 
My uncle was doing this for a while, but he wasn't good at the letting people know about it part, so it never really took off.
 
behrboy said:
My uncle was doing this for a while, but he wasn't good at the letting people know about it part, so it never really took off.

Ya its good to get the word out so that people know stuff like this is for sale. Its not exactly something that can be bought at lowes or wal-mart. I'm not planning on making a go of it as a business though. I would consider making a bench or table or chairs for someone but the I'm afraid the price wouldn't be doable for most.

Most folks look at a table made of logs and that looks rustic and they think its inexpensive and quick to make. More often than not it is much easier to work with processed lumber and everything being straight and square...
 
Nice looking table.

Yeah I absolutely would not recommend trying to make a living at it ;D
I did for a while, the market for live edge stuff just isn't there. Its already well represented by established names and there just aren't that many buyers. As you pointed out the labor costs are extravagant, causing the retail price to be higher than most are willing to pay for something that in their eyes is "just a sanded log" haha.
You are absolutely right about straight and square lumber, its much easier, and the market is exponentially larger.

Will that table be outside or inside? I'm afraid if its going inside its going to be a bit of a mess as that hickory dries and splits. Contrary to popular belief wood takes a LONG time to dry (especially outside). I have some 3" hickory slabs that have been indoors for over 2 years and the centers are still 18% moisture.
You wont notice it drying as its a slow process, but a month from now you'll notice stress cracks, a few months you'll notice rough surfaces, and a year or so you'll notice larger splits happening especially around joints.
 
My last school teaches woodworking- a lot of work made in the Nakashima style. They have a minimal 3 year rotation on rough cut boards before they went to the planer.
 
Sonic - 100% right on green wood. This is something I wanted try and experiment with. I realize it's going to crack split as time goes on. It's kept outside and has since been "finished". I rounded over all the edges with a grinder and threw some clear oil on it. It's just a table for around the fire pit to set out food and drinks on. I've done some more serious woodworking (building desks, headboards, trim work, etc.) for other folks with kiln dried lumber. But I never considered trying to sell anything like this table. If I was going to go all out I would have used walnut as it is way more weather resistant than hickory and with stands the Elements for longer periods of time. Something like this log slab I cleaned up recently.
 
Yup.
Although I won't agree on walnut outside. It really doesn't fare well. Structurally it's okay but as far as cosmetics it looks like grey shit in a matter of months in my experience, not very uv stable and prone to cracks. If you want outside use cypress or cedar.

I have between 10 and 20 thousand board-feet of walnut on hand at any point and unknown amounts of everything else.

You cutting these with a chainsaw and a milling attachment?
 
I'm helping to restore a farm house built in 1821. All of the exterior trims are walnut and have lasted the test of time. Exterior tables are not going to be asthetically perfect over long exposure to the elements regardless of the species. Cedar and Cypress are excellent species for use outdoors. Thats why we put cedar shingles on the cabins we restored. But they are also not native to the region that I am located in and I'm not going to walk out and cut some slabs up. Keep in mind this big ol' hickory that was cut up for this table was a tree that was blown down and going to rot up. I cut a lot of it up into firewood but decided to try and make something useful out of some of it as well. If It lasts a few years and I can set beers and plates on it then it has served its purpose. The objective was never to build a peice of perfect furniture. It was more to use what was free and available on hand.

I used a chainsaw to cut up the hickory and an electric hand planer to plane it all down. The walnnut slabs were snagged up from a cabinet shop that went out of business. We are using them for the bar top in the basement of the above mentioned farm house. They were already ripped into 3" slabs and I just used the hand planer to clean them up.
 
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