Egg table in progress Questions.

[FatDaddy]

Ok fellas I need some advice, as I am no carpenter.. I bave built my frame for my egg table. First screw up was I used 2x4 for the frame, not so much a screw up as far as sturdiness goes, but measurements it seems everything is just a little off as far as bracing and stuff goes. For the top I am using 1/4 slats of whitewood, what ever that is. I was gonna use Red Oak but it was 10 bucks a stick.. How much over hang should I have with the table top? how much spacing between the boards? I have tried a 1" overhang, but it doesnt allow enough room for the slats with a screw as a spacer. Should I just fit em as tight together as possible? I have gone as far out as 1 3/4" over hang, and it is still not enough. What do yall think? I can take some pictures later today if I need to..

[Big George's BBQ]

Check out the Naked Whiz. Com site. They have lots of info on Ceramic Cookers

[Downtown Smokeout]

Whitewood is just soft lightly colored wood. Spruce, cottonwood, poplar.

If you put the slats tight you will end up with a gap in time as the wood shrinks, especially if it is in the sun.

What is the overhang for? To mount hangers or just for looks? Pics would be helpful.

[bclinton]

Use primer. The wood will not last long. I built an outdoor 2 seater bench out of regular walls studs (2X4) to see if it would last outside in the weather. Studs are dirt cheap. The bench cost me about $36 in wood. I primered the heck out of it and used all weather oil based paint. It is 3 years old and looks brand new.

[FatDaddy]

The table itself is built out of treated 2x4s. Over hang is just to hide my ****ty carpentry work on the table itself lol. The plans I got for this table were the ones from naked whiz, so that is no help.

[Old Smoke]

Hey FatDaddy
I was once told that I was a "finish" carpenter...... first day on the job and I was "finished"...
Sooooooo
I'll be of NO help BUT I think it looks great keep on sawing.....

[Carbon]

The only thing I would have done differently were to use 4x4 posts for the legs. Otherwise, it's looking good!

[Downtown Smokeout]

Looks pretty good from here. Not should why it would be stable. If you used nails you can sink a few srews in it to tighten it up. I can't realy tell from the picture, but anything that is going to be stressed by moving, bumping, christening it with your lady , should have screws. Nails will back out over time.

Also, most trim in homes is made of poplar (one of the many known as whitewood) these days because, if it is sanded evenly it takes stain like oak and has a very similar grain and pattern for a whole lot less money.

[jonboy]

I would space the wood on top so water will shed after a rain or you spill your beer.

You could space the boards about the thickness of a pencil. This would allow the wood to expand and contract.
I would pre finish the boards before i attach them. It will be easier to finish them on all sides. Time well spent to extend the life of them.
Screw them down also and if you need to refinish in a few years it will be easy to remove and replace.
The overhang...you could let it extend beyond the table to create more work area.
Just round off the corners, put a semi circle on the end. I think there are a few pics on naked whiz site that are done like that.
jon

[Paulmark]

Looks fine to me

[thillin]

Looking goof so far Jason

[Braddog]

Here's a shot of my table that gives you an idea of overhang and spacing of the top boards.



I wouldn't be too worried about the 2x4 frame. Mine is basically 2x4 framed, but I did double up the 2x4's at the base. I'm glad I didn't go bigger. This thing is really heavy and not something that you want to move around much.

Here's the finished product.



Cheers,
Braddog

[FatDaddy]

That is a great lookin table. Better than my hack job lol.. This was the first thing Ive built since 7th grade shop class, so probably 18 years ago or so lol.

[FatDaddy]

Originally Posted by jonboy

I would space the wood on top so water will shed after a rain or you spill your beer.

You could space the boards about the thickness of a pencil. This would allow the wood to expand and contract.
I would pre finish the boards before i attach them. It will be easier to finish them on all sides. Time well spent to extend the life of them.
Screw them down also and if you need to refinish in a few years it will be easy to remove and replace.
The overhang...you could let it extend beyond the table to create more work area.
Just round off the corners, put a semi circle on the end. I think there are a few pics on naked whiz site that are done like that.
jon

yea the top boards are just up there to figure out spacing and what not. I am going to sand em down and stain them with a pecan stain and then a clear coat. same with the frame. Everything is in there with 2 1/5" stainless steel deck screws. *Note to anyone else. use phillips head screws not these retarded square ones. I stripped so many out using my cordless drill.* I am putting the planks down with 1 1/"2 deck screws. Just having issues getting spacing right between the boards. So when I get home in the morning Ill try the pencil width and see how that looks and If I can get em evenly spaced. I know with 8 boards and 1 3/4" over hang on the sides, I dont have enough room for a screw width space between em. But with just 7 boards it seems to be to wide in the gaps. Will see in the AM.

[h20loo]

I looked for any alternative to having gaps on my work surface. I didn't want everything dripping through to my shelf underneath. I ended up with stainless and can just wipe it off when I'm done. My neighbor has 1/8" spaces and he just uses cookie sheets to keep everything neat but his next one will be granite or stainless.
First one is mine and next own is someones from the web and the model for my next build.