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The wife has ask me to build a table/cabinet. I have a colection of oak barn wood that I plan to use. Most of the wood is rough cut 2"X 6"and 2 x 8, 10‘ and 12'. The table will be. 5' wide 26"-30" deep & 36" tall with 2 shelves. 

How should I join the boards to make the top and shelves ? 

I plan to have the wood planed before I get started.

I'm new to woodworking but I have been welding and fabricating for 35 years. 

This will be a heavy table, but its what the wife wants.  Thankfull for any tips !!

Tim L.

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Yep, sounds heavy, feels heavy and looks heavy....but he ain't my brother. :) Just thinking about the Hollie's song "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother!".

If your boards will be 90° angles with straight edges, then I would use a Kreg HD (Heavy Duty) Jig if I had one. A regular Kreg jig will probably work, but will probably need added holes and screws for strength. You would need to make 1½" pocket holes and use 2½" screws, plus make sure the edges are squared so when they are joined at the edges. Here is an image using Kreg joinery to make a top...

Hi Tim, I see that you are new to the community and I would like to welcome you to the Community.  I viewed your photo of your past projects and I think you will do well working with wood.  I also see that you are seeking information as to building a table/cabinet from some oak that you have.  Not knowing what you have in mind for its design I will attempt to describe some of the steps in preparing the lumber.

Once the lumber is planed to size,  look and separate the stock looking at grain and patterns as well as color.

I tend to work with 13/16" thickness as it is a good thickness that will allow you to do some sanding and still leave a nice thickness that is stable and still maintains the thickness needed for both joinery and design quality.  What I look for in pattern and color of the wood is grains that have a similar pattern and can be joined together to make a pleasing look.  While doing this and knowing that you will be making wide pieces by such method as glue up of multiple boards,  try to pick and arrange the lumber so that the growth rings alternate in different  directions.  This helps in the control of warp or cupping of the lumber.  Another important step before proceeding with joinery is to allow the lumber to acclimate itself and especially true after planning or cutting large amounts of stock for a given piece.  It is  good work practice to have all the stock stored in the same area so that the climate conditions remain the same for all the stock you will be using for the project.

Once your are certain that the stock has ceased moving then you are ready to cut the material to final size.  I will cut my material to a little oversize.  Once I see how the material cuts and how true it is I will then cut it to its final sizes.  Most times I will find that the material cuts and glues up right off the table saw and other times it will require the use of a jointer because of lumber changes right after the saw blade cut.

The method of joinery can differ greatly depending upon what the method of choice.  In building a flat piece such as a table top or a panel , some will use spines, biscuits, dowels and screws such as pocket holes joinery.  I seldom resort to these choices and use simple edge to edge glue up using a good grade of glue and clamps.  For normal everyday use of most items, if you have prepared your wood properly with straight and square corners and edges you will have very little problems building a strong and stable piece without the need of the above mentioned screws, dowels and screws.   Most times if you have a joint failure it will be caused by improper stock prep or starved and dry glue joints.  If enough glue is applied to the edge and is spread evenly on the joint surface the failure may be from too much clamp pressure.  The edge joints should close evenly and without applying too much pressure.  The more pressure you apply to the joint the more glue you will squeeze out and the results is a dry joint.  This is the biggest mistake beginners make as the thing the tighter the clamps are turned the better the joint is when dry.

There are times when you might need to use reinforcement edge joints when heavy use is expected and my choice in this case would be a spline joint running the full length of the stock.  It is strong, quicker and leaves a clean flat surface .

If making a panel that is to be used for something like a table top or a top for a chest there are methods of hiding the end grains.  I normally use a bread board end making sure that I apply  the breadboard in such a manner that it will allow the ends of the glue up expand and contract without cracking or bowing.  It is similar to a loose mortise and tendon without glue.

 I do this by using a loose tongue joint cut on the end grain and a socket in the breadboard end and pin it without glue allowing movement between the two.

In all furniture building you must allow for wood movement to avoid destruction of the piece.  The wood will expand and contract very little in it length but will expand across its grain.  You will find that this is one of the biggest errors make in the construction.

The glue up of thinner boards to other boards to make them thicker such as needed in the building of square legs is similar in principals however different approaches can be make to make the glue up appear as a single piece of wood.  Some of these are the use of angles to hide the joints between the pieces.  If this is something you would like to know and learn please contact me and I will be glad to expand on this topic.

Good luck with your project and I wish you continued success in your new found adventure into the world of woodworking.  Welcome to the community!

 

great advise as always Jay, thanks for posting

Thanks James and Jay ! 

I Hope to get started soon, Just have to help the wife paint the living room.

I plan to have the boards planed just enough to smooth them out.

Before you plane, saw, or anything else take a metal detector to the wood. Reclaimed wood is an excellent resource and can have wonderful appearance but they can have nails and other metal in them. Metal and wood working machines don't mix. Make certain that they are metal free first.

Yer and make sure your radio station is "Metal" free. I like listening to the 60's, 70's and 80's but no Metal. But to all the Metal fans out there....have a BLAST! :)

It is a good idea. Thank you very much.

James P. Cottingham said:

Before you plane, saw, or anything else take a metal detector to the wood. Reclaimed wood is an excellent resource and can have wonderful appearance but they can have nails and other metal in them. Metal and wood working machines don't mix. Make certain that they are metal free first.

Barn board can contain particles of sand, which will dull planer blades PDQ.

NOTE:

Previously "used" barn-board material, or the like, that is suspected of containing sand or dirt, can be cleaned by power-washing, (1800-2000psi), the material, before cutting or planing.

(don't use a turbo nozzle).

Stand the lumber on end, nearly upright, power-wash---

allow to drain---

allow to air for 5-7 days, before cutting.

Drying time can be accelerated by using electric powered fans.

Air movement will sweep the moisture from the surfaces.


Ken Darga said:

Barn board can contain particles of sand, which will dull planer blades PDQ.

Tim:  I've been sucked into doing quite a few barn wood projects lately.  Here's a few little things that can save you some time and trouble.  First, if you're going to join any of the boards together on edge into panels, make sure you joint the edges to get a good glue-edge.  Second, use biscuits or dowels.  There is a headboard I made a few weeks ago, and although the edges were jointed to make a nice, tight glue-up, there was still some cup and twist in the boards.  To help take the stress off the glue joint and straighten them up without planing off the patina everyone seems to like, I put dowels in the glue joint and placed them in such a way that the boards had to bend straight in order to join up.  Then during the glue up I used cauls to flatten the whole thing out and cranked the sh** out of those clamps.  It was all 1" thick oak, and it's strong stuff.  The tip about a metal detector pass is a good one.  Another is to use a moisture meter.  If there's still a lot of moisture in the wood, cut it down into rough dimensions, then store it in the house for a while.  Oak is strong stuff and it will move.  Last tip with barn wood is make sure you mill it enough to completely remove any rot or insect damage.  It's not worth messing with and don't count on your finish to seal it up enough to prevent further damage.

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