Oak plank thickness?

[Norsk]

Hello from chilly Norway!

I am considering making a large "Rustic" outdoor table from Green Oak.I have several tons of Oak logs and a logosol sawmill.I was thinking of making the top of the table from slabs 4inches thick and the legs from two 8inch slabs.I am not bothered if the timber cracks,its more of a hobby plus the table will be outside all year.

I would like to dowel all the joints or would bolts be a better idea?

Thanks

Mike

 

[MikeG.]

Mike,

seasoned oak pegs, with a taper, are the traditional and best way. I would avoid bolts (they would need to be stainless steel anyway), as they won't look great.

I hope you know how lucky you are having access to so much timber!!

Mike

 

[Norsk]

Thanks for the advise!

I will have a hard time finding seasoned Oak for the Pins.I might find some "seasoned" wood in the form of dead wood from Oak branches,

I have over ten ton of Oak in the yard,from two to four feet through.I would love it if somebody wanted some to make decent items from.As it stands it just came off a job we did and it was cheaper to offload it at our yard than dump it (runs for cover).

I am a tree surgeon and have a bit of a collection of bigger hardwoods,Ash,Yew,etc.The hard thing is here in Bergen,is to find a suitable place to dry any planks I would make.As for the table,its just going to sit outside all its life anyway.

 

[Woodmagnet]

Welcome to the forum Mike, i wonder how
much i could sneak on the ferry back to
newcastle if i was able to pop over. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Norsk]

Welcome to the forum Mike, i wonder how
much i could sneak on the ferry back to
newcastle if i was able to pop over. :lol: :lol: :lol:

As much as as you can fit on/in/behind your car Kevin!

 

[lurker]

This is a gloat of a Waka magnitude :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[The_Stig]

We stock tapered green oak pegs, they prove quite popular.

I'm just trying to find a photo.

 

[MikeG.]

We stock tapered green oak pegs, they prove quite popular.

It's the "green" bit that's the problem! They really should be seasoned. Green ones can shrink within the joint, allowing the joint to loosen. They are also more likely to split and mash-up whem youi are driving them in.

Mike

 

[bugbear]

I will have a hard time finding seasoned Oak for the Pins.

No, it's easy. Simply split ("rive") some timber into pieces a little bigger than needed for the pins.

Small pieces of wood dry MUCH faster than large pieces, so don't season-then-cut, cut-then-season.

When the nearly-pins have seasoned, finish working them.

This is how the old chair makers used to work.

BugBear

 

[lurker]

I'm with BB as per usual

Important bit IMHO is (as he says) to rive them rather than turn or otherwise cut the fibres.

You could make a damn great pile now to as near as damit size ready for when you have milled the wood.

 

[maitland.selwyn]

Over here (Normandy) I think they use chestnut pegs in timber frame construction. They are seasoned and fairly hard. Don't know if they would be any good for green wood - I spend my life surrounded by MDF

 

[MikeG.]

Chestnut is fine, and traditional here too. Seasoned though!!

It should only take a few weeks to get them fry enough if you follow BB's advice.

Mike

 

[Simon]

Mike I built this table and benches a couple of summers ago. All in oak, the top slabs and bench tops are 12" wide and 3" thick. The legs are 8" square and the stabilisers and links are all 3" x 4".

I mortice and tenoned all around and then draw bored all the joints using dry oak pegs. I used some stainless steel coach bolts to secure the tops (make sure you pre-drill carefully as stainless bolts are brittle ....ask me how I know!)

Leave unfinished and it will weather to a nice grey colour, you can see the tannin leaching out of the oak in the pictures, this happened during the first summer and has now faded and gone.

oooooh those summery pics look nice especially as it is trying snow in Hampshire again tonight!!