friend is expecting triplets in May/June.

i'll make them a custom dining room table and matching benches as my gift.

went shopping today, got some red and some white oak.

she likes the "rustic" look, so we bought all their rustic white oak for the table top, everything else will be red oak. plan to fill in the knots/holes with 2 part epoxy and some turquoise dust. it's a thing out this way.

had to temporarily expand my workbench to accommodate this project with some scrap plywood pieces, now it is 12 feet long and 4 feet wide. more work another day. have to figure out how to straighten the edges of the top pieces. have to build a temp sled i think.

Another kudos DAB. You're a good man. Nice load of lumber. Following this build-a-long.

Heck ya Dab! What a wonderful gift! Is this a surprise or do they know at this point?

That's a big project!! Looking forward to the build updates.

17 hours ago, John Morris said:

Heck ya Dab! What a wonderful gift! Is this a surprise or do they know at this point?

they know about it, she helped pick out the lumber.

31 minutes ago, DAB said:

they know about it, she helped pick out the lumber.

That makes it even more rewarding. I did the same type of thing with a project for a friend. She joined me to pick out the wood and then I shared progress pictures along the way. She isn't a woodworker so she better understood the build steps which made it extra special when it was completed.

Edited Wednesday at 07:10 PM1 day by BB1

she grabbed a pic of me and the lumber all loaded in the back of the truck. told her to send it to hubby and explain "all you have to do now is put it together", just like IKEA....well, maybe some extra steps involved. more work planned tomorrow, to get a straightening sled made and get the table top pieces straightened on the edges and ready to glue, after a light pass or two thru the planer. need to pick out the exposed sides. 2 part epoxy ordered, with some turquoise dust to mix in. will try a trial piece before attacking the top. she thought that that would be cool. ok.

Edited Wednesday at 08:42 PM1 day by DAB

1 hour ago, DAB said:

explain "all you have to do now is put it together", just like IKEA...

🤣🤣🤣

Fellow Chevrolet man I see👊

today's progress was getting the table top pieces edges straightened.

lacking a large jointer, plan B was to cut a scrap piece of 3/4 ply to 8 foot long and 12" wide.

then can attach that with some temp screws to the underside of each piece, run the plywood against the fence (set at 12"), and rip one edge straight. then can detach the plywood, flip the work, and run it again thru the TS to final width.

12" was wider than any of the pieces, so i knew i could run the ply against the fence and get a straight cut.

test fit up, looks like it will glue up just fine, will use some biscuits and a caul or two to keep it flat.

next is to run each piece thru the planer. that's another day.