"Keith Carlson" wrote in message

The timeliness of this query is this: I'm just now lining up boards for a
coffee table top, and was planning on making the 28 inch wide top from 8
boards appx 3.5 in each. If I used narrower boards, it would make it
easier
to choose nice-looking grain from the red oak I have available, although
more work in glue-up. I would like to keep it true to the traditional
style
to the extent that I'm capable (won't be any ammonia fuming going on in my
house in the near future).

But, aside from that, I'm just curious how good a reproduction they have
at
that store.

Most of the Mission/A&C/Craftsman style table tops I've seen from that
period, both in person and in books, were laminated from various width's,
even within the same top, with no particular rules that can be discerned.

Economy was one of the principles behind the movement, so whatever it takes
to get a combination of economy and aesthetics is pretty much fair game as
far as method. With regard to material, quarter sawn white oak is the wood
most characteristic of the style, at least in the US.

I personally prefer to mix the grain up a bit on table tops on the mission
pieces I make ... judging from pictures of earlier Gustav Stickley tables, I
am apparently not alone.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 12/23/03