Tonight I start building the "Limbert Tabourette" featured in 11/03
Pop. Woodworking. This table has to surfaces, one 16" round and one
10.5" square.

Of course I am going to have to edge-join several boards together to
get that width. My question is what would be an appropriate width to
cut the boards for maximum happiness with regard to strength and appearance.

(For instance, a 16" table top made of 2 8" wide pieces may look
strange, and a bunch of 3" wide strips will most likely end up looking
like a cutting board).

Should I try to have all the "slats" the same width? Why or why not?

This piece will be made of plain-sawn red oak (not the more
traditional q-sawn white oak) if that makes a difference.

Thanks for any ideas

Jim Helfer
Pittsburgh PA