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#1
Posted to rec.woodworking,alt.woodworking
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Restaurant Table Advice needed
Hello-
I'm considering taking on a project for 30 or so smaller restaurant tables. They want a light wood with solid strips of inlayed darker wood running through. Sort of Frank Lloyd Wright style. I'm faced with two major decisions: Material: I was thinking of using 3/4" Oak plywood tops with 3/4" Birch plywood bottoms, framed out in solid oak to hide the plies, with 1/4" thick by 3/4" wide Walnut strips running throught the top. They want thicker inlayed wood- rather than veneer. My thought on the plywood was for more dimensional stability than the solid wood. I'm a little worried about the walnut strips expanding out past the sides, though. Finish: It has to be durable, and entirely watertight, since this is a restaurant environment, and they use harsh cleaning chemicals, the guests have knives, and servers or bussers often don't respect the sanctity of the table tops. I was thinking of a 2-part epoxy, but wondered if anyone has had experience in backing off the high-gloss? Can an epoxy finish be either buffed down with #000 steel wool or coated with satin poly to achieve a less plastic looking finish? Should I give more thought to solid wood? Are there any other caveats about using the 2-part epoxy in a restaurant environment? Can that finish be recoated after a few years of scratch and wear? How does a 2-part epoxy effect expansion? Cost is, of course, a factor here as well. Thanks! |
#2
Posted to rec.woodworking,alt.woodworking
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Restaurant Table Advice needed
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#3
Posted to rec.woodworking,alt.woodworking
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Restaurant Table Advice needed
Oak plywood top sounds like a good idea.
Depending on the quality of the plywood and how much budget they have for the tables. With plywood you can go two way the first is: Two parts varnish http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...allpartial/0/0 The problem with two parts varnish is refinishing. At one time or another you will have to remove it and apply new coats. That when the problem start if you sand too much you will go trough the Oak veneer. With solid wood this problem is minimal. To do a good looking job at least 3 coats is needed. And the second is: One part varnish http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...allpartial/0/0 One part varnish does a good job. Its easier to remove when refinishing. To do a good job you need at least four coats , 5 is better. On boat we go up to 6 coats and more. Personally, I would not use plywood for table top. Solid wood is the way to go but it requires more money and works. wrote in message ps.com... Hello- I'm considering taking on a project for 30 or so smaller restaurant tables. They want a light wood with solid strips of inlayed darker wood running through. Sort of Frank Lloyd Wright style. I'm faced with two major decisions: Material: I was thinking of using 3/4" Oak plywood tops with 3/4" Birch plywood bottoms, framed out in solid oak to hide the plies, with 1/4" thick by 3/4" wide Walnut strips running throught the top. They want thicker inlayed wood- rather than veneer. My thought on the plywood was for more dimensional stability than the solid wood. I'm a little worried about the walnut strips expanding out past the sides, though. Finish: It has to be durable, and entirely watertight, since this is a restaurant environment, and they use harsh cleaning chemicals, the guests have knives, and servers or bussers often don't respect the sanctity of the table tops. I was thinking of a 2-part epoxy, but wondered if anyone has had experience in backing off the high-gloss? Can an epoxy finish be either buffed down with #000 steel wool or coated with satin poly to achieve a less plastic looking finish? Should I give more thought to solid wood? Are there any other caveats about using the 2-part epoxy in a restaurant environment? Can that finish be recoated after a few years of scratch and wear? How does a 2-part epoxy effect expansion? Cost is, of course, a factor here as well. Thanks! |
#4
Posted to rec.woodworking,alt.woodworking
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Restaurant Table Advice needed
The other alternative, if your client is willing, is to use melamine paint
or coated composite board. Years ago I made a computer desk with maple and hardwood core plywood. Over the years the top got damaged several time. When removing the varnish with heat and sanding I cut trough the maple veneer. I then used a self levelling melamine paint and pick up doe skin color to match the maple trim. It turned out to be a success. FWIW wrote in message ... Oak plywood top sounds like a good idea. Depending on the quality of the plywood and how much budget they have for the tables. With plywood you can go two way the first is: Two parts varnish http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...allpartial/0/0 The problem with two parts varnish is refinishing. At one time or another you will have to remove it and apply new coats. That when the problem start if you sand too much you will go trough the Oak veneer. With solid wood this problem is minimal. To do a good looking job at least 3 coats is needed. And the second is: One part varnish http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...allpartial/0/0 One part varnish does a good job. Its easier to remove when refinishing. To do a good job you need at least four coats , 5 is better. On boat we go up to 6 coats and more. Personally, I would not use plywood for table top. Solid wood is the way to go but it requires more money and works. wrote in message ps.com... Hello- I'm considering taking on a project for 30 or so smaller restaurant tables. They want a light wood with solid strips of inlayed darker wood running through. Sort of Frank Lloyd Wright style. I'm faced with two major decisions: Material: I was thinking of using 3/4" Oak plywood tops with 3/4" Birch plywood bottoms, framed out in solid oak to hide the plies, with 1/4" thick by 3/4" wide Walnut strips running throught the top. They want thicker inlayed wood- rather than veneer. My thought on the plywood was for more dimensional stability than the solid wood. I'm a little worried about the walnut strips expanding out past the sides, though. Finish: It has to be durable, and entirely watertight, since this is a restaurant environment, and they use harsh cleaning chemicals, the guests have knives, and servers or bussers often don't respect the sanctity of the table tops. I was thinking of a 2-part epoxy, but wondered if anyone has had experience in backing off the high-gloss? Can an epoxy finish be either buffed down with #000 steel wool or coated with satin poly to achieve a less plastic looking finish? Should I give more thought to solid wood? Are there any other caveats about using the 2-part epoxy in a restaurant environment? Can that finish be recoated after a few years of scratch and wear? How does a 2-part epoxy effect expansion? Cost is, of course, a factor here as well. Thanks! |
#5
Posted to rec.woodworking,alt.woodworking
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Restaurant Table Advice needed
On 20 Jan 2007 07:33:41 -0800, "
wrote: Hello- I'm considering taking on a project for 30 or so smaller restaurant tables. They want a light wood with solid strips of inlayed darker wood running through. Sort of Frank Lloyd Wright style. I'm faced with two major decisions: Material: I was thinking of using 3/4" Oak plywood tops with 3/4" Birch plywood bottoms, framed out in solid oak to hide the plies, with 1/4" thick by 3/4" wide Walnut strips running throught the top. They want thicker inlayed wood- rather than veneer. My thought on the plywood was for more dimensional stability than the solid wood. I'm a little worried about the walnut strips expanding out past the sides, though. Finish: It has to be durable, and entirely watertight, since this is a restaurant environment, and they use harsh cleaning chemicals, the guests have knives, and servers or bussers often don't respect the sanctity of the table tops. I was thinking of a 2-part epoxy, but wondered if anyone has had experience in backing off the high-gloss? Can an epoxy finish be either buffed down with #000 steel wool or coated with satin poly to achieve a less plastic looking finish? Should I give more thought to solid wood? Are there any other caveats about using the 2-part epoxy in a restaurant environment? Can that finish be recoated after a few years of scratch and wear? How does a 2-part epoxy effect expansion? Cost is, of course, a factor here as well. Google "pourable epoxy". One of the local establishments used that on their tables--went in about 20 years ago and still for the most part looks fine--the had some copper trim on the tables and some of that wasn't down tight when the epoxy was poured so there's been some cracking on some tables over that trim due to the trim shifting, but other than that it's worked out well for them. No need to recoat--the stuff builds up almost a half inch thick, just sand and polish if it gets to the point where refinishing is needed. Takes several of those before it's worn down to where you might need to add another layer. Cost is the real downside--you'll use a couple of gallons of the stuff on a single table. |
#6
Posted to rec.woodworking,alt.woodworking
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Restaurant Table Advice needed
Three or four years ago I made a couple of dozen 2' X 2' tables for a
restaurant / Bar. I used 2" oak and finished with consumer grade urethane. (on half I used oil Varethane , the other half WB Varethane). They were in hurry to use them and didn't give them time to cure properly before using them. When I last saw them I noticed that they needed to be refinished as the urethane was worn but more importantly there were gouges in them. I asked how that would occur and was told it happens when they stack the tables when cleaning the floors. So, while ply might work in a home setting I would not recommend it for a restaurant unless you have the facility to apply a commercial bullet proof finish. Cheers, JG wrote in message ps.com... Hello- I'm considering taking on a project for 30 or so smaller restaurant tables. They want a light wood with solid strips of inlayed darker wood running through. Sort of Frank Lloyd Wright style. I'm faced with two major decisions: Material: I was thinking of using 3/4" Oak plywood tops with 3/4" Birch plywood bottoms, framed out in solid oak to hide the plies, with 1/4" thick by 3/4" wide Walnut strips running throught the top. They want thicker inlayed wood- rather than veneer. My thought on the plywood was for more dimensional stability than the solid wood. I'm a little worried about the walnut strips expanding out past the sides, though. Finish: It has to be durable, and entirely watertight, since this is a restaurant environment, and they use harsh cleaning chemicals, the guests have knives, and servers or bussers often don't respect the sanctity of the table tops. I was thinking of a 2-part epoxy, but wondered if anyone has had experience in backing off the high-gloss? Can an epoxy finish be either buffed down with #000 steel wool or coated with satin poly to achieve a less plastic looking finish? Should I give more thought to solid wood? Are there any other caveats about using the 2-part epoxy in a restaurant environment? Can that finish be recoated after a few years of scratch and wear? How does a 2-part epoxy effect expansion? Cost is, of course, a factor here as well. Thanks! |
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