Hi,

I'm a newbie but am going to build a built-in cabinet / desk center in
my house. The unit will have a table top that is about 80" wide by
about 32" deep. However the two ends will be on top of cabinets so the
open (non supported) area between the end cabinets is about 38" wide.

This thing will be of cherry and I want to have a cherry table top
with the above dimensions. I would like the table top to be at least
1" thick for rigidity -- I don't think a 3/4" plywood would work
without saging/warping in the center.

How would you guys go about constructing this table top? My ideas
a

1. Glue up a panel using 1" cherry stock. What minimum board width
would you use?

2. Apply a cherry veneer to some other substrate (3/4" birch ply
might be strong enough to not sag?)

3. Bond cherry veneered 1/4" plywood to a 3/4" birch ply sheet.

Can you buy x8' cherry veneered plywood anywhere?

Thanks for any advice you might have.

You could use 3/4" cherry veneer plywood, and a 1 1/2" solid cherry nosing.
Add a 3/4" plywood nailer to to back. That will easily span 38".

David

remove the key to email me.

"Jerry" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I'm a newbie but am going to build a built-in cabinet / desk center in
my house. The unit will have a table top that is about 80" wide by
about 32" deep. However the two ends will be on top of cabinets so the
open (non supported) area between the end cabinets is about 38" wide.

This thing will be of cherry and I want to have a cherry table top
with the above dimensions. I would like the table top to be at least
1" thick for rigidity -- I don't think a 3/4" plywood would work
without saging/warping in the center.

How would you guys go about constructing this table top?
SNIP

I would glue up cherry boards for the top. If you want to end up at least
1" thick you would start with 5/4 or 6/4 stock. I would use random widths
and choose stock for matching color and grain patterns.

Good luck - Bob McBreen

"Jerry" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I'm a newbie but am going to build a built-in cabinet / desk center in
my house. The unit will have a table top that is about 80" wide by
about 32" deep. However the two ends will be on top of cabinets so the
open (non supported) area between the end cabinets is about 38" wide.

This thing will be of cherry and I want to have a cherry table top
with the above dimensions. I would like the table top to be at least
1" thick for rigidity -- I don't think a 3/4" plywood would work
without saging/warping in the center.

That is not all that much of a span. To add rigidity, just screw and glue a
vertical piece along the back. It only have to be an inch wide or so to make
it very strong. This is the way bridges are built. My crappy particleboard
desk has a span of about 58" clean and support the monitor and assorted junk
on my desk.

As for the plywood versus solid wood, that is a function of time and money.
IMO, real wood glued up and properly finished will look far better than
plywood. OTOH, plywood is easier, faster, probably cheaper to make such a
large piece. You can band it in solid wood and it will look nice. I'm
finishing a stand right now that is oak plywood with solid trim. Overall,
it will be just fine but if I was making heirloom furniture, it would be
solid, no ply.
Ed

http://pages.cthome.net/edhome

Ed, I like following you around this group. From what I have seen of the
majority of your posts, you say it all, correctly the first time! Good job
buddy!

Jim


"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
. com...


That is not all that much of a span. To add rigidity, just screw and glue
a
vertical piece along the back. It only have to be an inch wide or so to
make
it very strong. This is the way bridges are built. My crappy
particleboard
desk has a span of about 58" clean and support the monitor and assorted
junk
on my desk.

As for the plywood versus solid wood, that is a function of time and
money.
IMO, real wood glued up and properly finished will look far better than
plywood. OTOH, plywood is easier, faster, probably cheaper to make such a
large piece. You can band it in solid wood and it will look nice. I'm
finishing a stand right now that is oak plywood with solid trim. Overall,
it will be just fine but if I was making heirloom furniture, it would be
solid, no ply.
Ed

http://pages.cthome.net/edhome

"James D. Kountz" jkountz@(remove this)citlink.net wrote in message
...
Ed, I like following you around this group. From what I have seen of the
majority of your posts, you say it all, correctly the first time! Good job
buddy!

Jim

Thank you. I can assure you that there is more that I don't know than I do
know, but being here help to change the balance.
Ed

"Jerry" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

I'm a newbie but am going to build a built-in cabinet / desk center in
my house. The unit will have a table top that is about 80" wide by
about 32" deep. However the two ends will be on top of cabinets so the
open (non supported) area between the end cabinets is about 38" wide.

This thing will be of cherry and I want to have a cherry table top
with the above dimensions. I would like the table top to be at least
1" thick for rigidity -- I don't think a 3/4" plywood would work
without saging/warping in the center.

How would you guys go about constructing this table top? My ideas
a

1. Glue up a panel using 1" cherry stock. What minimum board width
would you use?

2. Apply a cherry veneer to some other substrate (3/4" birch ply
might be strong enough to not sag?)

3. Bond cherry veneered 1/4" plywood to a 3/4" birch ply sheet.

Can you buy x8' cherry veneered plywood anywhere?

Thanks for any advice you might have.

I just built a cherry table where I used solid cherry for the top. Call it
personal preference, but I did not want to use sheet goods in that
application. Comparing 3/4" cherry ply to solid, it doesn't appear from the
price sheet at my local place that price is really a factor. You'd need a
full 4x8 sheet of cherry ply, which in an A-1 grade and a veneer core, will
run $110. Then, you would need to buy a small amount of cherry to trim it.
The 80x32 top is just under 18 board feet with 4/4 stock. (I would go with
5/4, but I'm trying to make an apples-to-apples comparison to 3/4 ply). 20
board feet of 4/4 cherry would run you $130. Now, there's a lot more work
involved turning that into a table top than the ply with jointing edges,
gluing, sanding, etc, but IMHO, it's worth it.

My impression of veneer from reading here is that it's not bad if you have
the right setup. If you have a vacuum pump and a bag the right size, it
could be great. If you don't, it looks like trouble (at least for me). You
could do a 1/4" ply on top of birch ply, but the cost savings doesn't offset
the additional work required (again, at least for me).

todd

Ya gotta know what you don't know to be able to correct it. Also
appreciate your posts Ed.

On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 14:48:59 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:


"James D. Kountz" jkountz@(remove this)citlink.net wrote in message
...
Ed, I like following you around this group. From what I have seen of the
majority of your posts, you say it all, correctly the first time! Good job
buddy!

Jim

Thank you. I can assure you that there is more that I don't know than I do
know, but being here help to change the balance.
Ed