Fancy carved coffee table

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Guys
Well I'm doing a Star Trek and boldly going where I've never been before With this project. I have decided to have a go at the Coffee table. I need to find some wood for the edging of the top that is high density and carves well. I think this will take months to complete.

For the edging I hope to do carved animal panels in contrasting timber to the top that will be fixed to the sides of the top.

Legs will be carved bears climbing trees on 2 of them and the third leg will be a cub. Hope I can pull this off or a lot of expensive wood is going to have a bad day. The wood for the legs cost NZ $250 or US $179 was lucky to get it Kauri 8'x8' is as rare as hens teeth.

This will be a sharp learning curve and a lot of fun and or frustration depending on how it goes hehehe. Need to make a good job of this as only the best woods available in NZ are going into it. Time to start praying a lot I think !!!!!!!

I got the top planed to thickness and the top sanded down to 400 grit. That took 3.5 hours Hope to do the sides and back tomorrow. The top is swamp Kauri buried for hundreds of years in peat swamp. These old trees are dated between 800-6000 years old. Some of the trees that fell were over 2000 years old before they fell. So I'm working with a piece of history in effect.

1 Photo dry then second one with wood damped down a little to lift the grain.

I got permission to attempt to copy some of Oleg Krotko's work. This I hope to build into the border around the edge of the table.

Oleg makes some really nice stuff take a look at his website It is really quite inspiring. www.forgedinwood.art

[Dileon]

It sound wonderfully fun project,...these are the ones that tons of thought and process goes into making them. Using a historical wood is also special ...sure this will be a winner.

[woodburner807]

Wow, ambitious project and also enjoyed the fellows link. All beautiful, Glenn !

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Dileon
There will be aheap of thought going intro this one hehe. Spent a couple of days just tossing around ideas for it before it started to firm up in the mind. Is going to be a lot of fun.

Hi Bill
Yeah hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew with this one. But hey that's what it's all about. Pushing ones bounderies into a whole new dimension. Joe is a classic example of that with the fantastic people pieces he is doing now. Yeah Oleg has some wonderful compositions in his work doesn't he!!!!!


OK so sanded the back today which is now going to be the top as the grain on this side was just drop dead gorgeous. The colour of the grain patterns changes with the angle that you look at it from. The colours shift like a kaleidoscope as you move around it. The entire grain patterns have a very small fleck that reflects light. This doesn't show up in the photos very well which is unfortunate as it is a characteristic of the wood that makes it really pop the grain patterns out.

This is why I love working with wood. It is like panning for gold. Move over two inches and bingo you can hit the motherload. Is the same with grain. The other side of this slab just doesn't compare to this side.

4.5 hours on planes and orbital sander that I had to get as weight onto as I could to get the paper to cut this stuff.

[Brian T]

I'm sure that you can smash up the table and build a perfectly functional freight pallet.

[Mark N. Akers]

Wow, that is some awesome wood, what a beautiful grain.

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Brian
Wont happen !!!!!! Think I will load up the 50cal with 00 buckshot just in case you have given anybody daft ideas. hehehehehe.
I have however broken up a pallet to MAKE something nice. Some of the pallets we get from Australia have some interesting wood. Junk to them, treasure to us. hehehe.

Hi Mark
If you think this is nice you shoud see the fantastic grain patterns in sections of the root structure. When finished it has an almost 3d effect as if you can see into the timber. The colours can be just mind blowing. Examples below. Sadly not MY work but you can see what I mean about the wonderful grain patterns that can ba found in this wood.


I got the sides all trimmed and squared up yesterday so just have to wait for the covid lockdown to lift so I can go get some wood for the edge panels.


work.

[Tom Ellis]

Hi Glen, I believe that color reflection is called chatoyance. Also found a lot in Maple, and some other woods. Your Kauri will be some interesting, and very hard wood to carve. Can wait to see it finished.

[woodburner807]

Stunning work, Glenn. All beautiful pieces and the grain sure accents the work. I'm jealous.

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Tom
Thanks for the information. We learn something new every day. The swamp kauri is a nightmate to work with but worth every second of the effort.

Hi Bill
The vases are not my work just examples of what the timber can come up like. But it sure is nice stuff.

Progress!! Today I got the sides all thiined to thickness and and the end cap cut and carved to shape. tomorrow all going well I hope to have a go at the detail on it.

[woodburner807]

I understand Glenn, and I should have phrased it better. Dang, my first mistake in life.

[Randy]

Glenn, that is some beautiful wood.I look forward to seeing this project develop.thanks for sharing. Thank you for sharing Oleg’s site. I had never seen his work. He does is amazing work.

[Dileon]

I can see from you photo you going to have some awesome pattern wood, she seems to have all colors plus a great pattern on it. A lot of the exotic I work on have extreme pattern woods like that, they are beauty when they are finished and all the color pops.... always a pleasure to work on.

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Bill
No worries mate hehe If all mistakes were THAT small we would ALL have plenty to be thankful for hehehe.

Hi Randy
The wood can be quite stunning if you get a good bit . Have to agree about Oleg's work the detail and composition are just stunning.

Hi Dileon
These woods are treasures to be sure. Some woods have grain patterns and colours that just blow the mind with their beauty. We live for the days we find a piece like that hehehe.

[sappy]

Hi Glenn, you said this 8' by 8', I can't image handling some thing that size, and to carve the edges? How thick is this beauty?