WWA Info Exchange

table, well my youngest boy showed me how to post pictures and I got one to post. Maybe this time I can get one to post tomorrow.

Thats a cool looking table Nicely done

They are folding tables that fold down with the center bar making a handle. They weigh less that 10 lbs and can support over 250 lbs. And the best part is they are made from edging strips except for the legs and arms which are 1x1 .I use oak,hickory or walnut and finish them with BLO. They have no glued parts or "matched" joints. I make them to sell at rendezvous. Little cost with large profit.

Very neat and clean looking Don. 250 pounds is amazing.

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"To all those who work come moments of beauty unseen by the rest of the world." Norman Maclean

Nice Don,
I made similar tables when I used to do Civil War re-enacting.
Zulu

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Zulu's website
http://www.jmelledge.com

I've made a bunch of "camp stools" that use the same principle . I just looked in my pix file and don't seem to have any pix of them. If I can remember I'll take a few pix and post later.
...lew...

Forgive my ignorance, but years ago, about when this board first started, there was a discussion about finishes, and believe Jim and Mango were part of the discussion. The discussion was that BLO, shellac or Tung oil weren't that durable and certainly not very waterproof. I think a Dave? chimed in, about a finish he called weasel spit.
I have been using it ever sine.

Am I the only one anymore??

_________________
Sean

Countin' flowers on the wall,
that don't bother me at all,
smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo,
Now don't tell me I've nothin' to do.

Second recipient of the D'oh Award. 4-13-08

I use BLO as a finish for three reasons. First it is historical accurate,second it allows the customer to wipe with paint thinner and then use an oil based stain so they can match it with other camp furniture, and third it is easy to "redo" just sand lightly and recoat. I use only the species that I do because they are naturally weather resistant. My personal table is over twenty five years old and still holding up well after three refinishes.

[quote="Zulu"]Nice Don,
I made similar tables when I used to do Civil War re-enacting.
Zulu

Zulu I got my pattern from civil war tables like yours and modified it a few ways, one, I started with oak because I had a lot of oak strips, Two I replaced the wood screws with 10-32 machine screws with 3/16 washers between the wood pieces to act as "bearings" allowing me to tighten the screws to give the table rigidity. and three, I replaced the bottom braces with an x pattern brace to allow for more leg room at the center.Using oak allowed me to reduce the weight and still have a strong table. I do make some with heavier wooden parts and 1/4 inch bolts after I found a blacksmith using one of my tables and a steel plate to set rivets! By using the strips instead of a solid top it allows the table to serve as a dish drying rack as well as keeping the weight down.here is a picture of some of my tables and chairs in use.( I hope) wrong picture!I am still having trouble with posting pictures! I got the right picture the second time which is now the first picture.The jug holds historically accurate hard cider which I make as well.

Well it took me a while to find the thread that had that folding table . I promised to the "camp stool" version of it so here it is. I built the first one (a sort of copy of one my old boss had ) about 40 years ago and a "production run" of 4 or 5 a few years ago.
...lew...
Gee how do you add a series of 4 or 5 pix here.? I couldn't figure it out.
...lew...

Lew , The basic principle of the folding table/stools is quite old, long before the rev war. It has been modified in many variations. I use my design for tables up to 40 inches long and down to 17 inches for stools. ( I did make one custom one for a customer that was 60 inches long, but I consider that too long of a span for strength, but that is what he wanted.) I also make some out of cherry or maple with solid tops for flatlanders that want inside furniture and finish them with poly.When I use poly I finish the tables before assembly. For the BLO I just assemble the tables and then give them a heavy coat and let it "seep" into the joint areas .Over the years I have made over $2000 selling tables made out of trimmings. In fact for several years I bought bundles of trimmings from a lumber yard for "kindling" because the market for my tables was greater than my supply of my own trimmings. But now they no longer sell their trimmings , they are grinding them up to make "bio-blocks". I now get cutoffs from a cabinet shop that gives me a supply of short maple pieces which I am using to make serving trays, boxes, and mugs.I have found that making items out of other peoples scrap is more profitable than making custom furniture or cabinets out of expensive lumber.