Beach bum spotted at Klingspor

[Trent Mason]

Actually, a beach bum and his BEAUTIFUL girlfriend. :embaresse

So I've heard a lot about this Klingspor place since I've been on here and given all of the weekends that I've had in Raleigh in the last two months, Christy and I decided to check it out. We went in there on Saturday and I really felt like a kid in a candy/toy store. I walked in and went straight for the wood. We're pretty deprived down here in this neck of the woods so it was no mystery why I was so drawn to it.

I've been meaning to make Christy a coffee table for a while now as her current one is about 1 foot squared. :roll: After an hour or two of walking around, patiently crunching numbers, I settled on a 4/4" x 14" x 6' board of Ash. It seemed to fit my budget at about $22 and I figure I can get a small coffee table, legs/skirt out of it. I know, I know, no pics, didn't happen. Well, here ya go. :icon_thum

Luckily, the backseat in her car folded forward. Would've been an interesting ride home if it hadn't. :rotflm:

Now for the ultimatum. I want to have this thing finished and up there for her by Friday night. Any other coffee table I've built has only taken me about three or four days, even with finishing. I don't think the time will be an issue as the design will be pretty basic. I want to use the bottom half (closest to me when I took the pic) as the table top. I'll get the legs and skirt out of the rest. Still not sure exactly how I'm going to do the legs. Just however it works out. Now I have a question. There is about a three inch crack in the bottom of the board. Should I fill this with something (if so what)? Or should I just not worry about it. I'm planning on finishing the table top with bar top epoxy. Not sure about the legs/skirt. Here is a picture of the crack. Sorry for the bad photo quality. :slap:

We really had a great time at Kilngspor. We spent about 75% of the time looking at the wood and enjoyed every minute of it. After it was all said and done, I don't think I got a discount, even though I mentioned this site, but it was only a $22 board. If it would've been a significant purchase I would've definitely spoken up about it. All in all, a great time. Can't wait to go back. :icon_thum

Cheers, ccasion1

Trent


BTW- I know the board isn't straight. Gonna do some milling and it shall be square. :thumbs_up

 

[Travis Porter]

Congrats! I expect to go up there myself tomorrow.

The discounts should be automatic, but I don't think they give discounts on wood, but I am not sure.

Need progress pics on the table!!

 

[DaveO]

Dude, you've been in Raleigh a lot and haven't stopped by. :cry_smile I thought the Shop Crawl was just a fluke. You've driven within 2.5 miles of my house every time you've come to Raleigh. Seriously call me the next time you're around 919-422-2760

As far as your crack issue is concerned there are several things you can do depending on the overall design flavor of the table. If you are going to keep it more natural a Dutchman bow-tie type patch will keep it from cracking more and will enhance the natural slab effect.
If you are going for more formal, filling it with epoxy and some coffee ground would help it kinda disappear. Or epoxy and some other wilder colored material like brass filings or finely crushed stone would add a design element to it. If you can't hide it flaunt it.


Dave

 

[TracyP]

That will make a pretty coffee table. I love working with ash, it is easy to work and is relatively easy to finish in my opinion. Can't wait to see the finished project.

 

[ScottM]

Trent, our Klingspor discount does not apply to wood and power tools. Just everything in between.

Nice piece of lumber....I can't wait to see the finished table.

 

[Shamrock]

Trent-
Congrats on the "nice piece of ash" I myself have been known to flaunt my "big ol' piece of ash" as of late. Hope the coffee(oops-I mean beer table) turns out well. Nothing like a deadline to make things happen!


Pura Vida-Mike

:BangHead::BangHead::BangHead:clamps-clamps-why do I never have enough clamps

 

[Bas]

Nice score on the lumber, and yeah, Klingspor is fun to go to. There's always something you need...or want....

What Dave said on fixing the crack. I saw a design once where there was a V-shaped notch cut into either side of the table, to make it look "natural" or "rustic". Simple enough with a jig saw. Basically, if you can't hide it, flaunt it. But it has to be your taste of course...

 

[toolferone]

Dave, I got you beat. When he was at Klingspor, he was 7/10th's of a mile from my place.

Glad you had a good time at Klingspor. They just doubled there lumber selection a couple of months, so good timimg for you.

 

[Trent Mason]

Thanks for the responses guys. :notworthy: I had honestly thought about not doing anything to the crack, but am thinking about filling it. I was down in the shop las night "letting the wheels turn" and I don't think I'm going to be able to get the legs and skirt out of the remainder of the board. I checked out the local hardwood dealer here in Wilmington and on their website it says that they have ash. I might run by there today and hopefully find a small board to get what I need out of.

Dude, you've been in Raleigh a lot and haven't stopped by. :cry_smile I thought the Shop Crawl was just a fluke. You've driven within 2.5 miles of my house every time you've come to Raleigh.

Sorry Dave. :slap: Once I'm inside the walls of her apartment, the rest of the world seems to disapear. :swoon::rotflm: Last weekend she was laid out on the couch, sick as a dog and I was planning on getting up with you if you were around. But sure enough, as soon as I walked in she perked right up. :embaresse I'll definitely be up there a lot for the next two months and might even be relocating to that area soon. Shhhhh...... :eusa_thin A lot of variables in that equation but we'll see. Anyway, I've got your number, so I'll give you a call the next time I'm up there and know I'll have some free time. :icon_thum



Another funny story about klingspor. We were in there for about an hour and a half and during the end, I noticed another couple, about our age in there. After that we went to the instrument store across the parking lot and rocked out on everything from guitar to bongos for about an hour. Then we went back to klingspor (mistake). I was delighted to see that same couple still pondering over wood. At one point I heard her say, "don't you already have some of those boards in the shop?" Didn't hear his response but I got a kick out of it. :rotflm: Moral of the story, I've tried to warn Christy about WGD and she really doesn't seem to mind at all. She just loves the fact that I'm doing something artistic and creative. :icon_scra :rotflm:

Cheers, ccasion1

Trent

 

[Mike Davis]

OK, so I can't believe all this talk about buying wood, building tables, and visiting the Klingspor store and no one has questioned the BIG GLOAT!

Picture of the girlfriend?


MAN, no pics- didn't happen! :rotflm:

 

[Outa Square]

it was a stealth gloat... i believe and it slip by everyone but Mike

 

[woodylarry]

I saw a technique somewhere a while back for addressing a split like the one in your stock. Run the entire board thru a band saw along the crack. Then glue it back together. Might take a couple or more passes/glue-ups but when finished the crack is gone and the grain pattern is left intact with an un-discernible glue line.

 

[Trent Mason]

OK, so I can't believe all this talk about buying wood, building tables, and visiting the Klingspor store and no one has questioned the BIG GLOAT!

Picture of the girlfriend?


MAN, no pics- didn't happen! :rotflm:

Sorry Mike. I'm not even sure if you're still paying attention to this thread. I've been meaning to respond but have been working around the clock for the last two days. Won't bore you with the whole story, but Christy and my first date was the Southern Raleigh shop crawl. I picked her up about 15 minutes before that and since then we have been inseperable. Here is a pic of us at Joe Scharle's place, courtesy of GeorgeL.

Here is one of us paddle/peddle(?) boating on Lake Johnson in Raleigh.

We've spent every weekend together since the shop crawl. I know I'm a young "grasshoppa", but I know enough that I would love to spend every day for the rest of my life with her. Can't really put it into words. :wsmile:

So there is the proof of the sneak gloat. :icon_thum

Thanks for that tip Larry. I didn't go that route this time, but I'll remember it for next time.

Cheers, ccasion1

Trent

 

[Mike Davis]

:icon_thum :eusa_clap :icon_sunn