making dining room table from tree trunk - advice needed

[doug123]

i'll apologize upfront for not knowing much at all about woodworking. i just cut down a tree with a 24 inch trunk. i need a dining room table, and thought it might be neat to try to make one with this wood. i was thinking i could chainsaw maybe 1 inch slices of the trunk, then cut them into a square shape, and glue the squares together until there is a full table top. i have a tabletop and radial arm saw. could this be a project a novice could accomplish? i'm not sure how i'd get the tabletop relatively flat. i also wonder what to do to minimize the cracking of the wood. am i out of my mind, or is this possible? thanks!!!

[Ozark mountain carver]

Sounds like an interesting and ambitious project! Having a few experiences with chainsaw milling, and bandsaw milling lumber, I would recommend finding someone with a portable bandsaw mill to come slab the log out for you. They will be able to get the slabs much more parallel than with a chainsaw, and with a lot less surface damage from the teeth. This of course would be done after the tree dries to a reasonable moisture content, which could take between 6 months and a year depending on the dryness of your climate during that timeframe. A miller who is experienced in your area would be able to give you a lot more advice on that. I let 4 red oak logs dry 8 months before milling 1" thick rough cut lumber and final dried them with 3/4 x 3/4 sticker boards for another 6 months before using them. Only a few of them warped or twisted at all.

Hope this helps!

[Donsexton]

Get yourself a saw and go for it just make sure you wear your safety gear. I am in Hot Springs at this time.

[Gergie]

I have done this on several occasions, I made a coffee table out of a red cedar log I had, a bar top out of walnut tree I cut down, and just finished a picture frame from an apple tree that was in my neighbors yard.

I wouldn't try the chain saw way you are talking about, only because of the many problems you could encounter. But that's me, i would wreck the wood.

The steps I took was taking the logs to a saw mill and getting it cut to rough board thickness and length,seal the ends and letting it dry. I then took my boards to our school on open shop night and used a time saver sander to get them down to working thickness.

Once you've done that start building your table. There is nothing like taking a log and turning it into a piece of furniture , or Carving.

Here's the picture frame i just completed.

[sashadoc]

That's a tough one. There are a lot of sites on the web dedicated to woodworking and I'm sure there's one out there that tells you how to saw "logs" on a table saw. I'm sure it requires a jig of some sort and a lot of safety precautions. It sounds like a good project for the "woodworkers", however, this site is primarily for "woodcarvers". Maybe you can get some help from the knowledgeable people here, but I suggest maybe "googleing" woodworking+rustic and see where that leads you. I know how I would build it but wouldn't want to be responsible for any accidents caused by bad advice. A carving glove probably would not help you with a table saw accident!!!!

Tim

[Marco_43]

Hi...,Nice post.I am totally agree with carver suggestion. Finding someone with a portable bandsaw mill to come slab the log out for you. They will be able to get the slabs much more parallel than with a chainsaw, and with a lot less surface damage from the teeth....This will be useful for you...Best of luck!

[Big Barn]

OK, I agree with cutting logs to make the table top but that's not what the OP said in his original statement. He has a tree stump, 24" across & wants to cut multiple 1' to 1 1/2" thick disc's. Square off the rounds & glue them together to make the correct or workable table top size. In my opinion - this is going to be real tough to keep from cracking & checking since you'll be working with both sap & heart wood on the same piece times the number of rounds it takes to get to the size you want. Not something I would want to try. Making the top from a log or logs - yes. From stump rounds/disc's - nothing I've ever tried. Good luck...

[telecarver]

Discs will crack and fall apart. Cut the log parallel with the grain. You want to mill the log green and air stack and seal the ends to dry the pieces after milling. Let the slabs dry up to one year per 1" of thickness. If you let the log dry intact, it will check and take many years for a 24" trunk to dry. By that time it will probably be so cracked it will be unusable. Cut the slabs longer and thicker than you will need because you will need to trim the checked and rough surface area. The ends will check. The portable mill is the best approach but I have freehand milled 2" to 3" thick slabs with a chainsaw. 1" to 1 1/2" is too thin for freehand milling. I used an angle grinder with a 24 grit disc to flatten them. It's not perfect but works for a rustic table. For edge gluing, a table saw or jointer would be needed to get a good fit. It's possible to edge joint with a radial arm saw but very difficult and I wouldn't recommend it to an inexperienced woodworker.

[haree]

Nice post man.This is really awesome. I really appreciate to you about this post.
Thanks man.