ANDRES CARBONELL BUILDS A HARD-WEARING OUTDOOR TABLE
After moving from Argentina to the US, I was in the process of filling my home with custom furniture. After making the bed (see F&C 312) and a white oak dresser (see F&C 314), I decided to make an outdoor table for my patio. I wanted to build something that would resist inclement weather for a long time but without requiring a lot of maintenance. That is why I chose teak, a wood that has an excellent resistance to outdoor conditions because it has a high content of natural oils. It also reminded me of my grandfather, who was a boat builder and loved this wood, so it was the ideal choice for this project.
Selecting and preparing the timber
1. Teak is a pretty expensive wood, so I tried to buy just what I needed. When selecting, I looked for 50mm-thick pieces of timber, because with this thickness I could use the same piece of wood to build the legs and the top, trying to maintain the same wood grain. The only pieces that were from a 5mm thickness were used for the aprons.
2. It is a very easy wood to work with because of its straight grain. I opened the 50mm boards for the table top in the middle. First I made two cuts, one in each side, to mark them on the tablesaw, then I finished them on the bandsaw. I do this when the boards are too wide due to the pre-cut works as a guide on the bandsaw. Then I planed the rough face on the planer until I reached a thickness of 22mm.
Table top assembly
3. I chose tongue and groove as the way to connect the table top boards. I made tongues of 7 x 8mm on the end grain of the boards that are located across the panel and a groove of 7 x 8mm along the two boards that are located along the panel. I started making the groove right in the middle of the side board; once that groove was ready I set up the depth of the dado blade to start cutting the tenons, first from one side and then I flipped the board and made the opposite side. I tried to go easy in this step until the tenon fit properly. Firm hand pressure is the correct fit when you’re making tongue-and-groove joints. If the tongue just drops into the groove, it’s too loose, but if you need a hammer, it’s too tight.
Gluing up the top
4. I added some small pieces of 6mm plywood in the gaps between the boards and applied glue in the centre tongue of each table to allow some seasonal movement.
5. The top was then clamped up. I recommend always to leave at least 20mm or 30mm of extra length on the boards that are located along the table top, to make the process of gluing simpler – this glue dries fast and doesn’t allow much time to make corrections.
6. After 24 hours, I took off the clamps and squared the whole panel on the tablesaw.
The legs
7. I made 12mm wide by 35mm deep mortises right in the centre of each leg, using a hollow chisel mortiser, then with a sharp chisel I made the final adjustments. To fit the apron inside the legs I cut centred tenons. I left a tenon shoulder of 20mm on top of the apron with the aim of avoiding weakening of the leg.
45° angle mitre cut tenons
8. As I had a considerable thickness on the legs I decided to make a 45° angle cut on the end of the tenons to have a larger contact surface for the glue. I cut centred tenons using a dado blade. I recommend holding the board tight to the mitre gauge fence and pressing it firmly to the saw table. The saw’s fence position determines the tenons’ length, which was 35mm in this case. I added a wood fence to the mitre gauge, which kept the board square and limits blowout. Because the tenons are centred, I could flip the board face-for-face between passes.
Gluing up the legs to the aprons
9. For this task I used a waterproof glue because this table will be located in an outdoor environment. I clamped the legs with four clamps all the way around, then I checked that the diagonals were equidistant. Any slight differences could be solved by applying a clamp on the longest diagonal until the same distance between the two diagonals was achieved. Once this step was complete I let it dry for 24 hours.
Attaching the table top to the legs
10. To assemble the apron and legs with the table top I used four small blocks of wood screwed to the centre of each apron and the table top; these blocks were only glued on the aprons, leaving the table top unglued. The holes have this particular shape to allow the screw to slide with the seasonal movements of the wood.
Finishing
11. After leaving everything in the clamps for 24 hours, I added a small, bevelled edge to the legs where they rest on the floor with the router using the 45° bit. This was to prevent splintering. The sanding was simple in this wood, I just sanded the edges with a 220-grit sand paper and then sanded along the wood grain the whole table with a 400-grit sandpaper.
12. For a finish I used Teak Oil, a product specifically designed for dense woods such as teak; it penetrates deep into wood pores and creates the rich, warm glow of a hand-rubbed finish.
13. I applied the oil with a brush and then wiped off the excess with a rag.
14. I repeated the oil application two more times and then the table was finished.
You can see more of my work on Instagram: @andrescarbonell.woodworking