Slab master

[madbopper]

I think we are looking at this from two different angles,

I understand the finish from a good band saw is ok but what happens if you leave the timber to dry naturally after it has been cut ,does it not cup up across the width of the board or twist down the length,I know we all think we stack it correctly but do you never take a slab out of the stack to discover it looks like a bloody corkscrew.

I didn't think you could get a thicknesser that wide.

[Logrod]

If it needs to go in my thicknesser and it's more than 25cm wide then I just rip it to 25cm, plane and thickness and then biscuit joint. Lose a lot less wood that way as well.

[bella wood]

Madbopper,, just had a look at the slab master on there website ,, looks very good

 

I make the odd natural edged slab table up to 120cm wide and can see that using one of these would probably cut the basic prep time by 3/4 especialy on crotch cuts where there has been alot of grain sinkage or around burr patches,,

 

Ive looked for something similar before but never found this model ,, ive made sled for my router as the americans do but cutter width is limited and biggest i found was 2 inch and it works but no where near as fast as the slab master,,

 

Only other options avaiable in this country i found was lucas or pterson sawmill do a planer attachment , and norwood sawmills do a carriage planer/log house moulder which im sure could easily be widenedand fitted to another table/standle, norwood want £5k for theres ,

if i had a slab master there would be money in making big tables ,

[Mike Dempsey]

There's a very high risk in having table tops at 120cm from warping. Even if it leaves your workshop perfectly flat within a few months I would put money on it warping in a clients home. You don't have any control over the temperature or humidity levels and that's a recipe for disaster. Ripping wide boards and rejoining them is the way to go. I have made large mirrors before from single slabs of wood. The biggest was 8' high by about 2 1/2' wide. Due to the centre of the plank being taken out, the stress was minimised, and I believe it is still flat.

I also have a router sled for planning wide boards that wont fit in my planer thicknesser and that has saved me a lot of hand planning effort and time.

[bella wood]

You've got to be honest with your customer's,, ive talked a few out of it ,, they can move , even the morning sun shining on one end caused a little movement , a hump which i said i could level but the customer said it added more charm , had other orders from them since ,

 

There is a market for big slab tables and every piece of wood is different ,

[Rob D]

Only other options avaiable in this country i found was lucas or pterson sawmill do a planer attachment , and norwood sawmills do a carriage planer/log house moulder which im sure could easily be widenedand fitted to another table/standle, norwood want £5k for theres ,

if i had a slab master there would be money in making big tables ,

 

 

They do have a planer attachment blade which looks really good but I think is a lot of cash!

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpM8urbBZ40]Portable Sawmill - Planer Blade for Smooth Boards - YouTube[/ame]

 

You can almost use the existing circular saw blade on the Peterson to do the same thing and re surface and flatten a wide board...

 

 

... but as you said all it will want to do is cup again!

 

 

I constantly get e-mails ref people wanting a large slab for a table top... trouble is:

 

 

• they want pics of beautiful finished slabs from all different angles
  
• has to be right size for what they want
  
• has to be right colour for what they want
  
• price puts most off
  
• to make a real go of it you'd need x30 finished tops or examples for them to pick from
  
• you waste a lot of time explaining how 'wood works' (although I now send a standardised e-mail about this - the genuine inquiries take the time to read it)
  

 

 

As already said - saw and dry the wood as quarter sawn then after they are dry plane and join - less waste, less hassal, more stable!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bella wood]

Yes thats the peterson attachment i was thinking ,,

 

Ive made tables in different ways as pictures ,, but i do like working on a big slab,, i think the americans could be rite in using 2 part epoxy type finnishes as this realy seals the wood,,