Shopsmith Forums

Cedar, and does not have to be 3/4" stock, go 5/8" legs dont have to be massive!! Solid joints and all in square supports more wieght then a golith desk that is racked. Thinks of some of those structures engineer students make for class projects out of cardboard and such.

For the most part it is the design not the wood that becomes critical in light weight designs.

Things like grain orientation and the use of laminated methods can provide both strength and durability. Also the addition of replaceable/sacrificial wear surfaces can extend the life of such projects.

Ed

Thanks all.

I’ll consider all these (and any more that arrive), and find a good source to check each of these woods out before proceeding.

In the meantime I’ll focus on sizing the desk and a couple of stools.

reible wrote:For the most part it is the design not the wood that becomes critical in light weight designs.

Things like grain orientation and the use of laminated methods can provide both strength and durability. Also the addition of replaceable/sacrificial wear surfaces can extend the life of such projects.

Ed

Good points that I hadn't thought of when I first read the question. But now, I'm reminded of a small table I built as an experiment. All the wood was 1/2 as thick as I'd normally use. The top, sides and legs were 3/8" thick, with the legs tapering down to 3/16". Mortices were 1/8". This table weighed next to nothing though it was oak. It might not have lasted if were made of a lighter wood.