Shopsmith Forums

I showed my wife the Marc Jones motorized standing desk from the following thread and she loved the idea: Another Distraction Project - Standing Desk

Today we went to the mill and picked up a walnut slab. I want to get the voids filled, including the open cracks on the ends, and I'm looking for advice. The mill will re-plane or sand this if necessary when I'm done for a minimal fee. My initial thoughts are to use a mix of epoxy and dark sawdust to fill the voids. I might fill them to about 1/8" from the top surface and then top with clear epoxy the rest of the way up. The end cracks I think just filled with clear epoxy. Probably treat the edges all around with epoxy also. Not sure what kind of surface finish in the end, don't know what is typical for wooden desks. The large void and it's narrow tail mostly go all the way through the wood. There's bark like stuff in it that comes out easily, could be used in filler.

Interested in any surface finish ideas also. I think it's a very good color already, not sure if I can highlight the dark grain further without darkening the lighter material significantly. Once we decide on which side is up we can experiment on the bottom.

Wonderful little family operated hardwood mill here in Southern New England: Barrettes

I had some bark inclusions and small cracks in the top for a table I built before out of cherry. I used clear casting epoxy to fill the voids on the table top. I left the bark in place as it was not falling out and the epoxy would encapsulate it making sure it did not come out in the future. As can be seen in the linked pictures ( https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic. ... 62#p253462), I did not have the larger checks that the piece you have shows. Looking at the slab, I would use a bow tie of some type to keep the checks from spreading more and fill with a casting epoxy of some sort. I know that a lot of people are using casting epoxy with added coloring for filling voids and making river tables so it should be easy to find.

Ed,

Take a look at the Blacktail Studio channel on youtube, https://www.youtube.com/c/BlacktailStudio. He does a bunch of walnut projects, many/most with epoxy, and several of his videos contain some pretty good instructions, dos, don'ts, etc.

thunderbirdbat wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 4:21 pm I had some bark inclusions and small cracks in the top for a table I built before out of cherry. I used clear casting epoxy to fill the voids on the table top. I left the bark in place as it was not falling out and the epoxy would encapsulate it making sure it did not come out in the future. As can be seen in the linked pictures ( https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic. ... 62#p253462), I did not have the larger checks that the piece you have shows. Looking at the slab, I would use a bow tie of some type to keep the checks from spreading more and fill with a casting epoxy of some sort. I know that a lot of people are using casting epoxy with added coloring for filling voids and making river tables so it should be easy to find.

Gorgeous table! I am concerned about the checks spreading. I'm going to square off the ends and may double up the wood underneath. I'll see if I can work out a butterfly anyway to get a secure mechanical lock.

roy_okc wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 4:36 pm Ed,

Take a look at the Blacktail Studio channel on youtube, https://www.youtube.com/c/BlacktailStudio. He does a bunch of walnut projects, many/most with epoxy, and several of his videos contain some pretty good instructions, dos, don'ts, etc.

Thanks, good info there. I've skimmed through a couple of those videos before but never paid attention to details. He convinced me to go all black on the filler. Wife likes that idea also. Unlike river tables these voids shouldn't be distracting. Not sure what the top finish of the filled areas should be.

Wow! I vote for a bow tie or two, epoxy and a thickener plus whatever colorant you want. An epoxy top finish would be super durable assuming you don't put it in a lot of direct sunlight.

That is a nice looking piece of wood! I can’t wait to see how it comes out. What are the dimensions, and how heavy is it? Keep in mind there’s a weight limit on the motorized base; I forget what it is but I think it was around 200 lbs, maybe a little more. I’m sure you have thought of this, but just in case you haven’t, you need to include the computer, monitors, other hardware, and any books, papers, and desk accessories.

The slab is only 1-1/4" thick and I'm sure weighs less than 50 lbs. It may need reinforcing members underneath. Depending where you look the weight limit varies from 175 to 225 lbs. I don't know if that's the leg strength or the motor limit.

The slab is about 60" from end to end, I'll take off a few inches to square the ends. Across the grain it varies from about 24" to 34". The picture below shows the likely orientation from the front of the desk. The jagged protrusions on the front and back edges will be trimmed down a little bit.



..

I really can’t wait to see it completed. When I saw the slab standing on end it looked like it might be close to 3 inches thick and wider that what it is. That size is perfect. In the spring when I made the first desk, I wanted to do exactly what you are doing, but the slabs were either much too large, and at least a couple thousand dollars, or they were too short and narrow.

I know your wife is going to love it.

She Better!!!!

If you feel real creative you can add a few led lights in the voids ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUspvsCluvQ