Hey Tango,

I hope you have someone there to help you with the lifting!!! That thing looks SOLID (Y3K compliant). What type of texture will you be going for? I'm looking forward to the progress.

Happy Holidays!

Rustin --- I broke down and bought a cheap-o hydraulic hoist for just the reason you brought up. I work alone and some of the pieces I routinely have to move about weigh as much as a half ton. This particular table will top 8oo pounds when complete. I'm getting too old to manhandle that kind of mass and using leverage and rollers like the ancients is just too dang slow. I've even put 10" wheels on my latest work table to ease the process of getting big pieces where I need them.

As for the finish, the table top will mimic two seperate, large weathered planks with lots of grain and knots but worn smooth with age. The client wants greyed, muted colors which will work well and be appropriate on this piece. The legs and stretchers will have bark with some patches worn off. The trestle bar connecting the leg sets is going to look like a split or half-round log that is slightly convex on top...a nice place to rest your feet. All the joints will be a tapered fit with the ends of the trestle mortised fully through the outer stretchers.

I guess I need to go back and add the approved sketch to the album. A picture of the finished design would certainly make understanding the constuction process simpler. I'll do that right now. Thanks for the interest and have a wonderful holiday season.

Hi tango88
Thank-you for sharing your album. Your Mccourtie bridge is amazing!!! Did you have to do a lot of engineering calculations for it's constuction.

Daybees---Sorry for any confusion...but the McCourtie bridges (there are 17!) were built back in the late 1920's and early '30's by two remarkable artists named Cordoso & Corona. A wealthy oil speculator and cement company owner commisioned them after seeing the work of Dionisio Rodriguez in San Antonio, Texas. They are indeed amazing. Especially when you consider the winter weather they had to contend with. Most of them are in need of serious conservation today due to freeze/thaw damage and should be listed on the National Registry to insure their survival. I have several albums on Yahoo of historical & contemporary work by other artists for the benefit of any who have never seen their work before. Limited text capabilities make it hard to fully explain what is what but I'll go back and see what I can do.

Tango,

Too old to move 800 lbs? I bet you didn't get picked on in your youth :) One of these days I'm going to build myself a giant rotating round table that can be adjusted for different heights. That way all the texture and detail in my projects wouldn't just be centered around the comfort zones. I'd like to see how you have your studio rigged for these projects.

That really sounds like an impressive project. I'm really anxious to see the worn plank texture you achieve. Please take lots of pics.

Justin

Rustin---I can definitely relate to the "comfort zone" concept. I made a couple of turntables for the same reason a while back from melamine board and heavy-duty lazy-susan bearing plates from Home Depot. I'll try to post some new pics to the "Tools" Album in the next few days including the new 10 foot work table on wheels. Will post a new thread when I have pix. It has already been a huge help on the large outdoor table I'm building.