Green oak garden table

[Kipper]

I picked up these green oak slices at my local arboretum and would like to make a garden table from them, impulse buy I have no woodworking experience or knowledge of what to do with the oak except from some research on the Internet and findings seem to vary.

I would like to keep them fairly rustic but would like to sand the tops to bring the grain out then oil with Tung oil to maintain the appearance. From my research I also understand they will probably weather regardless of what I treat them with. I have already treated them with Barrettine premier wood preservative and have some Tung oil although haven’t applied any yet. I am going to try and find a couple of stumps for legs (two tables will sit next to each other to form a figure of 8) otherwise I may make some legs.

I tried to sand the tops with an orbital sander and 80 grit pads over the weekend but didn't get very far, the pads didn’t remove enough material. I am guessing the wood still contains too much moisture and clogging the pads. This leads me to my first question:

Would I have more success using a plane or another tool to flatten the top slightly then finishing with a sander?

Should I avoid working the wood completely for the time being (I read it is easier to work green) and season it, if so for how long?

How should I store it, currently the slices are sat on fence posts and wrapped in a tarp?

The garden is fairly exposed to the elements.

Please see attached images.

Thanks

 

[RobinBHM]

Unfortunately for you, timber shrinks tangentially, so the cracks you see appearing from the centre will get much larger as the slice starts to dry. As the slices are not very thick you may end up with a fundamental crack that makes the piece almost fall in half. I dont know an easy answer, maybe cut the slices in half to relieve the stress and fix them to a base using screws through slots not a hole for movement.

As you have found they cant be sanded at the moment, a hand plane will work, but it is end grain so will be hard going -others on here have more experience of hand tools so Im sure somebody will advise.

 

[custard]

Don't sink too much time or money into these. It's a fun project but the reality is they're unlikely to survive long before falling apart. If you had a more traditional frame/legs arrangement underneath they might last longer despite a few big splits as they'd be better supported.

Regarding finishing, I'd save your expensive Tung oil for an indoors project. A sharp plane with a fairly aggressive camber will flatten off the tops adequately for your purposes. It would be hard going when they're dry, but when wet shouldn't be too much of a struggle, plane from the perimeter towards the centre. Aiming for perfectly flat would be a fool's errand as they'll ripple and warp as they dry and as the season's change, so just flush back the worst ridges and chain saw tracks. Most of the bark will drop off by itself as the slice shrinks, so you may want to knock it all off earlier.

Good luck!

 

[Kipper]

Thanks for your replies.

I was hoping that if I threw enough oil at these I may be able to reduce/delay the cracking.

It sounds as though legs are going to be required for support so that will give me something to think about.

Can anyone recommend a suitable plane?

Thanks

 

[custard]

No need to spend much money, just a regular Record or Stanley No 4. I'd put a more aggressive camber on it when sharpening (and don't go overboard on sharpening, an oil stone will get you adequately sharp for this job). Take the blade/cap iron apart when you've finished and wipe it clean and oil it, the tannins in Oak aren't friendly to steel.

Good luck!

 

[AJB Temple]

Slices cut like this are often used as stepping "stones" in gardens, and that can be quite a good use for them if you have a large garden, or feature areas in a landscaping plan. They will crack like mad so if you want to make a table out of them I would screw a support structure underneath before doing anything much. If you have a cheap electric planer that will get you smooth enough for a table surface. It is almost pointless oiling oak for outdoor use - it will go grey in short order anyway. When oak framed buildings are constructed we do not apply finishes generally.

I am presently converting a good few cubic metres of green (but rapidly hardening) oak into a couple of buildings. Whilst it is true that green oak is easier to work, when people say this they are really talking about beams or boards into which people are cutting joints etc.

 

[Kipper]

Thanks for the advice regarding the plane!

The garden isn't particularly big and I don't think the dog will be too happy with the stepping stone idea
The surroundings are rural, when I saw the slices I thought they would make a really nice table for the garden!

I am thinking along the lines of making a square frame which will screw into the bottom of the tabletop with some timber screws then fit legs to the frame running the screws in horizontally.