Railway sleeper side table

[Smouser]

Hi

I am new to woodworking and I am just doing it as a hobby. I made this table mainly because I couldn't get exactly what I wanted in the UK.
This is my first project and I am very happy with the result. It is made from Australian Jarrah reclaimed railway sleeper.

 

[blackrodd]

Well, personally, I love it! It looks what it is, and well finished too, complementing the leather suite, an excellent conversation piece. Regards Rodders

 

[Baldhead]

I too like it, I've heard Jarrah is extremely hard and blunts your tools quickly, is that correct?

What finish did you apply?

Baldhead

 

[Smouser]

Jarrah is very hard. I use a chainsaw to cut the wood into boards because I don't have anything else that can cut that width and I have to resharpen the chain frequently.
On the table saw it doesn't seem to have too great of an effect.

For the finish I lightly stained it with Van Dycke crystals and applied a carnauba wax.
As I said it was my first ever woodwork project so I will see how the finish last and maybe experiment with something else if it does not hold up well.

 

[Woodmonkey]

Where did you find the sleepers?

 

[Smouser]

I bought them online from railwaysleepers.com
It seems that in the UK the only two types of reclaimed railway sleepers you get that has never been treated with creosote etc is Australian Jarrah and African Azobe.

I think you can get oak too but I doubt they have actually been used as untreated railway sleepers,
it seems like the oak that has been used as railway sleepers have been creosote treated which makes it unsuitable for furniture.

 

[Benchwayze]

Nice table, looks good through my specs.
Not for me personally, but I like it all the same...


(That smiley was bigger than I thought! Sorry! )

 

[ColeyS1]

Looks great and seems to suit the room well ! What's planned for your next project ? Any more left over bits of sleeper ?

Coley

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[Smouser]

Well, my wife now wants the tv unit to match and also another small table for the other side of the long couch.....
The small side table was only supposed to be a learning experience for me and to see if I can get the finish I wanted.

The project I really want to do is a massive computer desk with drawers on the one side but think I need a little bit more experience before I do that. I do have a router but I have never cut box joints before so I will need to practice that too so that the drawers don't fall appart.

Regarding the sleepers I have 4 left. I bought 5 originally but 3 of them have metal spikes embedded in them and would need to be removed if I want to get the sleepers into boards. I am having major dramas getting them out at the minute. They are solid.
I have a chainsaw and a chainsaw mill which I am going to use to cut boards out of the sleeper but I will have to get the metal spikes out first somehow.