Wood for Outdoor Table

[ecokestove]

Hello. New to woodworking, but not new to life. I haven't done any proper woodworking since I left school in '62 - I said I wasn't new to life. Between then and now it's mostly been DIY with MDF and B&Q wood. I was pretty OK at school, and a couple of months ago I made a coffee table in Oak so I'm comfortable with handling tools.

I'd like to build an outdoor table to seat 6. I'm thinking about 30" by 48". I'd like it to be light in weight so it's not a struggle to move it around - arthritis and all that rubbish. I was thinking Western Red Cedar, or would that be a bad idea? Any advice welcome.

 

[johnnyb]

Western Red cedar is wonderful very durable very expensive and a bit soft for a table. what about oak? or my go to redwood( cheap). sapele is OK. iroko I don't recomend as it has horribly allergic dust. any of the other joinery woods like red Grandis, eucalyptus, meranti etc etc

 

[johnnyb]

larch would be good siberian even better douglas fir southern yellow pine. think how you want it finished as some won't take paint very well

 

[TheTiddles]

Cedar is lovely, if you can’t get/afford western red then cedar of Lebanon is much less expensive and easily available, though any cedar is very soft, especially till it has sat outside and hardened up a bit.

I see your thinking regarding weight, there may be other ways to approach this as even if it’s as light as you can make it, it’s a big thing to move, so maybe make the design work harder in terms of coming to pieces, having wheels, folding etc…

There’s also a second approach which is to wait till someone puts a grey old hardwood table on a marketplace for £50 as they don’t want it anymore, then spend a day or two with a pressure washer, sandpaper and oil to turn it back to almost new condition. I see a lot of these online

 

[johnnyb]

my take on this is also that things that have immense durability get thrown because there unsightly not because there structurally dodgy. I burn door after door that's fine it's just got a bit of flaky paint. so something that can easily be spruced is key

 

[Richard_C]

Light enough to move about, but not so light it blows about? Will it be outdoors all year or put in shed in winter, if the latter does it need to come apart? If the former, do you need a cover?

I think the choice of wood might come down to cost and, if you want it any time soon, local availability. Odd things are happening to price and supply.

 

[Jameshow]

How about making it with folding legs so that it can be put away for the winter. Larch would be my choice.

Cheers James

 

[Fitzroy]

Don’t build it out of 75mm oak, can’t move this without 2 strong folk, although very durable, 5 winters and summers and looking great! More helpfully, a friend of mine has a slatted table which I think isWRC that’s pretty light weight and the rain drains off nicely. Similar to one in picture below.

 

[Adam W.]

Generally Southern yellow pine Pinus palustris, Pinus elliottii, Pinus echinata, and Pinus taeda mainly consists of sapwood, as it's harvested from small trees. The heartwood is easily distinguishable from the sapwood, as it is a reddish brown colour which is classed as moderately durable, but the sapwood isn't.

The Southern yellow pine that is available in the UK is predominantly sapwood, so probably not so good for an outdoor table.

 

[Stevekane]

Ive just built one 30”x 7ft out of regular tannalised building timber, 3ins fence posts for the base and 45mm thick top, weighs a ton and two people wouldnt lift it easily,,,completely the opposite to what you want but I have to say that in building outdoor furniture, perhaps esp tables, there is quite a bit to learn and Im sure you will find it an interesting experience. Mine is going to double up as a workbench and I will throw a polytarp over it and the other garden furniture in the winter.

 

[ecokestove]

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I think I've abandoned the idea of WRC. The price! I see British Cedar is half the price of WRC. Would that be OK?

 

[TheTiddles]

Looks like British Cedar is western red cedar, grown in the UK, so why not?