Now for the fun - The progress shots! This piece is so stunning in person. Photos do it no justice. We did a photo shoot to show 3 possible ways to use this. And yes I know there is a VCR in it HAHA!!! Shhh.... look away - it's just to give an example as an entertainment unit! (which would look amazing in our house so it's going to be a toughy to sell this beauty!) All of the inner parts will also be repurposed into furnishings or art. Nothing in this project will be sent to the dump! Aside from the stripped veneer scraps! Visit us at http://www.facebook.com/gypsybarn for more repurposing fun!

i bought Ipe, Tiger Wood, and Ceder for this project and hand rubbed 3 coats of oil for the finish. I know the sun will destroy the look within a few months, so she is going to be high maintenance with a sand and oil every year.

A few tip's:

-S.A. hardwoods are very dense! This allows a thinner material to span a longer gap with less deflection. For this project, the top is made out of 1 x 4 material.

-One of the many nick names for Ipe is "iron wood" it will sink in water, and it has helped to make this top more than i can handle alone. This also requires pre-drilling for fasteners.

-The end cuts are sealed immediately after cutting with Ipe wax to prevent checking

-The miters all received 2 - 10mm x 50mm Festool Sipo Mahogany Tenons, wiped with alcohol, glued with titebond 3, and clamped for a few hours to dry. This is not a DIY machine, but may be substituted with the use of biscuits, splines, or dowels.

-Wear a mask when cutting and sanding!! Many carpenters catch an upper respiratory infection when building S.A. decks. This has been argued that it is due to the water and bacteria in that wood we are not used to, others say it's just because the dust is much finer. regardless of who is right, wear a mask or use dust extraction.

-Order extra! This is not stock lumber, infact i had to pay freight to get these pieces trucked to my house from the online merchant. I had a few pieces that were bowed just enough that i couldn't use them... better to have too much than not enough on a special order build...

-Learn your finishes! My first two coats were with Messmers UV Plus. his really brings out the grain and contrast within the woods... makes it come alive. I wouldn't do more than 2 coats of a toner, my final coat was the Festool SurFix exterior oil blend worked into the surface.