A couple of months ago we made a poker table similar to the one I just
posted to ABPW. The customer wanted a top for it so he could use it as
a dining table also. We had done this many times using plywood with oak
sides to cover the poker table top and sides.
But this guy wanted a solid oak (round) top to fit on top of his eight
seater poker table. So we made the 5' round top which included inlay and
it looked great. We added three oak strips on the underside with oval
washers to allow for expansion and contract while keeping the unit flat.
There were felt strips added to keep it from rubbing on the table below.
These strips maintained a gap about 1/16" between the top and the table.
I was called back to look at it yesterday and it had warped horribly. It
sort of reminder me of the roof of the Calgary Saddle dome.
As the sides warped up it appears that it lost more moisture from the
top than the underside.
We have flipped it over on the floor so that the underside is exposed
and will hopefully flatten the top over a period of time.
So how do we keep this from reoccurring? And still keep the top resting
close to the top of the poker table? Thanks, JG
Hi Mike,
Yes, the wood was well dried. As to the finish, both sides were coated and
likely with the same # of coats ( we sent this one out for finishing so I don't
know for sure) But if anything, the top may have gotten an extra coat which I
think if anything would have retarded moisture loss. Cheers, JG
Mike Richardson wrote:
> JG,
>
> Others doubtless will also contribute, but, assuming you started with
> reasonably dry and stable wood:
>
> I have had this occur when you finish the two sides differently. We are
> tempted often (I am), to finely finish with many good coats of oil etc the
> top, and maybe just slap a couple of quickies down below. This leads to
> pretty quick warping in my experience. There can be other causes, but this
> is one that occurs to me from reading your post.
>
> Mike
> Brisbane Aust.
>
> "JGS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > A couple of months ago we made a poker table similar to the one I just
> > posted to ABPW. The customer wanted a top for it so he could use it as
> > a dining table also. We had done this many times using plywood with oak
> > sides to cover the poker table top and sides.
> > But this guy wanted a solid oak (round) top to fit on top of his eight
> > seater poker table. So we made the 5' round top which included inlay and
> > it looked great. We added three oak strips on the underside with oval
> > washers to allow for expansion and contract while keeping the unit flat.
> > There were felt strips added to keep it from rubbing on the table below.
> > These strips maintained a gap about 1/16" between the top and the table.
> >
> > I was called back to look at it yesterday and it had warped horribly. It
> > sort of reminder me of the roof of the Calgary Saddle dome.
> > As the sides warped up it appears that it lost more moisture from the
> > top than the underside.
> > We have flipped it over on the floor so that the underside is exposed
> > and will hopefully flatten the top over a period of time.
> > So how do we keep this from reoccurring? And still keep the top resting
> > close to the top of the poker table? Thanks, JG
> >
> >
> >
Hi,
This top wasn't plywood, it was 7/8" finished thickness solid oak. The top
coat was indeed polyurethane. Cheers, JG
Phisherman wrote:
> On Wed, 15 Feb 2006 15:52:32 -0500, JGS <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >A couple of months ago we made a poker table similar to the one I just
> >posted to ABPW. The customer wanted a top for it so he could use it as
> >a dining table also. We had done this many times using plywood with oak
> >sides to cover the poker table top and sides.
> >But this guy wanted a solid oak (round) top to fit on top of his eight
> >seater poker table. So we made the 5' round top which included inlay and
> >it looked great. We added three oak strips on the underside with oval
> >washers to allow for expansion and contract while keeping the unit flat.
> >There were felt strips added to keep it from rubbing on the table below.
> >These strips maintained a gap about 1/16" between the top and the table.
> >
> >I was called back to look at it yesterday and it had warped horribly. It
> >sort of reminder me of the roof of the Calgary Saddle dome.
> >As the sides warped up it appears that it lost more moisture from the
> >top than the underside.
> >We have flipped it over on the floor so that the underside is exposed
> >and will hopefully flatten the top over a period of time.
> >So how do we keep this from reoccurring? And still keep the top resting
> >close to the top of the poker table? Thanks, JG
> >
> >
>
> How thick was the ply top? What finish? Possibly you could dado
> wooden cleats or angle iron/aluminum--perhaps a size 2" angle will add
> enough stiffness. A couple coats of polyurethane on all sides may
> help too.
Thanks, I'll pick up a copy. Hopefully it includes a solution. Cheers,
JG
Robatoy wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> JGS <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Well, whaddaya know... FWW just published an article about that.
JG,
Others doubtless will also contribute, but, assuming you started with
reasonably dry and stable wood:
I have had this occur when you finish the two sides differently. We are
tempted often (I am), to finely finish with many good coats of oil etc the
top, and maybe just slap a couple of quickies down below. This leads to
pretty quick warping in my experience. There can be other causes, but this
is one that occurs to me from reading your post.
Mike
Brisbane Aust.
"JGS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> A couple of months ago we made a poker table similar to the one I just
> posted to ABPW. The customer wanted a top for it so he could use it as
> a dining table also. We had done this many times using plywood with oak
> sides to cover the poker table top and sides.
> But this guy wanted a solid oak (round) top to fit on top of his eight
> seater poker table. So we made the 5' round top which included inlay and
> it looked great. We added three oak strips on the underside with oval
> washers to allow for expansion and contract while keeping the unit flat.
> There were felt strips added to keep it from rubbing on the table below.
> These strips maintained a gap about 1/16" between the top and the table.
>
> I was called back to look at it yesterday and it had warped horribly. It
> sort of reminder me of the roof of the Calgary Saddle dome.
> As the sides warped up it appears that it lost more moisture from the
> top than the underside.
> We have flipped it over on the floor so that the underside is exposed
> and will hopefully flatten the top over a period of time.
> So how do we keep this from reoccurring? And still keep the top resting
> close to the top of the poker table? Thanks, JG
>
>
>
In article <[email protected]>,
JGS <[email protected]> wrote:
Well, whaddaya know... FWW just published an article about that.
On Wed, 15 Feb 2006 15:52:32 -0500, JGS <[email protected]>
wrote:
>A couple of months ago we made a poker table similar to the one I just
>posted to ABPW. The customer wanted a top for it so he could use it as
>a dining table also. We had done this many times using plywood with oak
>sides to cover the poker table top and sides.
>But this guy wanted a solid oak (round) top to fit on top of his eight
>seater poker table. So we made the 5' round top which included inlay and
>it looked great. We added three oak strips on the underside with oval
>washers to allow for expansion and contract while keeping the unit flat.
>There were felt strips added to keep it from rubbing on the table below.
>These strips maintained a gap about 1/16" between the top and the table.
>
>I was called back to look at it yesterday and it had warped horribly. It
>sort of reminder me of the roof of the Calgary Saddle dome.
>As the sides warped up it appears that it lost more moisture from the
>top than the underside.
>We have flipped it over on the floor so that the underside is exposed
>and will hopefully flatten the top over a period of time.
>So how do we keep this from reoccurring? And still keep the top resting
>close to the top of the poker table? Thanks, JG
>
>
How thick was the ply top? What finish? Possibly you could dado
wooden cleats or angle iron/aluminum--perhaps a size 2" angle will add
enough stiffness. A couple coats of polyurethane on all sides may
help too.