Oak and tiger maple coffee table

[DonHo]

Very nice indeed! I like the simple design that lets that beautiful wood take center stage. Well done.
DonHo

[ironhat]

I love the beauty of simplicity and this is simply elegant! A very good execution of combining the grains and natural colors. I am envious!

[Matt_W]

Well, on the advice of some posters I did a little reasearch on finding a more durable table top finish. Apparently the Tried and True VARNISH Oil is a product for tabletops, and has a glossier finish. I used some mineral spirits to wipe off any remnants of the wax, and have a couple coats of the varnish oil on now. It looks great, a nice semigloss finish that seems to make the tiger grain pop even more.

Matt

[JimD]

I generally use my BT3100 to rip a straight edge on boards prior to glue-up. I have a jointer but on wild grain like your maple it would probably not result in a smooth edge. Maybe it would be OK with a very slow feed rate. By being careful, I can more consistently get a good edge off the table saw and the grain doesn't matter. Sometimes I have to take 1/32 or so off both edges repeatedly to straighten but as long as the boards are wide enough that is no big deal. I have an extra melamine board on my rip fence to make it effectively longer which probably helps a little.

Jim