Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Commonhouse tables....metal/wood/round/rectangle?

[mark harfenist (mark]

Hi Kelly,

Sounds like you need to enlist your experienced woodworkers if you've 
not already done so.  The fact is, you can make whatever sort of tables 
you want, of whatever materials you're willing to pay for.  For 
example, cabinet plywoods come in a variety of species and cuts; a 
plywood top can be almost indistinguishable from sold wood at greatly 
reduced price, weight and ecological cost.  There are also endless 
variations on finishes; I suggested the old standard, three coats of 
alkyd urethane, because it's easy, durable and relatively 
uncontroversial, but others will argue for alternatives.  I don't care 
for the look of stains, but here again tastes differ.  Etc.

In the end, it's likely that if you're constructing the tables 
yourselves, you'll end up constructing whatever your members are 
willing to commit to working on.  To me, this suggests that you 
concentrate on getting them involved and committed early, turning over 
as much responsibility as possible.  Note that this runs contrary to 
the natural inclinations of those involved in early, centralized 
planning of unbuilt cohousing communities.  If, on the other hand, 
you're going to buy manufactured tables, you'll probably want to start 
by surveying what's commercially available.

Hope that helps.

Mark

(Bellingham Cohousing)


On Tuesday, October 25, 2005, at 08:31  AM, Hyghroad [at] aol.com wrote:
> We have some people here at Common Pastures who are experienced 
> woodworkers.
> So, how do you think you can create a more finished look to the top? 
> Avoid
> Plywood? Add stain and finish coats?