4x4 Action Group

We've got a table outside. The LF's father built the frame years ago and it had a tile top, which was annoying because, every time somebody was clumsy and dropped something on the table, I'd need to cut new tiles for the top.

I've also got a thing for sleeper wood. Recently built a barn door for my study using sleeper planks, and decided I'd replace the tile top of the table with sleeper planks...

So a week or two ago, I drove the truck to the sleeper place in Centurion and loaded up 5 x 25mm thick sleeper planks...
The issue with sleeper planks (I learnt this during my barn door building phase) is that they are never square. And you will never get them square on a table saw. So this time I acquired a rotary saw and started off by cutting them nice and square on one side. After that, it is relatively easy. Despite the fact that the wood is uber hard, it cuts really nicely...

Anyways, on Sunday, I had the bits nicely squared and all cut....
Obviously, there is a big difference in thickness between a sleeper plank (25mm) and a tile (5mm), so I had to cut the supports out of the frame and weld in new ones. But that was easy...
I left about 0.7 mm sticking out above the steel frame so that I could cut it down flush with the frame. This is in process, and the only place where working the wood has been difficult. Sanding it down takes forever. But I am almost done. Belt sander for the aggressive sanding (ie: to get it level) and an orbital sander to finish it off. Guess I'll be done with the wood work this afternoon...
Once that is done, I will strip everything down so that I can repaint the frame a nice flat black. And oil the bottom / sides of the planks.

And then after all is reassembled... The step I cannot wait for: Oiling the table top liberally with teak oil and see the beautiful colours of the sleepers come out... I'll post pics when done. Watch this space.

I know it is called rhodesian teak.

I also know that it is very hard.

I'm proud of my work and want to show it off... I posted it here as this is the "General / Off Topic chat" - meaning it is not restricted to the outdoor lifestyle

That is how I grok it at least.

A mate of mine became a woodworker after he graduated from art school (fine art doesn't pay, woodworking does).

He tried to finish off a run of Rhodesian teak with his thicknesser planer. The teak won.

. about the only good thing I have seen in Kuruman
is Moffat's Mission established in the 1820's
(... please don't say 'the Eye '' ! ).
If you ever do stop there, by choice more than necessity,
the Mission is a great place to visit.
The Chapel there has a cow dung floor etc and the roof beams and other woodwork are 'pukka' Rhodesian Teak ,
all sort & carried there from, what is now, Nthn Zim )
Good wood dont come easy.

We had neighbour's, The Kearneys, the sons were twins but looked nothing like one another.
They were carpenters.
A client on a plot asked them what they wood charge (see what I did there ) to turn hundreds of little planks into this clever little cantilever wine bottle stands.
They asked to see the wood, he slid the doors of a shed open & there was a huge pile of these planks, but it was dark inside, so they couldn't see properly with the bright sun outside.
The guy said there were over 3000 pieces.
So they, 40 years ago, told him they wanted R3ea to machine each piece (including the hole for the bottles neck).
The guy agreed.
They came back with a Bakkie and took a few loads back to thier workshop.
Then they realised it was Rhodesian Teak (the large Parquet planks) .
They had to buy special Titanium blades for Saws and planers to work the wood.

Anyhoo, they made 3000, he paid them R9k (a lot of money 40 years ago.
They kept a additional 300 odd for themselves. They gave me one which I still have.

This client sold these cantilever wine bottle stands to a woman for R10ea and she sold them at a Sunday Flea market for R15ea

I remember them telling me that had they know it was Rhodesian Teak and known how much he was going to sell them for, they would have charged R6ea.

Nice work Ian. That table would outlive you

grips wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 18, 2024 6:39 am

Nice work Ian. That table would outlive you

When Ian uses power tools I always fear he won't outlive full cream milk...

I'm not sure where the hatred for Rhodesian Teak comes from. I have not battled to cut it all - even with my cheap Ryobi woodworking tools.

And this is not the first time I've worked it.

1: I've built three lights out of solid beams of RT.
2: I've built a barn door out of RT.
3: I am now building the table top out of RT.

It actually cuts beautifully - you can hear the saws (I've cut it on my table saw and with my rotary saw) pull a few amps some times. But I've not even had to replace any blades yet. And this are with my el-cheapo tools.

Where I do battle every time is always with the sanding down. It is a bugger to sand nicely (the hardness). But after building the door I learnt that a belt sander and 40-grit surfaces it nicely pretty quickly and thereafter you just up the grit number until the finish is smooth. I normally finish it off with an orbital sander with 240 grit.

In fact, I've been doing a tiny bit of sanding after work each day and I'm almost done with the table top. I imagine I'll be able to paint the frame after work tomorrow and oil and refit the planks over the weekend. And then it is done.

The other big issue was with the lights. As I said, I built three lights out of solid beams. Each light (beam) had to have three holes cut in for the down-lighters. I did this using my hand-held drill and a hole saw. That was a mission to do.

I guess, what I'm trying to say, is it is hard work, and it is a lot of work. But I've enjoyed it so far and it keeps me busy.

Mad Manny wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 18, 2024 2:40 pm

When Ian uses power tools I always fear he won't outlive full cream milk...

I'm alright Manny. I've had no trips to the hospital thus far. Which is probably good, as the closest hospital to us - the one that Tania works at, had a fire a few weeks ago.

Very nicely done Ian.

Just as a side note - Rodesian Teak is not Ysterhout though. Ysterhout is "Olienhout" aka Wild Olive. I work exclusively with ysterhout sleepers.

In sleeper format/usage, it is one of two sleeper woods with a side rod at the ends to keep the wood from splitting, so be careful when cutting the planks. Ysterhout sleepers is the hardest sleeper plank you will find. The rest cut and work exactly the same as the non-sleeper wood, except when well saturated with tar - this will burn your blades and gunk up any sanding disk or belt.
Some of the planks on the table looks like Jara, one of the more common sleepers sold by Melanie here in Centurion.

Ian my experience with RT is that tungsten tip tools eat it for breakfast. No problem cutting it. Think the myth about its difficult to work with comes from the old days hand sharpen tools.

Rhodesian Teak
Baikiaea plurijuga, known as African teak, Mukusi, Rhodesian teak, Zambian teak, or Zambesi redwood, is a species of Afrotropical tree from the legume family, the Fabaceae from southern Africa.


Black Ironwood
Olea capensis, the black ironwood,[4] is an African tree species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa: from the east in Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, south to the tip of South Africa, and west to Cameroon, Sierra Leone and the islands of the Gulf of Guinea, as well as Madagascar and the Comoros.[2] It occurs in bush, littoral scrub and evergreen forest.[5]

Got the new table top nicely flat and finished off on Saturday morning. I'm happy - it looks good.
I then stripped everything down again to give the frame a few coats of Hammerite smooth black.

It should be dry when I get home from work this afternoon, after which I'll reassemble everything and oil the sleepers. I am looking forward to seeing it all finished...